Avenson Audio STO-2

I have been in the recording biz, for over 24 years, I own a 2500 square ft. studio in Austin tx, we use mackie hdr hard disk recorders, we use krk v8s , m audio, and B&W speakers.

these great little mics are omni condensers, we use them for room mics, mic a drum set, two overhead, with a kick mic (audix d-6 ).I looked at earthworks these are as good or better and about half the price come in a nice wood box in a mached set, around 500 bucks, for the set.I would not use them for close vocals, the mic shines for room micing or A. guitar I am always finding new things that these mics sound great on!! . I would highly recommend trying these! great deal! great mic! hand made in Austin TX.

I'm a professional guitarist/composer/arranger/producer with considerable recording experience, both in front of the mic and behind the faders. I was looking for a pair of versatile mics for drum overheads, acoustic instruments and live recordings. I got turned on to something called the Stapes Omi microphones via the TapeOp message boards. By the time I discovered them, the creator of the Stapes mics had evolved the product into the Avenson Audio STO-2. I bought a pair based on the glowing reputation the Stapes mics had developed, and I have never been happier with a microphone purchase. I have used these mics primarily into a Metric Halo Mobile I/O ULN-2, recording to Digital Performer 4.12/ProTools/Peak etc. My monitoring environment at home is either a pair of Dynaudio BM6As, or KRK6000s driven by a Hafler amp.

These are 1/4" electret condenser pressure-gradient omnidirectional mics in an extremely robust black anodized aluminum housing that is reminiscent of a an earthworks or DPA mic, but shorter, only about 5" long. They come as a pair in a beautiful velvet-lined cedar box worthy of much pricier microphones. A pair of standard mic clips is included; they are adequate for some situations but I purchased some of those rubber shock-mounted clips for better isolation when using for drum overheads, live concert recording, etc. It would be nice shockmounts were included, but I have to say the handling noise is very good to begin with.

My first application for these mics was to help a friend record his lovely Yamaha C7 piano. He has a pair of AKG 414 TLII mics, but he was having difficulty getting the sound he wanted for a particular track. We put the Avensons up, and without even changing the placement it sounded as if I was just standing in the room in front of the piano...natural, open harmonically balanced sound with clear imaging. After some tweaking of mic position (we backed them off a bit for a warmer sound), he declared the best recorded sound he'd ever gotten out of his instrument.

The next usage was for various acoustic guitar and mandolin overdubs. I found the omni pattern to be great for a second mic, in addition to my cardiod AT4033 or Studio Projects C3 in the standard 12" from neck-meets-body position. Because of the lack of proximity effect I could put the STO-2 mic very close to the soundboard and pick up some great sounds. A single Avenson by itself was sweet on mandolin.

My most recent application was drum kit overheads, jazz kit, recorded at 96K with the mics equally spaced over the kit pointing straight down. Fabulous detail from the cymbals, warm drum sounds, nice natural imaging. In the mix I ended up using mostly the Avenson overheads, with just a touch of K and Sn close mics and a front mic that was about 3 feet from top of kick drum facing the kit (the Studio Projects C3, cardiod pattern).

Stereo concert recordings in various indoor and outdoor venues have produced nice results, although at the distance I was setup the imaging was not as pronounced as it might have been with a pair of cardioids.

I will probably buy another pair of these mics. I strongly recommend that anyone considering a pair of Earthworks look at these. I have not A/Bd them but I know that some who have prefer the Avensons and the price difference is substantial.