Sontronics Mercury Variable Pattern Tube/Valve Condenser Microphone Sontronics

The Sontronics Mercury is a cardioid tube condenser mic with multiple variable polar patterns that offers stunning sound at a reasonable price.  

There’s nothing quite like a tube microphone for depth, dimension, and air in vocal recording. However, the truly good ones tend to be out of reach to all but a few-that is, until the Sontronics Mercury took the 2017 NAMM show by storm. The Sontronics Mercury is a variable multi-pattern tube condenser microphone that sits at the top of the Sontronics range, but still remains on the more affordable side of tube mics. In its first two reviews, it received two awards: a “10/10 Excellence” award from Music Tech Magazine and the Editor’s Choice award from Pro Tools Expert. It also won the “Highly Commended” award from Trusted Music Stores and is shortlisted for three other awards: MusicRadar’s Best In Tech awards, Sound On Sound magazine’s 2018 Gear Awards and Music Tech magazine’s Gear of the Year awards.

Sontronics Mercury-Just the Facts:

• Tube/valve condenser microphone
• Variable polar patterns
• Designed to sound stunning on whatever you’re working on
• Beta-tested with top producers and artists including Gary Barlow (Take That, Robbie Williams, X Factor UK)
• Hand-made in the UK
• Covered by a lifetime warranty

Sontronics Mercury-Behind the Grille

Sontronics Mercury features variable multiple pickup patterns that give you an infinite choice of polar patterns from omnidirectional to figure-of-eight and everything in between, controlled from the power supply. The mic also boasts a pad (0, -10dB) and low-cut filter (linear, 75Hz) controls, a professional power supply with medical-grade interference filter and boasts incredibly low self-noise for a valve microphone (less than 12dB A-weighted), making this a must-have mic for any studio serious about achieving the best quality results.

Almost three years in the making, Mercury was painstakingly designed by Sontronics’ founder Trevor Coley. Developed in cooperation with top artists and producers, as well as with the input of engineers at Abbey Road Studios, the Mercury is hand-built with only the finest quality components, most of which have less than 1% tolerance (unheard of for a microphone at this or any other price), and a hand-selected and tested, European-made ECC81/12AT7 vacuum tube, all of which result in absolutely impeccable results. Like all Sontronics microphones, Mercury is covered by a unique lifetime warranty.

Meet your maker

Says Sontronics’ designer and founder, Trevor Coley, “Mercury was almost three years in the making, and it truly represents the pinnacle of quality components and British engineering combined with our passion for making versatile, beautifully crafted microphones that don’t cost the earth. We’ve already had some amazing feedback from top artists who loved working with the prototype so much that they bought the real thing. Mercury is regularly being compared to vintage valve microphones that cost up to ten times the price. Every studio should have one!”

Sontronics Mercury applications

The Sontronics Mercury is a premium-quality valve/tube condenser microphone designed to sound stunning on whatever you’re recording, from solo instruments, percussion and vocals to ensemble and orchestral work, overhead and room miking, voiceover, and more. 

Recommended uses:

• Male and female vocals
• Voiceover
• Piano and strings
• Acoustic guitar and guitar amp
• Brass, woodwind, and ethnic instruments
• Drums and percussion
• Ensemble, choral, and orchestral
• Room and overhead miking

What the pros are saying about the Sontronics Mercury

“MERCURY is just stunning… it’s rich yet open-sounding, smooth yet detailed. It’s my first choice microphone every time. I love it so much, I need a pair!” –
James Ivey, producer-multi-instrumentalist (technical editor Pro Tools Expert)

“The MERCURY mic is by far the most outstanding microphone I have come across in my career! It boasts phenomenally low self noise and fantastic 
range of polar patterns, and it sounds amazing on my didgeridoo, Native American flutes and percussion” – Adam Riviere, multi-instrumentalist-composer-producer

“It’s Clarity and presence are so impressive.” – Jack Ruston, producer-engineer-mixer (Judas Priest).

“Mercury sounds absolutely stunning with a warm velvety sound and a shimmering air” – Marc JB, producer-remixer (Bimbo Jones) and reviewer (Music Tech magazine)

Mercury users:

• Gary Barlow (Take That, X Factor UK)
• Ed Shearmur, film composer (Charlie’s Angels, Miss Congeneality)
• Wolverhampton University
• Szkola Rocka, Warsaw (School of Rock)
• Andy Gray, composer-producer (Hunter, The Bourne Identity, Collateral)
• Marc ‘JB’ Burrows, producer-remixer (Lady Gaga, Pink, Ke$ha)
• Mark Owen, singer-songwriter (Take That)
• Kansas Smittys
• Location Recordings (James Ivey)
• Adam Riviere (composer)
• Woodbury Studios

If you’ve been holding out on adding a high-quality tube condenser to your mic locker, the price and performance of the Sontronics Mercury makes it a no-brainer. Order yours today. For more information, call or chat online with your PAD Studio Specialist.

Specifications

• Polar pattern: Sweepable from omni to figure-of-eight & everything in between
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Pad: 0, -10dB
• Filter: Linear, 75Hz
• Sensitivity: 18mV/Pa -33dB ±1.5dB
• (0dB = 1V/Pa @ 1,000Hz)
• Impedance: ≤200 Ohms
• Equivalent noise level: <12dB
• (A-weighted)
• Max SPL (for 0.5% THD @ 1kHz): 125dB
• Power: 115/230V
• *phantom power NOT required*
• Connector: 8-pin connector (mic),
• 3-pin XLR-M (power supply)
• Dimensions: 9-7/8″ x 3-1/2″ x 3-1/8″ (250 x 90 x 80mm)
• Weight: 5.1 lb. / 2317g (mic only)
• Comes with: Wooden box (for Mercury mic), shockmount, cables, power supply, aluminum flight case