MusicRadar Verdict

We'd have no problem recommending this as an ideal inexpensive all-rounder.

Pros

+
Price; build quality; pleasant sounds.

Cons

-
Not much.

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In a crowded microphone market it can be hard for a new, multi-pattern studio condenser to find a place.

But after trying it out we hope that the STC-3D breaks through. It's a well priced, well built, styled in a pleasingly chubby metal shell and bearing an endorsement from top French engineer Ludovic Lanen.

The STC-3D is remarkably full featured, with two capsules, allowing omni, cardioid and figure-of-eight with switchable pad and low filter too. Tests of vocals and electric guitar produced pleasingly warm and predictable results.

Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest entertainment, tech and home brands in the world. He's interviewed countless big names, and covered countless new releases in the fields of music, videogames, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors and garden design. He’s the ex-Editor of Future Music and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Computer Music and more. He renovates property and writes for MusicRadar.com.

Matteo Mancuso wears a white T-shirt and plays his Yamaha Revstar in Tobacco Burst live onstage during a soundcheck before his festival appearance at at Casa del Jazz, Rome.

“Imagine not knowing Eric Johnson, Vai and Satriani and seeing this for the first time? It literally blows your mind”: Matteo Mancuso – 10 albums that changed my life