This amazing looking microphone has been designed and developed here in the UK and bears all the trademark style of Sontronics’ founder and mic designer, Trevor Coley. “As a guitarist myself, I’ve always longed for something more interesting than a regular handheld dynamic to put in front of my guitar amp,” Coley confides, “and the popularity of our radical looking SATURN mic made me think I could do the same for guitarists.”

The HALO is based on the technology found inside Sontronics’ STC-80 handheld dynamic mic, which gives great results on guitar amps and cabs as well as the vocals it was originally designed to handle. HALO also gives all the bite, crunch and power that you want from a guitar amp but without needing to touch the EQ, and the springs built into the clever circular design mean the capsule is isolated from stage or floor vibrations.

“Since launching the STC-80 a couple of years back, it’s become a best seller for us,” says Coley, “and users tell us all the time that it sounds amazing on guitar amps, both live and in the studio. So we’ve taken the dynamic capsule from the STC-80, tweaked it a little bit and added a bit of design flair to create a microphone that guitarists won’t want to live without!”

Sontronics HALO is sure to become a favourite with recording guitarists everywhere, especially as the price is less than the RRP originally planned, making it just a few pounds/euros/yen more than the more ordinary looking mics usually chosen for guitar amps. “As we were working on the final stages of production,” adds Coley, “we realised that we didn’t want HALO to be one of those mics that people drool over and then realise they can’t afford.