Aston Microphones Origin Reviews

Great for the price

firm, durable and strong mic. I love the sound personally too bad the shock mount is so hard to find, recommend this one highly

Nice mic for its price

I think i am kinda in love with that microphone ...

Very kind and warm sound,simple but great design.

I have an rode nt1 and i think this microphone beats!!!!!

really good mic for a great price

I use this microphone to record my covers in my home studio. It's the first microphone I've ever used, but I'm quite happy with my choice. The recording quality is really good.

Aston Mics ROCK

Bought this as a go to large diaphragm for vocals, room mics, lo-fi overhead. What can I say it does the lot. Sturdy construction, although not indestructible it would take a decent amount of effort to cause it serious harm.

Downsides are the cradle costs a pretty penny, and my generic no name ones don't quite fit it well with its wide design, however you dont NEED a cradle as it has a direct mounting point.

Brilliant mic for a great price!

This mic will surely stand out, not only with its great looks, but the sound and quality is something to point out here. This mic simply sounds great with vocals and instruments. Get one while they’re still handmade in the UK!

Very good quality for its price

A relatively cheap microphone with great, clear sound! I have a very loud voice and with the right settings this microphone could handle it really good, without hearing distortions. Used it for recording a few times, I´m really satisfied with it so far!

Great microphone for vocals and instruments!

Sounds brilliant, not just for vocals, rugged, looks amazing, good price!

Pros: Works great on vocals and instruments: I've recorded male vocals, trombone, and acoustic guitar and they all sound excellent. Incredible quality for the price, it feels like it's built to last.

Cons: Not really a con as I haven't seen another microphone with an inbuilt pop filter, but I would say requires an external pop filter if you're going to be recording lots of vocals.

This is a game changer

I recently bought it and I surprised when I record out my metal sound.

High end, low end and mid's are really impressive, I definitely recommend.

Best buy ever!! the only reason i wouldnt buy it is to buy the aston spirit just for the extra features.

Surprisingly good

I bough two and I use them as close drum overheads instead of previously used AKG 214 or AKG 451 which I both considered very useful. This mic is very good indeed. Sounds very analogue and "vintage" - it reminds me the sound of a mike that has already been recorded on magnetic tape. Requires quality preamp though.

(Added X 2020) Meanwhile I bought another two Origins to another studio. It turns out that it does not "cooperate" with some preamps !! When connected to Focusrite Liquid4Pre it created quiet tone with a lot of noise. Apparently an impendance issue but on a scale that I haven't seen before. It sounds well with Joemeek TwinQ, Focusrite Isa though.

Amazed of the sound at this price point !

I am still floored how great this mic is. Natural and lifelike. used for acoustic instruments it reproduces nuances perfectly !!

Noise floor with a good preamp is extremely low even at high gain!

Very Surprised

When I picked up this mic I had little to no experience with aston microphones, I had seen one used in a live context and it blew me away, I used this initially in the studio as a kick mic and in home recording with guitar amps and I was really satisfied with the weight and presence this mic had. I have also used it live in singer-songwriter environments and as a mono overhead for live drums in small venues and loved it. Given the design of the inner foam and it's casing the mic is definitely more suited to studio work. I will continue to use this mic and explore other options by Aston after using the Origin.

One of the best at its price but...

I got one of these back in 2015 and a second one this year.

We use them for 2 purposes: one is singing (soprano) and the other is ASMR.

From a sound standpoint, this microphone delivers. I like its neutrality and the fact I can EQ the recording in whichever way I please while maintaining the naturalness of the original source.

The -10db and bass roll-off switches are good to have too, just in case you need them. The filter is a pretty big deal as well.

I have been in LOVE with this until I started to do ASMR. Love it or hate it, ASMR is a good way to prove stereo pairing and sensitivity. Unfortunately, it's just here where the Origin fell a bit short.

Not only the 2019 one has a different feel from the previous (warmer sound and louder), but both have pretty high self noise levels which won't be noticed when singing, but are definitely a hindering when it comes to ASMR, especially if gain levels won't be the same due to poor pairing, making the noise much louder on one side.

Too bad because the sound clarity itself is spectacular for ASMR.

Summary:

If you're on a budget and need to record good vocals and instruments, look no further.

If you're an aspiring ASMRtist, there will be better options at a similar price range.

An incredible microphone for this price

If you are looking for a very good voice/cardioid microphone just don't hesitate it is a go-to microphone.

I have been used to 900¤ Shure microphones, and I must say it is pretty impressive quality for this price (less than 300eur).

If you are looking for a cardioid / omni / 8-fig go with the aston spirit

Big Microphone

The microphone is just great !!! Recommend as price - quality.

I recorded with male and female vocals, in which I showed myself very cool!

But I recommend to use the pop filter and suspension!

Great for vocal and guitar. Natural sound without warm colouring. You can hear every nuance. Small size.

Great Value Mic

This thing sounds great. I use it for vocals and acoustic guitars. It sounds consistently excellent, with great detail.

highly recommended. very glad that i bought one.

NOT comparable with the Bigger brother

I both bought the Spirit and this smaller unit here. I phantom powered them with a Vovox unshielded premium cable and first thing I noticed that this one is not capable of suppressing the hum introduced by an unshielded cable (whereas the bigger one greatly does). Obviously, with a normal XLR this problem doesn't apply.

Secondly, This unit's noise fairly low but a bit too crispy on the very high spectrum, where the bigger brother has instead a really low, browny noise, basically inaudible while you record your signal, you can always hear it on this unit here instead.

Last, sound quality is really OK but... there's no comparison with bigger brother Spirit: at 100 more bucks, you get a wider and natural sound, with great Neumann-like dynamics and spectrum clarity, things that you're not gonna find on this mangled little brother.

My advice: bank on the Spirit, it really does worth the price, more than this unit would possibly ever do.

Believe the hype

A fantastic mic that far exceeds the quality you would expect from its price. For vocals, acoustic guitar, as a room mic and even on guitar and bass cabs, I've been impressed by the results it produces every time I've used it.