My most recent microphone purchase was a pair of Sontronics STC-1 small condenser microphones, primarily as an upgrade for some less expensive microphones I already owned. I did my homework before buying, and ultimately decided on the STC-1 over other brands based on the technical data, although the lifetime warranty was a nice touch too.
Now, several months down the line I consider myself a Sontronics fan not only because of the great microphones, but also because of their really excellent customer service.
One of my mics developed a fault* last week and I emailed Sontronics directly to ask about about warranty repairs or returns. I got an immediate response from them, and because Sontronics is a small company they don’t have ranks and ranks of annoying technical support people that don’t care. My email response was from Lisa Coley, Director of Communications at Sontronics.
Lisa was super helpful and explained that warranty repairs/returns normally go via the retailer (in this case, the venerable StudioSpares.com) but that they were happy for me to return the mics directly to them. Yes, mics. Only one was faulty, but Lisa offered to check over both mics to make sure they weren’t suffering from the same fault, and to make sure they were still a matched pair after being repaired.
Trevor Coley, who designs the Sontronics mics, personally repaired and tested my microphones and throughout the process, I was kept up-to-date by text and email. At every turn, Sontronics have been helpful and accommodating. You don’t get fobbed off, put on hold or delayed. I suspect the customer care at larger microphone manufacturers is not so good.
To anyone considering buying a microphone, I strongly recommend Sontronics for your next purchase!
* Or possibly had it from new and I never noticed, because the fault is only triggered when you use the attenuation switch, which I rarely do
Jonathan Gazeley 