Aston Starlight — Laser-Targeted Small-Diaphragm Condenser

The Aston Starlight is the world's first laser-targeted pencil condenser — a small-diaphragm cardioid microphone with a built-in class 2 laser that lets engineers recall exact mic placement from session to session. UK-designed, voiced by a panel of 70 top producers in double-blind listening tests, and built for instrument capture where placement is the difference between a great take and a usable one.

Capsule and Targeting

A 20 mm gold-sputtered cardioid capsule sits behind a sintered metal head with optimised acoustic porosity for durability and clarity. The integrated phantom-powered class 2 laser aims at the source — point, mark the position on a guitar body or drum shell, and recover the exact same placement at any subsequent session. The laser indicates aim, not distance, so engineers still control proximity.

Three Switchable Voicings

Vintage, Modern, and Hybrid voice modes on the mic body let the engineer dial tone at the source — Vintage for a softer top end suited to ribbon-style placement, Modern for a contemporary lift, Hybrid for the middle ground. Each voicing is a discrete analogue signal path, not a DSP curve.

Specification Highlights

• 20 mm cardioid condenser capsule
• Three voice modes: Vintage, Modern, Hybrid
• Integrated class 2 laser targeting
• Sintered metal head; 1.5 mm stainless steel chassis
• Pad: 0 dB / -10 dB / -20 dB
• Low cut: 80 Hz / 140 Hz
• Requires 48 V phantom power

In the Studio

Acoustic guitar (where placement decides everything), drum overheads, hi-hat, piano, classical guitar, mandolin, percussion, and any source where session-to-session placement recall matters. The mic engineers reach for when the overdub needs to land in exactly the same spot a week later.