Aston Origin - The Birth of a Brand - Part 2

Smooth operator

In part one we looked at the birth of the Origin, and with it the Aston Microphones brand; the return to the fundamentals of microphone design and manufacture and the direct involvement of the audio industry’s elite in voicing the mic to be not only best in its class, but capable of giving far more expensive mics a run for their money.

So what are the unique features which made Aston’s first offering such a game-changer, and how come a mic priced for the home studio is being used in some of the world’s most exclusive professional recording facilities and out of preference by top engineers, producers and artists with access to pretty much any mics they choose?

For the technically minded, the Aston Origin is a high-performance cardioid large diaphragm condenser microphone featuring a 1″ gold evaporated, hand-selected capsule, which is paired with high-end transformerless circuitry using only the finest components.

The sound is warm, smooth, forgiving and provides audio which sits comfortably in the mix with minimal processing. The Origin is used extensively for vocals, for guitars and other acoustic instruments and is also finding favour with engineers for mic’ing high decibel sources such as drums and guitar cabinets.

Form follows function

Before even plugging the mic in, the Origin stands out from the crowd, a result of the Aston team’s stubborn refusal to accept any preconceived ideas of how a mic should be built. Take the chassis; mics tend to have powder coated chassis, which looks lovely on day one but soon scratches and shows up finger marks. Origin’s solid stainless steel chassis is tumbled for up to four hours resulting in a beautiful, distinctive and near-indestructible finish.

Most other mics have a steel mesh head, which dents easily ad actually provides relatively poor protection to the fragile capsule inside. Aston’s answer was the now-signature wave-form spring head which, aside from looking fantastic, provides unprecedented protection. It is designed to distort on any impact but can be returned to its original shape in seconds, unmarked.

Built-in to the revolutionary new head is another Aston first, a mesh-knit pop filter whose unique random weave allows sound to pass whilst significantly reducing plosives. An extra benefit is that the mesh also provides effective shielding against multiple wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, helping eliminate interference.

Eco Warrior

The internal shock mount system of the Origin is so effective the mic can be mounted directly to a mic stand, via its custom end-cap, or even hand-held, with negligible handling noise. Even the packaging of the Origin was thought-through from ground-up to be functional, re-usable and recyclable.

None of these innovations would have been worthwhile if the Aston Origin hadn’t sounded seriously good. But all of the savings made from efficient design, manufacture and choice of materials went into ensuring it does. Now professionals swear by it, and not just the members of the Aston 33 who helped develop the mic and refine its final voicing.

Find out more about the artists, engineers and producers who now count the Aston Origin amongst their favoured mics, and how the world’s media responded to this ground-breaking microphone.

Read part 3 here:
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/news-details/Aston-Origin-The-Birth-of-a-Brand-Part-3

Learn more about the Aston Origin:
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/Mics/Origin

Find your nearest Aston Microphones dealer:
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/dealers

Click to read The Birth of a Brand Part 1