Stephen Paul Audio Inc. was founded in 1984 by Stephen Paul, a well-known figure for years in the recording and record industries. When SPA was created, there were no other independent microphone restoration or modification shops in the entire world of any note.

Gotham Audio of New York, who had taken over the importation of Neumann microphones into the United States from Berlin sometime in 1957, and who, for thirty years, owned the Neumann trademark in the U.S., was still in charge of all official Neumann repairs. You could not buy a capsule, or any other microphone part for a Neumann. The microphone had to be sent to New York for repair by their facility, and if you had purchased the mike in Europe, say, and imported it yourself, they would confiscate the mike until a rather high 'licensing' fee was paid by the customer, legalizing its importation and making it eligible for repair.

Stephen Paul, in 1988, negotiated the first and only West Coast Official Neumann Warranty and Repair station agreement ever held by any company in the United States, in the entire history of the importation of Neumann microphones. For four years, until Gotham began to break up, finally culminating in the sale and subsequent takeover by Sennheiser GmbH of Neumann, Berlin and USA, SPA remained the only Neumann official independent service in the US.

SPA was visited twice over the years by Dr. Ing. Stephan Peus, (we jes' call 'im doc,) the head of microphone development at Neumann. Information during a certain period of time was freely exchanged directly by FAX between SPA and Neumann in Berlin, without any intervention from NY, or CT. So a long tradition of cooperation has existed between SPA and Neumann, including Stephen's interview of the son of the founder of Sennheiser, Jurg Sennheiser, for Mix magazine.

The laboratory at SPA is unique, not only having all the necessary tools to make parts for obsolete vintage microphones, but having an engineering dept., which has proven to be one of the most imitated in the world by manufacturers.

SPA also has a long history of developmental work on the Siemans and Halske backplates used by AKG in the C 12, ELAM 251E and original C 12a and 412 and 414 mikes. As well as on 451s and 452s, 460s, etc.

Stephen Paul Audio is still the most uniquely equipped custom microphone engineering lab in the entire world, providing restoration and upgrades for virtually every make and model of condenser microphone ever made. Stephen was also responsible for publishing the material which eventually resulted in the world-wide revolution now going on in the microphone world. This seminal series of articles penned by Stephen in a three part work was published in Mix Magazine, November 1989 through January 1990, and was entitled 'Vintage Microphones'. 'Vintage Microphones' (reprints are available through the lab…) has admittedly been the bible for many of the companies involved in this revolution.

But not only is SPA the only lab on earth where you can ask for and receive a microphone completely custom tailored to your budget and recording needs, it's also the still the first and only source for large-diaphragm capsules with diaphragm films as thin as 0.9 micron, which can achieve a plus 1.5dB response at 20kHz on axis from a 34mm capsule. (1.0 micron Mylar C installed in a Neumann U-67/87, for example… factory response -12 to-15 dB at 20kHz…) which, along with the amplifier and wiring changes made, is absolutely reliable, (field-tested for years in rental microphones, in which for example, eight 1.5 micron 251s were built by Stephen in 1985, and came in for their first check up in 1997! though we don't recommend this) and been proven in other places notoriously difficult on microphones, like the C 12VR Conversion to a 0.9u PEN film diaphragm on a wonderful mike we built for a studio in Manila, Philippines.

Proving now for a quarter of a century that SPA can make reliable ultra thin film capsules, which manufacturers for over twenty years, believed could not be used in such places.

Indeed, you will see in the list of 'Firsts' attributable to Stephen's work in the transducer field, the first three micron 34mm (commonly known as one-inch) capsule to ever be designed and produced, anywhere at any time.

Today, you will find that the three micron capsule is now in use by over twelve manufacturers, and are being slammed out in the orient, as a standard part that anybody can go in and order be used for their OEM, custom label, off the shelf Chinese mike variant.

Before Stephen first conceived and made the first large diaphragm three micron capsules, such a thing would have been, and indeed was, unthinkable. The operation of the capsule was a big mystery, (it still is to most of these manufacturers, don't let them kid you!) and deviating even in the slightest from the course which Neumann set in their version of the Von Branmuhl and Weber/Bore/S&H capsule in the 67, 47, and so on mikes, was not an option.

Until, that is, a crazy guitar player from New York originally, but a Californian since the age of twenty, decided while working at his last Audio Gig For Another, "Why not?" and SPA was born.

Stephen over the years has not only been a singing waiter at the American Food and Beverage Company, but also played with The Airplane, Seals and Crofts, and other Notorious Bands, engineered and produced artists as diverse as Ike Turner, Jay Ferguson, Solomon Burke, Air Supply, Chicago, Toto, Al Jarreau, and so on… He was Chief Engineer at Larrabee, Conway, Indigo Ranch and Davlen studios, and while he supervised, designed and installed the nests for various Tridents, Neves, and APIs, also at 29, he designed and supervised the installation of two historic SSLs, one of which was at Larrabee, which was the first 56 channel input mainframe SSL ever built, and the third SSL ever in the country.

He also designed and built the SSL installation at Davlen, which was the first 56 channel SSL with Total Recall. He had an album in medium rotation on national commercial radio in 1992, which made it into the top 100 grammy nominations, and was just getting ready to release his next work 'The Awakening', when he lost the use of his hands to arthritis.

He still performs and writes today, on a keyboard using his knuckles and his thumbs.

In his acknowledgements for the help and encouragement that Stephen has had over the years from both the deceased, and the Still Here, in his Audio Career, he would like to thank the following, both for their belief that though he was crazy, it was okay, and for helping make sure there is still a SPA today.