The Aston Microphones Origin is a unique-looking, high-performance large-diaphragm condenser mic with a 1" gold-evaporated capsule. The Origin's cardioid polar pattern, 10dB pad, and 80Hz highpass filter make this mic an all-around studio and stage workhorse. The Origin delivers a lovely, open sound with shimmering harmonics. Music Experience engineers have found the Origin to be accurate and versatile, excelling in most applications, especially on vocals and acoustic guitars. The build quality is outstanding: Aston has hand-selected the capsule and paired it with high-end transformerless, balanced circuitry employing top-drawer components. The Origin delivers a true and transparent-sounding rendition of the source, capturing treble detail without a trace of harshness. If you're after quality on a budget, Aston Microphones' Origin is highly recommended.

Wave-form mesh head with built-in pop filter

The Origin features Aston's signature wave-form mesh head which not only looks cool, but also provides rugged protection for the mic's internals. If subjected to a forceful ding, the shock-resistant wave-form grille allows the head of the mic to distort, then return to its normal position without damage. It also offers a measure of off-axis rejection, helping to diminish unwanted ambient sound. Built into the wave-form head is a mesh-knit pop filter that eliminates plosives in vocal performances. This single-piece mesh cage is made of stainless steel, so it's rustproof; you can even remove and wash it!

Unique chassis and end cap design

Did we mention how striking this mic looks? To achieve its hard-wearing, eye-catching finish, your Origin's chassis has been tumbled individually for up to four hours, with the engraving applied afterward. A custom-molded end cap with integrated XLR and built-in, interchangeable mic stand thread adapter is another unique aspect of the design. In light of the mic's superior onboard shock absorption, you can mount it directly to a mic stand - which also makes it easy to repair and maintain.

What Aston Says...

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.

The Aston Sound

Right from the start of ‘project Aston’, we engaged with some of the top audio professionals in the industry to create a development panel to be our ears, while we focussed on perfecting every tiny detail in our mics, to finally produce what we believe to be the very best products in their class.

Wave-From Spring Head

The Aston Origin has our signature wave-form spring head. This unique design not only looks great, but delivers an unprecedented degree of protection for the heart of your microphone, the capsule. The shock resistant wave-form design allows the head of the mic to distort if given a heavy knock, and then return to its normal position, without any damage. It also offers a degree of off-axis rejection, helping to eliminate unwanted artefacts from your recordings

Built In Pop Filter

Aston’s vocal condenser microphones have an exclusive mesh-knit pop filter built into the wave-form head. The random weave allows sound to pass while drastically eliminating unwanted plosives at source. It also shields against multiple wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation making our microphones ideal in critically sensitive electronic applications. This completely encapsulating, single piece, mesh cage is formed in stainless steel, so won’t rust with use, and can even be removed and washed

Direct To Stand Mounting

Yet another unique design element of the Aston Origin is the use of custom moulded end caps with integrated XLR and universal stand thread adaptor. Because the internal shock absorption system is so good, you can mount the microphone directly to a stand via this built in thread and interchangeable thread adapter with outstandingly low handling noise. The design also makes Aston microphones extremely easy to repair and maintain

Chasis

Part of the beauty of our microphones is the custom finish of each chassis. There are no mass-produced paint job finishes here… instead, each chassis is individually tumbled for up to 4 hours to give it a very hard-wearing, extremely beautiful, finish. To perfect the look, each microphone is separately engraved with its legends, and our brand mantra… ‘The Art of Audio’

PCB

• A superbly balanced mix of discrete and integrated electronic circuitry
• Harmonised circuit stage arrangement for easy integration from phantom power input circuitry to the capsule voltage bias
• Novel non-linear voltage/current source rectification to provide controlled amplification and smooth/ clear audio output

Eco-Friendly Packaging

We have put our hearts and minds into creating the most beautiful performance pieces possible with each Aston product. When it comes to packaging we believe simplicity is king. Protective, re-useable, environmentally sensible packaging that doesn’t cost the earth.

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.

Accessories

Aston has become synonymous for innovative and emotive design. Our microphones are not only exceptional recording tools and multiple award-winning products, delivering vocal and instrument recording to rival the very best in the world, but works of engineering art. If you already own an Aston mic, you’ve already experienced the exquisite attention to detail throughout, as well as the incredible performance. As standard every Origin comes with a built in pop filter and internal shock mounting system which elevates the performance bar compared to other mics. In many applications you can use the Origin just as it is, but if you want to get the best results possible, and style your mic to look the mutts nuts in your studio environment, then the Aston SwiftShield takes things to a whole new performance level. The Aston Swift shock mount, is not only elegant, and designed specifically to show off your mic in all its glory with its open-fronted design, but boasts the fastest mic mounting system in the world. Combined with Aston’s internal shock absorbing system, the Swift gives supreme performance in seconds. The Shield SM, clips on and off the Swift mount quickly and easily when switching between vocal and instrument applications. Utilising Aston’s Hextech perforation acid etching process, the Shield gives excellent plosive (pop) control without affecting the tone of your recordings at all. The SwiftShield combo is the perfect partner for getting the ultimate performance from your Origin (and it looks awesome too!).