Has Studio Projects lost it's edge?

[wheelema]

When I first joined up Studio Projects was all the rage, everyone raving about the C1. Then the B1 and T1 came out. Everyone's tounge was waging, and raving, over the sound. Allan was frequently hanging out, Harvey would weigh in, it was an interesting time. Studio Projects introduced their preamp.

As the frenzy reached a crescendo Alan announced, around the time of his untimely death, the Stephen Paul microphone... a radical advance of mic technology.

Now... the silence appears deafening. The Studio Projects mics have subsided into the sea of mediocrity. The Stephen Paul mic has proven to be classic vaporware. No excitement, no controversy, nada, squat. There is no innovation, no new products. It's like everyone over there got tired and left for new ventures.

It's a shame.

 

[TimOBrien]

In this world, EVERYTHING is cyclic.

That's why us older folk laugh at the kids with "fresh new concepts" like bell-bottoms, etc.

Stick around for awhile and you'll see EVERYTHING come back 'round again.....

 

[Gidge]

In this world, EVERYTHING is cyclic.

That's why us older folk laugh at the kids with "fresh new concepts" like bell-bottoms, etc.

Stick around for awhile and you'll see EVERYTHING come back 'round again.....

SP mics are not in the "sea of medicrity".....they still have some kickass mics......

when i first started coming around here, the only option for an inexpensive LDC was the old Rode NT1.....

as time goes by, more and more companies will offer mics to us bottom feeders as they see how lucritive it is......

i think Studio Projects will always stay in the front because of customer service.....as much as i hate Alan's marketing tactics on BBS's, he is a nice guy underneath and seems to run a good show......

 

[noisedude]

They were one of the first budget mic manufacturers to design their own mics and have them built rather than going for the off-the-peg OEM stuff that Rode, MXL, the then Joemeek, Beyer, Stagg, t-Bone, ADK, etc etc were selling at the time.

Alan obviously has/had a knack for creating interest through forums ... this place was certainly more 'colourful' for it.

You had people like Harvey Gerst, Ted Perlman and others raving about the mics, and there was the rather unfortunate business with the U87 comparisons which must have helped generate sales.

It would be extremely difficult for ANY mic maker to create a buzz like that now ... Peluso and others have since appeared and received rave reviews, but they aren't the 'OMG look what you can get for your money, you cannot be without' reviews that SP had a couple of years ago.

From PMI's point of view, long since the original buzz here they now sell tens of thousands of SP mics in Europe, especially (I guess) through Thomann, and of course they have since been concentrating more on designing and marketing the new Joemeek and Toft stuff and are only now releasing new SP models and revisions. I know for a fact that they are extremely happy with how business has gone for them without actually making massive expansions in terms of their own staffing (you can still ring up and speak to Alan, Justin or Brent if you need to).

Yes, the competition has caught up and it will be interesting to see how the new products sit in what is an even more competitive marketplace than before. But the real truth of the budget mic market now is that pretty much any LDC you buy will do you a job, and there isn't a huge amount to choose between a hundred different mics.

 

[sdelsolray]

SP has been quite busy. There's the updated mic line coming out, and in recent times there's been the release of the Joe Meek stuff and the Toft gear, including the console/mixer project. The Stephen Paul mic does seem to be very late, given that preorders were accepted perhaps 2 years ago. SP says the mic is still forthcoming.

In the past several years, significant competition has appeared, some from bigger companies. SP, ADK, MXL, Nady, SE, Cascade, among others, have provided numerous products, mostly budget items but some mid and high level gear, that have helped thousands upon thousands of musicians, home recordists and newbie and professional engineers alike.

In answer to your question, though, the reason you don't see SP here much anymore is that DJL was banned and they don't need to post every other day to tackle such a poster.

 

[zacanger]

In this world, EVERYTHING is cyclic.

That's why us older folk laugh at the kids with "fresh new concepts" like bell-bottoms, etc.

Stick around for awhile and you'll see EVERYTHING come back 'round again.....

I believe they call them "flared" instead of bell-bottoms. Or something.

 

[ItzCashew]

Everything has it ups and downs...

 

[mrface2112]

SP has been quite busy.

yep, the meek and toft stuff has indeed kept them busy. besides, it's not like SP has gone anywhere. their products are carried by full compass and AMS (among others)--not exactly out of the public eye.

what you're seeing is a lack of hype on the forums. it's simple--hype always surrounds new products.....without anything new, there's nothing to hype.

i'm sure we'll see plenty of hype when this new toft mixer comes out.


cheers,
wade

 

[TragikRemix]

i think SP makes some nice stuff still. the T3 is an excellent mic, especially at that price, what around $500 or so?

Røde also makes some nice stuff, i often think that have the same developers.

the 'hype' is kinda quiet nowadays, what is it, 3rd quarter in the production world?

 

[TragikRemix]

I believe they call them "flared" instead of bell-bottoms. Or something.

boot cut.

would you believe friggin kids these days! paying $75+ for a pair of RIPPED jeans!

why, back in my day....

actually, i buy all my clothes at the major stores- but on the sale racks

shit, i take the money i save and buy equiptment

 

[Gidge]

They were one of the first budget mic manufacturers to design their own mics and have them built rather than going for the off-the-peg OEM stuff that Rode, MXL, the then Joemeek, Beyer, Stagg, t-Bone, ADK, etc etc were selling at the time.

MXL wasnt "off-the-peg OEM" when Studio Projects came out......Alan made the comment several times back in 2001 here that the v67 was an "off the shelf" model and Harvey had to correct him SEVERAL times......

 

[ausrock]

You can almost exclude RODE from that list as well.

From memory, it was only their early "base" models that were suspected of being "off the shelf" (at a premium price), although they did continue to use Chinese manufacturing for their mics up until more recent times. What RODE were first (and excelled) at, was marketing Asian made products while managing to let the market think they were buying all Aust., made. . It was Alan's up front disclosure of SP's manufacturing sources, more than anything else, that intially made me an SP fan.

Re the Stephen Paul mic..............everything about that mic has had to be made to Stephen's ridiculously exacting tolerances, most of this has been, by necessity, in the hands of Stephen's associate, Tony. Alan can't do much until Tony gives everything the all clear and last I heard, that is pretty much what is delaying things.

 

[diverdavid]

WHAT DO BELL BOTTOMS HAVE TO DO WITH MICROPHONES?

 

[PinkNoise]

I am confused!

"Alan announced, around the time of his untimely death . . ."

But wait - - -

"you can still ring up and speak to Alan"

There are phones in the hereafter ? ? ?

 

[tdukex]

But wait - - -


There are phones in the hereafter ? ? ?

Stephen Paul is the person, after a long illness, who passed away.

 

[EDAN]

Peluso and others have since appeared and received rave reviews, but they aren't the 'OMG look what you can get for your money, you cannot be without' reviews that SP had a couple of years ago.

The Peluso mics I know of are not at all cheap mics so the "OMG" factor doesn't factor in to a $1,200+ mic. A mic in that price range should sound great.

 

[EDAN]

The C-1 was all the rage and it doesn't matter if it was/is a great mic or not because after awhile people just love to knock you off the top of the mountain, we're fickle like that. It should be noted that I've rarely seen anyone bash the B-1, most seem to agree it's still a great mic at a great price. I own a C-1, B-1 and B-3 and love them all. I own some higher end mics as well, but still more often reach for one of the SP's.

 

[noisedude]

MXL wasnt "off-the-peg OEM" when Studio Projects came out......Alan made the comment several times back in 2001 here that the v67 was an "off the shelf" model and Harvey had to correct him SEVERAL times......

Well I guess they must've been doing something right because Alan thought they were good enough to poach Brent Casey from them ....

 

[noisedude]

You can almost exclude RODE from that list as well.

From memory, it was only their early "base" models that were suspected of being "off the shelf" (at a premium price), although they did continue to use Chinese manufacturing for their mics up until more recent times. What RODE were first (and excelled) at, was marketing Asian made products while managing to let the market think they were buying all Aust., made. . It was Alan's up front disclosure of SP's manufacturing sources, more than anything else, that intially made me an SP fan.

Re the Stephen Paul mic..............everything about that mic has had to be made to Stephen's ridiculously exacting tolerances, most of this has been, by necessity, in the hands of Stephen's associate, Tony. Alan can't do much until Tony gives everything the all clear and last I heard, that is pretty much what is delaying things.

I can show you half a dozen distributors who are still selling the OEM model that Rode used for their original NT2 into the UK's retailers under different brand names. Obviously things have changed since then but that's a whole other story!

I forgot to put SE Electronics on that list of OEM users too.

As for the Stephen Paul mic ... well that is far out of the hands of anyone at PMI.

 

[noisedude]

The Peluso mics I know of are not at all cheap mics so the "OMG" factor doesn't factor in to a $1,200+ mic. A mic in that price range should sound great.

They've traded up since they first started getting a buzz around here then - their SDCs were just a few quid more than the SP C4s, Rode NT5s, etc etc and everyone who tried them loved them. But like I say, I don't think it'll be possible for one brand to stir up so much hype so consistently (although Mshilarious is trying, bless him).