Recording - May 2015 - 43

My wrong assumption at the time was
that since the ribbon is made to be pretty
darn near indestructible, let's get right up
on it! Luckily, I had plenty of time to try
and try again, and as I played with the
mics over time I learned that like many
classic ribbon designs, the Sandhill
6011A is a mic that needs its space, literally!
Moving it a foot back from a vocalist,
two feet off a violin or acoustic guitar, and
at even greater distances for drums, electric
guitar cabinet, and room duties, opened
the sound up. What a revelation-full and
lush in the lows, even toned in the mids,
and super smooth yet clean in the highs.
My favorite use of the 6011A is in a
Glyn Johns set up (see page 12) as the over
and side mics. In this setup, the 6011A
reminds me very much of Coles 4038 (see
our May 2014 issue) but with more lowend weight. Compared to an RCA/AEA
ribbon, the top end of the 6011A is a touch
more relaxed and less forward.
While I was not happy with the proximity buildup on up close vocals, there
are a number of sources where the
6011A excels nicely at short distances,
most notably snare and toms. I know most
of us are not in the habit of putting expensive fragile ribbons in close range with
furiously flying clubs of wood, but the
Sandhills are built very tough and they

sound fantastic in this arena. They fatten
up a thin snare easily while still sounding
quite natural; as a floor tom mic, the
6011A's low-end boom must be heard to
be believed. It's also a great kick and

any figure-8 mic, when used on kick drum
you will get lots of room sound from the
rear unless you set up baffling or tunneling.
The rectangular shape of the 6011A
also makes it very easy to position for
stereo use in a Blumlein setup, making it a
great choice for string trios and quartets,
choir vocals, and general room duties.
After two years...
The 6011A is not a cheap mic, not in
build, sound, or price. It is a quality piece
that will last a lifetime and more, and
sound great doing so.
While it took me time to learn the
6011A's unique voicing, it has since found
very steady use in my workflow. While I am
happy that Sandhill has secured US distribution at last, I am saddened that I will soon
need to send these mics back. I am further
saddened at the thought that careless or
hasty engineers will audition them, mutter
"Too dark", and not give them a fair
chance. Take it from someone who got to
live with them for two years... the 6011A is
well worth getting used to.

bass cabinet mic, but I again preferred a
touch of distance, because it can actually
get too thick-sounding.
The 6011A has a nice sharp off-axis
rejection, so you can easily position it to
lessen hi-hat or ride bleed on snare. As with

Price: $3650
More from: Sandhill, www.sandhill
audio.com. Distributed in North and
South America by Network Pro
Marketing, www.networkpromktg.com.
http://www.sandhillaudio.com http://www.sandhillaudio.com http://www.networkpromktg.com http://www.isoacoustics.com http://www.isoacoustics.com
Recording - May 2015

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