Just OK

Hey, you get what you pay for. I bought a pair of these mics for a children's choir in a church. One of them was defective and after replacing it, I was disappointed in the dynamic range. I tried them on acoustic guitars, a pipe organ, grand piano and even tried 'em as overheads for congas. They're treble efficient and lack a little in the 40-300hz range. So far I've tried three and each one has sounded remarkably different. In the end, they are what they are and I'll use one of them more frequently than the other and that one as a last resort. I strongly recommend the MXL 993 pair in this price range.

Reviewed by UUcoffeehouse on 5/16/2007 who plays anything that pays.

Provides Great Sound

I own five of these mics. We utilize them for children's choir (about 30-40 kids can be ample enough for two of these mics). I also use one for a drum overhead mic. In addition we put one up against a guitar amp. And I have one for backup. They seem to be sturdy enough. We actually move all our equipment every week being a portable church and they seem to uphold the small beatings each week.

Reviewed by J Peckham on 9/18/2009

Great Workhorse

Great little mic, sturdy, clear detailed sound. Needs a good eq to get the best performance but otherwise a top notch field mic.

Reviewed by Nick on 3/26/2009 who plays N/A.

Economic Device to Amp String Instrument on PA System

I play double bass in church, in which I bow, orchestral style. We have an elaborate PA system. I had used pick ups, which made the bass sound raspy. All other strings are on microphones. Sunday, I used an ST31, and ran it into the board using phantom power. The mike delivered a strong, deep clear signal over our PA system (we have six cabinets, each with two twelves and other speakers. Our sound engineer said it was the bass sound he ever got out of my bass. I highly recommend the microphone if you need a mike for your accoustic instrument. Regards, Ziggy

Reviewed by Ziggy Arnold on 2/24/2009 who plays Classical and Praise Music.

st 31 review

I purchased two of these mics for drum overheads. These little condenser mics capture a true picture of a drum set amazingly without a drop of EQ, add a little reverb and your set. The true crack of the piccolo snare shines through and the cymbals don't bleed threw but yet actually fit right into the music. I've been recording hard rock for 8 years and this drum sound with the ST 31s is the best drum sound I have yet encountered. I'm writing this because I spent countless hours researching a good set of overheads for CHEAP that would work with my budget and couldn't find anybody saying what I needed to hear.

Reviewed by MB on 10/27/2008 who plays heavy rock.

great little mic

This is a fantastic little mic, i am so pleased with it's sound that i want to buy more mics from sterling audio. It has been used for a harpsichord, vocals, and acoustic guitar, even some wind instruments, all sound great i am really impressed. Vocals come in clearer and stronger on this mic than a large condenser that was more in price. Such a great deal.

Reviewed by Jesse Farrah on 4/25/2007 who plays Classical, Other.

Bought a couple fo these to use on Drum Oh's at church. Pretty decent soundiong little mics. I didn't find them to be overly harsh, and they picked up the kit well, without too much bleedthrough. Also tried one out on Ac Gtr in my studio. Sounded pretty good, though a tad boomy too my ears, but nothing I couldn't eq out. All in all, pretty good little mic for $100.

Reviewed by on 1/12/2007 who plays Rock/Pop.

MIc to Noisy to Use

I purchased the ST31 after reading the reviews, looked like a inexpensive mic to close mic brass and sax, I tried the mic on my Mackie mixer, The self noise was so high I could not hear the other channels, over 40 Db. I think it was a bad mic, sounded like the ocean, I put three other mics on the same wire and channel without issue. I returned the mic, to Guitar Center for a full refund.

Reviewed by Ross on 9/27/2009 who plays Jazz, Blues.

Great For Anything!!!

This mic is straight-up awesome. Its good for live, its good for recording, its the overall working mans mic. I use it on my acoustic guitar and it picks up just what I want it to.

Reviewed by Andrewvox on 4/23/2007 who plays Rock, country, blues, everything 40's - 80's.

Sterling Audio ST 31

The st 31 is a great sounding mic! Despite being a relatively new brand to the industry, the technology and experienced work behind it is amazing! Definitely on my must try list.

Reviewed by webrack on 7/5/2006 who plays rock, alt, indie.