Microphone shootout: Aston Origin vs. Aston Spirit

[László]

In my dreams...

Honest, it looks good because the lights are dimmed! There's not much in the room that anyone can't put in place, except that my brother and I built the furniture 27 years ago. There's no way either of us would be strong enough to do that again!

 

[Lewguitar]

Had our first real session yesterday. What a rush hearing yourself play and sing and just create right on the spot. I can still do it!

David Snider got back from Las Vegas and playing with Santana (yeah I can drop some names...) and we got everything up and running and recorded a couple of tunes.

The Oktava 012 mics stole the show. Sounded fantastic on the acoustic guitar. Mine were modified by Michael Jolly to sound like Neumann KM84's and David says they do. He's getting a set for his studio.

The Aston Spirit and Origin mics also sounded great on acoustic but the Oktava 012's...THAT'S MY SOUND.

I sang through all my mics again too and I like the Aston Spirit best and the Shure SM7b the least. The Shure sounded dull but the Aston Spirit just sounds "right". More modern. Deep and open. Great mic.

Very happy with the sound I'm getting here at home. My Breedlove acoustics are great guitars and sound fantastic.

Should have something to play for you guys soon. Gimme a week or three tho.

 

[bodia]

Had our first real session yesterday. What a rush hearing yourself play and sing and just create right on the spot. I can still do it!

David Snider got back from Las Vegas and playing with Santana (yeah I can drop some names...) and we got everything up and running and recorded a couple of tunes.

The Oktava 012 mics stole the show. Sounded fantastic on the acoustic guitar. Mine were modified by Michael Jolly to sound like Neumann KM84's and David says they do. He's getting a set for his studio.

The Aston Spirit and Origin mics also sounded great on acoustic but the Oktava 012's...THAT'S MY SOUND.

I sang through all my mics again too and I like the Aston Spirit best and the Shure SM7b the least. The Shure sounded dull but the Aston Spirit just sounds "right". More modern. Deep and open. Great mic.

Very happy with the sound I'm getting here at home. My Breedlove acoustics are great guitars and sound fantastic.

Should have something to play for you guys soon. Gimme a week or three tho.

That’s awesome!

 

[Moondog Wily]

Had our first real session yesterday. What a rush hearing yourself play and sing and just create right on the spot. I can still do it!

David Snider got back from Las Vegas and playing with Santana (yeah I can drop some names...) and we got everything up and running and recorded a couple of tunes.

The Oktava 012 mics stole the show. Sounded fantastic on the acoustic guitar. Mine were modified by Michael Jolly to sound like Neumann KM84's and David says they do. He's getting a set for his studio.

The Aston Spirit and Origin mics also sounded great on acoustic but the Oktava 012's...THAT'S MY SOUND.

I sang through all my mics again too and I like the Aston Spirit best and the Shure SM7b the least. The Shure sounded dull but the Aston Spirit just sounds "right". More modern. Deep and open. Great mic.

Very happy with the sound I'm getting here at home. My Breedlove acoustics are great guitars and sound fantastic.

Should have something to play for you guys soon. Gimme a week or three tho.

Glad to hear your on the road Lew! Congrats on the steps you have taken so far, as well as the doors that are now open to you!! Looking forward to the recordings ;~))

 

[Prina]

So great that the 'shakedown cruise' went well and felt so good.. Like @Moondog Wily, looking forward to hearing the results.

No need to tackle a video yet.

 

[Lewguitar]

So great that the 'shakedown cruise' went well and felt so good.. Like @Moondog Wily, looking forward to hearing the results.

No need to tackle a video yet.

A video ain't gonna happen!

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

The Oktava 012 mics stole the show. Sounded fantastic on the acoustic guitar. Mine were modified by Michael Jolly to sound like Neumann KM84's and David says they do. He's getting a set for his studio.

The Aston Spirit and Origin mics also sounded great on acoustic but the Oktava 012's...THAT'S MY SOUND.

I sang through all my mics again too and I like the Aston Spirit best and the Shure SM7b the least. The Shure sounded dull but the Aston Spirit just sounds "right". More modern. Deep and open. Great mic.

One thing I've learned from using LOTS of mics and mic'ing LOTS of voices and instruments is, many times once you get to a certain level of quality, one mic is not usually universally better than the rest, as much as it's the synergy between mic and source that defines which one works the best. I have multiple mics at church and mic many singers and a full (25 piece or so on top of the keyboards, guitars, piano and percussion) orchestra. The mic that works better on one instrument or voice, is not as good on another one. The mic that works better for one singer is not best for another, etc. And even how the singer holds the mic (not an issue in a studio setup) can define which is better.

I have singers who, despite my YEARS of telling them not too, practically put the mic on their lips when they sing. One said to me a few weeks ago "that's how the singers on TV do it," and I knew the implication was that, I didn't know what I was doing or I wouldn't tell them not to do that since they saw someone on TV do it. I replied "yes, and while we have a $15K mixer, they are probably running through $15K worth of channel strip before they hit the mixer AND, it's mixed and mastered before you ever hear it on TV. I could do the same with your voice in the studio and in fact have to adjust constantly every time you sing when you do that. But it is NOT the way to make your voice sound natural and it does not allow your voice to blend well with the quartet even after I re-EQ it."

Further, one mic might be better for certain mic locations on say an acoustic guitar, and another one may be better for a different position. A mic that might be the better one might have too much bottom end if you put it in front of the sound hole in the "boomy" position, where another brighter mic may be fine there. Etc. That said, if you found one mic and "your sound" with acoustic, then spend your time USING it and recording, rather than messing with more mics and positions!

 

[Lewguitar]

One thing I've learned from using LOTS of mics and mic'ing LOTS of voices and instruments is, many times once you get to a certain level of quality, one mic is not usually universally better than the rest, as much as it's the synergy between mic and source that defines which one works the best. I have multiple mics at church and mic many singers and a full (25 piece or so on top of the keyboards, guitars, piano and percussion) orchestra. The mic that works better on one instrument or voice, is not as good on another one. The mic that works better for one singer is not best for another, etc. And even how the singer holds the mic (not an issue in a studio setup) can define which is better.

I have singers who, despite my YEARS of telling them not too, practically put the mic on their lips when they sing. One said to me a few weeks ago "that's how the singers on TV do it," and I knew the implication was that, I didn't know what I was doing or I wouldn't tell them not to do that since they saw someone on TV do it. I replied "yes, and while we have a $15K mixer, they are probably running through $15K worth of channel strip before they hit the mixer AND, it's mixed and mastered before you ever hear it on TV. I could do the same with your voice in the studio and in fact have to adjust constantly every time you sing when you do that. But it is NOT the way to make your voice sound natural and it does not allow your voice to blend well with the quartet even after I re-EQ it."

Further, one mic might be better for certain mic locations on say an acoustic guitar, and another one may be better for a different position. A mic that might be the better one might have too much bottom end if you put it in front of the sound hole in the "boomy" position, where another brighter mic may be fine there. Etc. That said, if you found one mic and "your sound" with acoustic, then spend your time USING it and recording, rather than messing with more mics and positions!

Ever notice that most singers do not own a PA? They might own a mic.

 

[JasonE]

Ever notice that most singers do not own a PA? They might own a mic.

I have definitely noticed that. Along with that every singer I have come across has no clue how to adjust their mic at the mixer. So, not only do they not own a PA, they have no clue how to run one. All of the ones I have worked with in bands have their own mic. When working with folks at the church years ago, nobody owned their own mic.

 

[JasonE]

I don't know what to make of that. I've always owned my own stuff but singers don't feel they need to make that commitment.

I seem to always be the guy that not only owns all of my own stuff but also owns all of the PA gear and am the only one that knows how to run it. I was in a couple of bands with a keyboard player that also knew and it was nice to be able to offload some of the work on him. He also worked for me in our day jobs so it felt pretty easy to just assign it to him.

 

[Lewguitar]

I have definitely noticed that. Along with that every singer I have come across has no clue how to adjust their mic at the mixer. So, not only do they not own a PA, they have no clue how to run one. All of the ones I have worked with in bands have their own mic. When working with folks at the church years ago, nobody owned their own mic.

Part of what makes a person a "professional" is that they own their own tools. Most of the singers I've worked with in church did not own their own tools. But I still enjoyed helping them out. I'm not religious and don't believe most of that stuff...but I like the music.

 

[László]

Part of what makes a person a "professional" is that they own their own tools.

I think many, if not most, singers consider their voice their instrument, and don't care much about buying gear.

I have yet to see any professional singer - I've hired a bunch of them for ad work - show up for a recording session with a mic. Never happened in 32 years in the business. Ever. Nor has any singer ever requested a mic. They'll sing into whatever's in front of them.

Just my personal experience, of course.

 

[gush]

How's this for a take on it: I think the Astons are great mics that stand on their own, regardless of price.

I'm a Neumann guy for a subtle thing they do in the mids that I can't describe in words. Have had quite a few over the years, including the expensive models, and my favorite is the very reasonably priced TLM 103. Go figure! I can get a great sound with a 103 fast, and it's not too 'chesty'.

I'm also a big fan of Juris Zarin's JZ mics out of Latvia. He designed the original Blue mics, but had a falling out with them (Blue mics are mostly made in China now). So he started JZ.

JZ mics are relative bargains - it's less expensive to make stuff in Latvia than Germany.

All of these mics stand on their own, and there are others that do as well. Not so with many other low or mid-priced mics on the market.



Lots of engineers record in stereo with two different mics because they think it sounds more interesting, and that left and right should not be identical. There are no rules.


Oktava condensers are excellent overhead mics. That's what I used mine for.

Over the years I've had the very good fortune of having some ear-opening conversations with folks who've made major label records.

These conversations include many with my son, who's engineered for producers Flood (google his amazing credits including U2), and Steve Lillywhite (google his mind blowing credits that include everyone).

I've learned a lot from all this, and I'm thankful for it! I've tried to pass it on, including guest lecturing on recording at U of Michigan's music school, because of all the broadcast work I've been lucky enough to do.

If you want to know more about recording a kit and overheads, you need only listen to a batch of major label records and concentrate on the cymbals. You'll find they usually have the high frequencies rolled off quite a bit.

That way the cymbals don't dominate the high frequencies and obscure other details. You still hear them, they just seem to recede a little.

What I like overhead mics to do is a nice job with the cymbals - even though I'm going to roll them off I still want dimension to them - and do a great job in the midrange to help pick up the woody tone of the drums. I don't need mics that are flat from DC to light. I certainly don't want overly bright mics. YMMV and all that!

I've played around with overhead mics for drum kits quite a bit.

I have some cheaper AKG mics and even though these are cheaper mics I'm still amazed at how they pick up tones from the drums that I don't hear out front.

I'm thinking of one kit in particular. It's been a few years ago but a ran sound for this band many times and never liked the drum kit, especially the snare. I'm super picky about snare drum tones.

I recorded a live show once in a smaller club and used these AKG mics for over heads.

I was shocked at what I heard from those mics! The high freq on these was a bit much but for what we were doing i was just shocked.

 

[gush]

I thought the origin was a little better for vocals but both were great.

Spirit was better for acoustic IMO.

 

[László]

I thought the origin was a little better for vocals but both were great.

Spirit was better for acoustic IMO.

With mics, put a different singer and different acoustic in front of each mic, and it might be the opposite! You never know until you try it. Which of course is why good studios have a variety to try out with the talent.

However...

With any good mic, the singer is still gonna sound the way he or she sounds, and so is the acoustic. The rest is just a question of the detail you want to bring out for the recording.

I always say this, and it's true: I've never heard anyone, including producers and engineers, listen to a record and say, "What a great mic!"

You might hear, "What a great singer," or, "What a great guitar player (or even, "What a great guitar)." But I've yet to hear, "Great mic."

I'm the same way. I never think about the mic that's used unless I'm recording something myself.

I've laughed about the things reviewers say about mics, like "The U47 is the mic Sinatra used." Um...hello...you're still not gonna sound like Sinatra did, on that day, in that room, unless you're Sinatra, on that day, in that room.