Sabra-Som ST2 2 Mic Stereo Bar Reviews

The Sabra-Som ST2 Mic Stereo Bar is very adjustable and solid allowing one mic stand. The bar is solid feeling with metal threading to hold things tight. The picture looks bigger so when I opened the box I thought was going to be bigger but in all practicality it is the correct size for two mics.

I tried this based on some advice from my Sweetwater representative as I needed something along these lines. I have been able to make this work with small condensors, omni's, and even LDC's in an M-S, though I have not yet attempted a Blumlein arrangement.

One thing I would suggest about using this is to 'think'. That is, because the bar is not round, which is actually a very good thing, you have options as to the orientation (rotation) of each, as well as its translation (distance along the bar). Basically, this allows you to rotate the two stand-offs as required - and this sort of thing is indeed sometimes required if you are trying to align your mics in a specific fashion and are bound by constraints of the mics themselves - this is how I ended up finding a solution for the M-S arrangement with LDC's.

If I have one gripe it is that the locking screws on the back of each of the two units are small, making it difficult to get them really tight. However, this is really only an issue when using large, heavy LDC's and is not insurmountable...but like I said, you have to be willing to work to find a solution (and remember to secure them once your mics are set).

On the other hand, setting up an XY, ORTF or similar with small condensors really could not be any simpler.

Keep in mind that they make a slightly longer version of this (the bar itself is longer - I think the rest is identical) and if you are trying to use this with LDC's that would probably make life a little easier for you, but again, overall, I like the simplicity as well as flexibility - and best of all, it is inexpensive.

This is handy little device, and lets you quickly and easily set up a coincident mic pair. It's sturdy and reliable, and adjustable in all the important ways. The main bar is hexagonal, so it won't slip/rotate when the mics are not vertical, a nice touch. My only suggestion for improvement would be to make the (very small) set screws captive, so they cannot accidentally screw all the way out.

My main complaint so far is that I can't get a pair of SDCs to set horizontally straight in XY configuration. One microphone has to be angled slightly up, the other slightly down to get a true XY alignment. To be fair, this is a problem with other stereo bars I've owned in the past, and the angle isn't a dealbreaker. If you're super anal about such things, you probably wouldn't buy these in the first place. the other slight niggle is that the mounts are quite tall. I wouldn't mind the height if the extra height allowed the desired vertical/horizontal alignment, but the adjustment screws aren't long enough to accommodate that. Come to think of it, the plastic adjustment screws are tiny and look as though they could break easily if the bar gets dropped. I do have concerns about its durability. At least it looks pretty cool.

I have a pair of DPA 2006C's. They're very light and quite small, so they work really well with the stereo bar. I'm sure it would be problem with bigger microphones as this item is made entirely of plastic. I can imagine there would be some weight balancing issues. That's not the case for me however. So far I've have only used the Sabra-Som ST2 for field recording. My only complaint is the width of it. I need much more width to get a better stereo image when i'm using omnidirectional. Luckily I can modify this thing to get the width I need. Besides that, I absolutely love this thing. It's a must have for my field recording sessions.

Using this in my 26" Bonham Vistalite bass drum. I fabricated a mount for this stereo bar that allows me to adjust the two mic placement (one facing the batter head, one facing the front resonance head) without having to remove either head. And there is no port in either head. It's quite ingenious if I do say so myself. The bar it's self is ok, but not heavy duty. Made of plastic. Plus I had to invest in the mic clips.

I'm currently using this with a pair of Shure SM81's. Works alright, it's just that the mics are a little longer than some SDCs and, because of that, the stereo bar doesn't quite accommodate them in a true 90 degree x-y configuration. It took a bit of work to get them positioned for a good stereo take, but once I got it, I was very pleased with the result.

This bar does a great job. I wish it had some graduations or markings to help with exact placement and angles.

Good design but not sturdy enough for heavier condensers or ribbons.
Thought about returning it but will find it useful at some point though not for the use I intended.

I got these for my pair of Michael Joly MXL 603s. These are probably good for side address microphones. If I had a pair of Coles these would be great. I found it difficult though to stagger the heights enough for a proper ORTF or XY setup with my SDCs. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Probably works fine with small diaphragm mics but it was no match for 2 NT 2000's. There's no way to balance or configure the mics on the bar to stably support the weight. I might find some use for it with different gear but for now it'll sit in the drawer.

This is a piece of junk. I would recommend you buy something else. This broke the first time I used it. Very poorly made.

I was hoping to find a way to mount two booms on one stand. This isn't it. The hex rod is steel along with the pieces with threads. The rest is plastic and flexes. If you need it to hold a couple of small mics this may work, heavier mics, get something else.