# Sterling ST55 microphone - sounds really good - is this a reasonable idea?



## JLNorthGA (Nov 14, 2012)

We had an act in this past weekend. "Hard Travelin' with Woody" - basically a one man act with the actor singing and performing as Woody Guthrie. It was a really nice short act (~ 1 hour). What was interesting was that he just used one microphone. He had a Sterling Audio ST55 - which is basically a recording microphone. It was mounted in his shock mount on one of our stands.

The sound was excellent. He didn't need a SM57 or a DI box for his guitar. He didn't need anything for his harmonicas. He just played, sang and talked in front of the ST55. I was quite impressed with the frequency response. I was also impressed with the vocal and instrumental quality. Again, it was the only microphone he used.

For most musical acts - we use an instrumental microphone or they plug into a DI box and we feed from that to the stage snake. We have vocal microphones for the singing. I realize that having only one input might be problematic - you couldn't really balance the vocals with the instrument. 

But what was nice was that he could move around quite a bit. This got me to thinking. Would this work for small group a cappella singing? Like a quartet? Do y'all think this would be reasonable for a single performer singing and playing on an acoustic instrument? At $200 for a package, it isn't cheap - but you'd be effectively replacing two microphones, so the cost is essentially the same. Once the microphone was set, that would be it. It is fragile. But the sound is REALLY nice.

Opinions?

Sterling Audio ST55 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Mic | Musician's Friend


----------



## avkid (Nov 14, 2012)

$200 is cheap for a large diaphragm condenser.

Would it work for choral and acoustic acts?
Certainly

Rock and Roll?
Not likely


----------



## FMEng (Nov 15, 2012)

Yes, that can work. The problem is it depends more on the skill of the artist to get a good blend, along with fairly exacting mic placement. Some are quite skilled at it, but most aren't. Bluegrass, folk, and a cappella musicians are likely to be the most open to the idea. Others may reject the idea outright. Using two mics, or a mic and a DI eliminate those variables and give the person mixing more control over the situation.

There are times when it just won't work because there isn't enough gain before feedback. Reducing the distance between the source and the mic works wonders for that, but defeats the single mic idea. Also, you can't eliminate proximity effect of a directional mic, so the sound will get thinner as the distance is increased.

The properties aren't unique to the Sterling. Most cardioid (or other unidirectional), large diaphram, condenser mics can be used successfully that way. These days, there are a bunch of Chinese made mics in this category for $100 and beyond. Not surprisingly, they don't sound like Neumanns even if they look like them. Some of them are decent, though.


----------



## jonliles (Nov 15, 2012)

Just to list another option, I've had much luck with the RODE NT1-A's. I keep a pair of them for similar situations. Used on eBay, they're about $100 US.


----------

