Aston Microphones Origin High-Performance Cardioid Condenser Microphone

The Aston Origin is a high-performance cardioid condenser microphone utilising a one inch (1") gold evaporated capsule. It's versatile enough to use with any instrument and, for singer-songwriters, excels on acoustic guitar and vocals. Its hand-selected capsule is paired with high-end transformerless circuitry using only the finest components.

The Origin is designed to deliver direct, smooth and intimate sound for a supremely natural and transparent recording.

Aston Origin
The Origin was our first design, the start of it all, and represents the fundamental essence of the Aston brand.

Beautiful, superb engineering, a sound to rival some of the very best mics in the world the Origin is the first mic ever made which brings this level of technical excellence and performance to the project studio market.

Origin vs Spirit - Sound distinction
The Origin is the cornerstone of the Aston brand, our first mic, and a global best seller. Simple, but incredibly well engineered, and perfect for everyone from budding singer-songwriters to seasoned industry pros. The Origin’s sound can be best described as ‘forgiving’ it doesn’t flatter to deceive but its ultra-smooth and pure sound, while rich with detail, will not overload with harmonics and leave you reaching for the EQ. It sounds, well, just like you do.

There is a lot of subjective talk about ‘this mic for this application the perfect vocal mic, the perfect instrument mic etc’ yes, sometimes that can be the case, but mostly this is just manufacturers trying to make the easy sale. Tell someone, ‘this is ideal for guitar recording’ and they’ll migrate to that product. The truth is somewhat different from the marketing hype. Most good condenser microphones will be equally at home on vocals and various instruments. This is especially true of both the Origin and Spirit, which find themselves on everything from vocals for the likes of Noel Gallagher and Kylie Minogue, to drums for Arcade Fire and Geoff Dugmore (Elton John, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen) and live guitar cab mics for Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

So more important is to go for a mic which gives you the sound that you want.

If you’re looking for a really, REALLY good all-rounder, which will make your playing, or your singing, sound incredibly natural and true and easy to manage in the mix, then the Origin is the mic for you.

The Spirit can be considered the ‘pro’ option, simply because it’s more revealing than most mics. It’s transformer based circuit gives oodles of headroom, which means more ‘air’ and ‘space’ to the sound, and an incredible amount of detail and harmonic content. It’s a big, expensive-sounding mic, that will allow you to get the very best results possible from any recording. A sports car of a mic it’ll give you fabulous results if you treat it with respect and give your best. Also a great all-rounder mic, and equally suited to recording pretty much any instrument, and getting a stunningly transparent vocal sound if you want one of the most professional sounds out there, Spirit is your mic.

Technical Specifications

Transducer Type
Condenser
Acoustic Operating Principle
Pressure Gradient
Directional Polar Pattern
Cardioid
Frequency Response
20Hz - 20kHz (+/-3dB)
Equivalent Noise Level
18dB A-Weighted
Sensitivity at 1kHz into 1kohm
23.7mV/Pa
Maximum SPL for THD 0.5%
127dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (rel. 94dB SPL)
76dB A-Weighted
Pad Switch
-10dB
Low-Cut Filter
80Hz
Product length
125 mm / 4.92 in
Product width
54 mm / 2.13 in
Product weight
450 g / 0.99 lb