We received our SB-30 yesterday, and it's just what we hoped for. It seems to be solidly built, and operation is very simple. This bar is identified as intended for "Blumlein" usage, but since it is exactly 30 cm, it matches our desired application: NOS pair. (Actually, the bar is 30 cm, but the sliding mounts do not quite open up that far. Slightly angling out the mic clips for side address mics fixes this!)
For years, I have been aware of the NOS standard (30 cm spacing, 90 degrees between capsules, cardioid mics), but I never liked the center hole in the phantom image. Recently, using a much larger bar (since most small bars are not 30 cm long), we tried using wide cardioid mics in this configuration and we were very pleased with the results. We felt that the result was "better" and "more interesting" (subjective) than ORTF, but usable in a space where omnis reveal too many uninteresting acoustical characteristics.
This bar seems perfect in this application. Visibly, it's very low profile -- a plus -- but it's still solid. $25 is very reasonable, easily worth it since the bar is of good quality. Thanks, DIYRE!
