

Aston Starlight Now Shipping
HARDWARENEWS May 12, 2017 Michael Frasinelli 0

Aston Starlight Microphone Released
In case you hadn’t heard yet, Aston Starlights are now shipping through all US Aston dealers, including Sweetwater and Vintage King. If there’s one thing from Winter NAMM that got me excited this year, it would be the Aston Starlight small diaphragm condenser microphone. The wait is finally over, and you are now able to get one… or realistically a matched pair to call your own. For starters, I mean, come on. There’s a fricking 48V phantom powered, Class 2 laser beam on top of each mic to assist in recalling microphone positions. Not only this, but Aston’s newest family member has multiple voicing options built in. Vintage, modern and hybrid. Vintage is a nod to the small diaphragm condensers of old and is supposed to give a nice, smooth, top end response and full sounding lows and low mids.
Modern is quite the opposite, with a very balanced and neutral response and also a brighter, airy, more detailed top end. Hybrid is the best of both worlds, with the low end and low mid response of the Vintage voicing, but the high mid and high frequency crispness of the Modern voicing. All of this is accomplished using a 20mm cardioid capsule and discrete amp circuitry. If those weren’t enough features for you, it also has a -10dB and -20dB pad switch, (making it a sure choice for drum and guitar amp/cab recording) and two different HPF positions. Like the other two currently released Aston microphones, the Spirit and the Origin, the Starlight features a beautiful 100% tumbled stainless steel body but that wasn’t enough for the guys over at
Aston. Instead of a typical grill over the capsule, they whipped together a truly unique looking, sintered head made from thousands of nano-plated ball bearings, which is said to be acoustically transparent. This is a company doing budget-friendly microphones correctly, with no massive quality cutting measures or cheap components to save a buck at the expense of sound quality, plus everything is being made right in the UK. A stereo pair comes with 2 Rycote shock mounts and a stereo bar, while the single microphone sells with a simple microphone clip. I don’t know how they are making such quality microphones that sell for so little, but I am thrilled that they seem to show no signs of slowing down.
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