sandhill Users
Award-winning engineer/producer Chuck Ainlay is based out of Nashville, TN, USA, and has worked on hundreds of chart topping albums as Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer and/or Producer.
"Sandhill ribbon mics are beautifully made, rugged microphones that defy your conception of what a ribbon mic is capable of doing. Try them on everything and you’ll love it"
photographer, Emma Lee
Chuck Ainlay
photographer, Jari Rantakaulio
Antti Snellman
Musiikkiäänittäjä / Music Engineer
Yle Tuotanto / Radion Ulkotuotanto / Radio OB
We have been using those marvelous Sandhill microphones as long as they have existed. It’s very robust, You simply cannot break it. At the same time it looks very convincing, so it’s easy to recommend them to musicians for example during festivals, when bands come to check what kind of microphones are available. And the new adapter with the ball joint for flexible and fast positioning is ingenious.
It runs with phantom-power, so you don’t accidentally kill it with 48V. In a way it’s very sensitive, but at the same time there is not too much leakage in live situations. It has a nice figure of eight, so with precise placement it is also easy to reduce unwanted noises. It as well sounds awesome, which is absolutely the main point when we are talking about microphones.
Killer on double bass, but extremely good in front of saxophones, we also use them in front of other brass players at the Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Helsinki Music Center...or as overheads and so on and on…
photographer, Eric Weichrauch
Kimmo Ahola
AMS Oy, Nightwish FOH engineer
info@ams.fi
Heres the short introduction of Kimmo's tour setup of Nightwish from Human Nature Tour 2022.
photographer, Teemu Oksanen
Timo Virtanen
CEO
Soundon
Soundon is a Finnish company specialized in delivering comprehensive concert recording and broadcast services to the music and television industries. We do everything from live broadcasting to post production.
Soundon operates the broadcasting work from two sound trucks equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. I personally focus on sound design, recording, and mixing. Our work is seen by millions of viewers.
We have been using Sandhill microphones right from the get go. We tried a set of eleven Sandhill 6011As on our first production in 2017 on a TV-show called SuomiLOVE by a Finnish Broadcasting Company.
We were very impressed and acquired a pair of 6019As in 2018. In 2019 we got an another pair.
Based on six years of working with the Sandhills the most important factor in these microphones is their versatility. The warmth and openness in their tone impressed us straight away. One of the first things that initially stood out in these microphones was that they were able to pick up the lows in a very articulate way in drum overhead use.
One good example of the versatility is that the Sandhills ended up being used as the main stereo pair of Tampere Philharmonic orchestra when Steve Vai was recording an album with them in 2022. Generally, we have used them on drums, percussion, or horns. As an ambient mic for the audience they are insanely good! They have also been used on xylophone, double bass and guitars with great success. They are very accurate in their directivity and we have often used this feature to our advantage with big orchestras.
From my perspective Sandhill microphones save us time. The tone is ready enough so that it needs very little post production. And when processed, the sound behaves nicely without nasty surprises. Obviously we require our microphones to be robust and of highest quality and this is also where the Sandhill shines.
We have used them on hundreds of productions and they are always in use when there is a band included. We’ve used them on Voice of Finland, Dancing with the Stars, SuomiLOVE, Elämäni Biisi to name a few.
Sylvia is an internationally well known and extraordinarily experienced music producer and engineer.
"Delightfully anti-fussy, made for rough sessions. No mercy. I used the pair [of 6019As] for wide OHs on Taylor Hawkins drum tracking and they sparkled while Taylor roared!"
Sylvia is the the unpredictable producer and engineer known for her work with Tool, Johnny Cash, Prince, Tom Petty and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; And also one of the owners of the largest vintage microphone collections in the world "The Microphone Treasury"
Sylvia Massy
Boris is a Czech musician, composer and record producer.
"As a real microphone freak, I own a lot of ribbon microphones. From RCA to EMI to Mellodium on the vintage side, from AEA to Royers on the contemporary side. I have to admit the Sandhills are the favorite ones. Not only because of their almost unbreakable non-fragility, but especially because of the sound . You can use them from a kick to opera singers, from electric guitar to acoustic guitar. They still the win in the shootouts. They have character and color, but what they are not is being woolly and dark."
Boris is the owner of the famous Prague based Soundevice Studio, one of the founders' of the plugin company United Plugins, and also owner of two Czech Grammies and one Czech Mercury Prize for his own music.
Rocco Guarino
Rocco Guarino is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, producer, engineer, and director.
In 2014 Rocco partnered with Scott Weiland (singer of 35-million selling grunge band Stone Temple Pilots) to transform Lavish Studios from a private space into a commercial facility, while serving as Chief Engineer and A&R for Softdrive Records. In January of 2019 Rocco was tapped by Rami Jaffee of Foo Fighters to serve as Chief Engineer/A&R of Fonogenic Studios.He is a songwriter signed to APM Music for publishing and licensing. Some of his placements include shows on NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, IFC, E!, Sky UK, ICI Canada, Hulu, and others.
Rocco is a voting member of The Recording Academy(The Grammys), and is on the Advisory Board of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School in NJ.
Kimmo is a Technical producer, G Livelab Helsinki, a live show sound engineer, and a mixing and recording engineer
"When natural and transparent sound is needed, Sandhill ribbon mics are my go-to solution. I use 6019A´s from guitar amp to bongo drum, brass instrument to double bass, grand piano to drums overhead to capture them with natural warmth and transients. Easy microphone placement with the ball joint adapter and no worries about breaking your precious mics, even on wildest rock show, is make them a real all-round tool."
Mikel F Krutzaga
Mikel is one of the most well known engineers/mixers in Spain.
"Sandhill 6011A is certainly a gem in my microphone collection. From the first time I listened through this microphone I totally fell in love. Nowadays, in the digital domain, ribbon microphones are a essential for any recording from pop-rock to classical music. The warm and precise definition of Sandhill microphones are, in my opinion, the best choice."
"I like to use a Sandhill microphone beside a condenser microphone. One has a fast transient signal and the other slow transient signal. The combination of them give me a lot of possibilities
Mikel f Krutzaga is a winner of a Latin Grammy and many other awards. Currently works in the Film and Videogame industries both in Europe and in Latin America.
Joshua is an English drummer and record producer; Running Roger Taylor's studio, engineering & co producing solo projects & Queen projects
“We have some fabulous vintage mics here so I wasn’t on the hunt for microphones. But when I was asked to try the Sandhill 6011A. I asked for a matched pair and I’ve been hooked ever since. The Sandhill 6011A is quite simply, a beautiful microphone”
He was the drummer of Roger Taylor's band The Cross and went on to co-produce all of Taylor's solo albums from 1992 on, played drums at Roger Taylor's solo concerts and works with Queen in the studio from 1992.
Joshua J Macrae
Singer-songwriter, musician and producer.
"The Sandhill 6011A is now a part of my full-time arsenal in the studio, I reach for it every session. The build quality is the best in the world. I have yet to hear a Ribbon with this much clarity and bandwidth. The fact that you can use it in front of loud sources may be the best feature of all. The way this mic performs on close micing an amp, guitar or bass, is completely stunning."
Glen Campell, Tom Petty, Leslie Stevens, Erykah Badu, Father John Misty, Dawes, Jackson Browne, Gerald Johnson, James Gadson, Chris Robinson, Andy Cabic, Johnathan Rice, Gary Louris, A Fine Frenzy, Roy Harper, Roger Waters
Mixing and recording engineer, producer. Studio Kekkonen
"I found the Sandhill 6011A to be not only a highly detailed and a beautiful sounding microphone, but also one that has a level of consistency and reliability in terms of sonics only found in some of the best microphones in the world. It quickly became my point of reference as "..and this is what it REALLY sounds like". It’s addictive. What I loved most about the Sandhill is that it’s a true no-nonsense workhorse. Works on virtually anything, can handle a blistering amount of SPL, reacts spectacularly well on any post-processing you can throw at it. It’s a beautiful piece of microphone design and a true diamond in any mic collection"
Vesa-Matti Loiri, Olavi Uusivirta, Emma Salokoski, Katri Helena, Matti Johannes Koivu,Topi Saha, Vilma Timonen Quartet.
Producer and composer.
"The Sandhill 6011A is one of the best ribbon mics I’ve ever used. A real all-around workhorse. For whatever I can think of using it, the results are inspiring and full of possibilities"
Jukka has worked with a number artists, such as Jenni Vartiainen, Anna Abreu, Anssi Kela, Mariska & Pahat Sudet and Margaret Berger. Immonen has also composed music for Finnish films and television. He received a Jussi Award for Best Score in a Dome Karukoski film, Tyttö sinä olet tähti (2005), and later worked with Karukoski again for his television series Veljet (2010). As a music producer, he received an Emma Award in 2010 for his work with Jenni Vartiainen, Mariska & Pahat Sudet, Anna Puu and Lemonator. Immonen is the co-writer of the Roberto Bellarosa song "Love Kills", Belgium's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.
Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, Finland
Musiikkitalo, located in the heart of Helsinki, is a concert venue.
In addition to the 1,704-seat Concert Hall, intended for acoustic music, there are also five smaller halls in the Musiikkitalo - Black Box, Camerata, Organo, Sonore, and the Rehearsal Hall Paavo - and the Klubi Restaurant, all of which have different acoustics and uses. During the season from September to May, Musiikkitalo hosts 70 to 100 concerts and other events every month. The concert calendar has something for everybody: classical, folk, jazz, and pop music.
YLE, Helsinki, Finland. National broadcast company of Finland
Aalto Studio, Aalto University Helsinki, Finland.
Aalto Studios is the newest piece of university wide infrastructure at Aalto University. They bring together designers, filmmakers, youtubers, game developers, communicators, performing artists, educators, angel investors, public-sector operators… anyone who has an interest in using and exploring media platforms for their studies and research.