Blown away. Twice.
In the studio I try to avoid live tracking like the plague. I normally guide a guitar, bass and vocal to concentrate on drum takes and then dub over those. I find it still captures the feel I want but gives me much more control for mix downs. The last thing I ever do is vocals. I track through an early 80s vintage Soundcraft 6000 console – I love the pres on that desk. Then it’s into Apogee Symphony converters and finally my DAW. I primarily work in Pro tools. For final mixes I print to 2” on a Stüder B68 tape.
I’ve worked in Universal studios, Nashville, and that place has a mic locker to die for so when I first tried out the Aston Spirit and Origin I was literally blown away. My favourite mic is a vintage Telefunken C12 so to swap that out for a Spirit was crazy talk, but it held its own and some. So now my go-to mic for vocals is the Spirit 99% of the time. (The trusty '58 still has its place 1% of the time.)
The Spirit is also exceptional on double bass. I found that, pointed at the bridge and slightly tilted forward, it puts a warmth in that I’d expect from a large diaphragm, yet it still captures the fingerboard slides and clacks. On acoustic guitar I tend to stay with just a single Spirit on the 12th fret.
My Starlights live as drum overheads. For years I always used C12 capped 414s until I got the Starlights. The voicing switch is a stroke of genius. My first experience was in Vintage mode recording a beautiful ’58 round badge. 'Blown away' doesn’t come close. It was literally everything I’d want from my overheads. I’ve yet to find a source my Astons haven’t excelled at.
My studio has great acoustic treatment but the Aston Halo is always on the stand. It’s a marvel, it really is. Knowing Astons are British made gives me a confidence of complete reliability.