Aston Microphones Spirit Black Bundle

I was thinking about trying an Aston Spirit for a while and when the Black Bundle became available I decided to finally get my hands on one.
The microphone really impressed me, I wanted an affordable microphone to use for recording vocals at home (combined with the Aston Halo) and I was really satisfied with the results a 300 euro mic was able to give me. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the SwiftShield, the microphone's suspension and pop filter system. Even though the pop filter worked and looked great, the rubber bands used in the suspension were not strong enough to keep the microphone at place. It kept slipping from the suspension and I had to come up with DIY methods to keep it in place.

Pros :
-Great sounding microphone
-Good mic build quality
-Good pop filter
-Beautiful design
-Quick mounting system

Cons:
-Weak suspension

It's a condenser, multi-pattern microphone, with built-in pop filter, sturdy, with great sound for a lot less than you might expect.

The microfone is great, but the shock mount included didn't hold the microphone in place, it kept slipping.
After emailing the brand, they suggested I cleaned the microphone enclosure as well as the rubber discs on the shock mount (with warm water and soap) as this could be caused by moisture. If you do that and give it a little nudge when you place the microphone in the spider, it prevents it from slipping further.

I have had this mic for over a year, tried it in many different circumstances, I had different voices on it, recorded acoustic guitar, voiceover and other small projects.

My verdict is that it’s not for me. I have tried to make it work for many months, over a year, especially my voice isn’t favoured by this mic. I had to do lots of mixing after recording with this mic, and it doesn’t take EQ very well. It is definitely not a good source out of the box.

To describe the sound: it s boomy, bassy, but bright at the same time. When comparing the exact frequency response of this mic to a U87, there is a dip in the mids on the Spirit, compared to the Neumann.

For important sources, I wouldn’t use this mic, but as a room mic, a drum overhead mic, for small projects and voiceovers especially, I can make it work definitely.

I sold it recently, but I’m disappointed I had to spend so much time with it and just not have bought a different mic, but I was refused the return.
I would actually try other Aston mics to be honest, this one didn’t work.

Overall, buy if you can return it, also don’t only record but try to mix the source and then decide if you want to keep it.

Pros.
Build quality of the mic itself is excellent. It sounds brilliant and with very low noise. I'm tested it only with vocals so far but I feel it sounds good on any source.

Cons.
The only bad thing I have to say is for the shock mount included. At first it's grip wasn't strong enough to hold the heavy mic and the mic was slipping in it. but after recommended cleaning and a slight sanding/roughening of the rubber bushings it gained more grip with the mic and is working fine now. In my opinion this process should have been done in the factory if I am honest.

All in all I'm very satisfied with the purchase.