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The Aston Sound

A microphone is not just a functional tool. It is a musical instrument, and the very heart of every recording you will ever make.

So, when we set about developing a new microphone brand, it was critically important to us that our final ‘sound’ was something which would not only ‘do the job’, but which would also inspire the confidence of the artist, the producer or the engineer, to get the very best performances possible.

Right from the start of ‘project Aston’, we worked with a group of top audio professionals, creating a unique sound development panel to be our ears, while we focussed on perfecting every tiny detail in these crafted works of arts, to finally produce what we believe to be the very best products in their class.

How did we do it?

At each stage of product development we conducted double blind listening tests with our test panel... we call them the Aston 33 after the original panel which was made up of 33 of the top producers, engineers, FOH guys and artists in the UK.

Each capsule was chosen, by a process of elimination from 100’s of designs, in listening tests designed to show differences between market leading mics in each price sector. With Origin and Spirit we tested with both male and female vocalists, percussion and acoustic guitars. With Starlight we extended the original panel of 33 to more than 70 top flight producers, artists and engineers, and used a variety of instrument sources, including drums, guitars and even vocals.

In the final tests to choose the capsule and tuning used in each Aston microphone, the panel graded the recordings of 5 different variants from 1-5, with 1 being the best, for both male and female vocal takes, and acoustic guitars. In order to reduce variables, the capsules were each connected to an identical PCB and chassis, so that ONLY the difference in the capsule were being listened to. We did a similar process in reverse for the PCB, using identical capsules and variants of our PCB designs to refine the sound.

The final panel vote for both the Aston ‘Origin’ cardioid condenser microphone, and the Aston ‘Spirit’ multi-pattern condenser mic, was absolutely clear on the winners… and the result… Mics which have consistently been described as some of the best sounding microphones you can buy, not only at these price points, but well beyond them.

Starlight presented a unique, and unforeseen, insight into the use of SDC’s (Small Diaphragm Condensers), because the Aston 33 panel was absolutely split in terms of preferred sound. Half the group loved vintage sounding mics and hated more modern, bright sounding mics.. and the other half, the exact opposite. So, we took the preferred choices from both groups and gave you both options on the mic… now, with its all-analogue, active filtered front end, the Starlight is the first ever SDC mic to offer multiple circuit path voicing options on board.

Aston Microphones. Designed by British engineers, the sound developed by the best ears in the business, and then made in the UK… a pretty cool combination.

Special Thanks

Thank you so much to the Aston 33 panel for their ongoing support in helping us to develop our products. Without your help this brand might have been just another ordinary mic company, but with you… it’s one of the very best!