Aston Spirit Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone

I bought this mic based on the product reviews back 3 yrs. ago when it was $400 + .
Initially it had a noise problem unless the hi pass was activated. So I only used it for vocal. 8 months later I was tinkering with the switches and the noise problem went away.
I liked it so much, I bought another one last year from Amazon. They sent the Origin mic by mistake. It took about a week to get the correct mic from Amazon.

Even with the unsmooth initial process, both mics are Very Good.
I can't tell any sonic difference in them.
I use the Spirit mostly in cardioid but occasionally in omni.

Compared to my other mics ; 414ub, and Sure sm44, the Spirit is what I use most for intimate detailed vocals.

For vocals the spirit loses its presence more than 12inches away, but has a decent open sound almost comparable to U87 but without as much presence.
But up close the spirit is awsome, you definitely need a pop filter tho.

I found the spirit pair sounds amazing as drum overheads, and they sound great on percussion too.

I just love this mic. So simple and sexy with a class of quality that doesn't distract in any way when I use it on vocals or acoustic guitars, even drum room.

I've used both miss ( the Spirit and the Origin ) on vocal and tracking electric guitar ~ think of them as a warm U87 and 421 together .
A " Can't Go Wrong " Go to Mic !

When I bought my Aston Spirit, the company was giving away Rycote shockmounts for every purchase. They are no longer doing that. If you do not have a shockmount that can hold this microphone, it will be very hard to position correctly - even with a 3rd party stand clutch. Mine arrived with no damage, but the inner windscreen was made of two pieces - two rings each of which were half as tall as the grille - so this was a disappointment, because this makes it harder to disassemble the grille without touching the capsule.

The good: This microphone has very good off-axis rejection, but on-axis (as wide as it is) tends to be consistent. I used this on a singer-guitarist who likes to sway when she sings. Set to cardioid and aimed slightly upwards, it picked up very little guitar and responded to her swaying as if she was standing still. This is the part that hooked me.

It sounds quite nice. Pardon the emotives but it is very smooth. Not at all the hyped HF shelf you would expect from a cheap mic like this. I think the well-behaved off-axis rejection contributes to the "smoothness".

I know the ad copy says you can use this without a pop filter, but that depend on proximity. I was indeed able to record without a pop filter when the singer was a foot out. The closer you get, even with the inner mesh in place, you will need a pop filter at some point.

The figure-of-8 pattern has a VERY prominent proximity effect on the back end of the mic, and not so much on the front. When up close, the difference is very apparent. This won't matter so much in a situation where it is far from the source, but if you use this for BGV with a singer on each side you will definitely hear the dark/light dichotomy.