New subscriber! This is an EXCELLENT review, commentary! Thanks so much. Love the flat frequency profile on the Aston Element. Would be good for recording bass tracks if the mic is placed FAR enough away from the source to capture the full length of the wave (so that you actually HEAR the bass, not FEEl the rumble lol). The key is to do mono tracks adjusted to be as LOW as possible before combining multiple tracks into a stero mix. Same with avoiding any "pops" and robotic sounds at the high end. The extremely low self-noise makes this the ideal mic for recording source materials at the LOWEST volume possible, for clean mixes.
Thank you for this detailed review, you made it very easy to "hear the mic" as apposed to lots and lots of mic reviews doing the opposite !! Thank you for helping me be accurately informed... Thanks also for a laugh at the end, how many glasses of red did Mr M have ???☺️
Great humble review, thank you for givin us impression, especially in comparison with M88 and M500! Well done! PS: One small correction: the label from behing (on plastic XLR connector housing) says Made in P.R.C, not UK
With the Element, I figure they either measured the graph two miles away or they just added the wrong one. This thing has so much low end a high pass almost doesn't save it. It's a shame, cause if it didn't have so much of that, it could be a decently potential mic.
Looking at the frequency charts, where other mics start rolling off the bass, this one just keeps going all the way down to about 30Hz. It really could've used a 100Hz roll-off switch, as most vocal mics don't go down there for a reason. This could be great for drums, or bass amps, but for vocals it needs a treble boost or a HPF, depending on what sound you're going for (I'm sure some men would love to boost their low-end). Positioning it slightly further from the source could help too, as it sounds like it's giving proximity effect without even getting right up to it. The high-end is there, it's just drowned out by the bass, so potentially fixable with EQ. Subbed for the monocle, and the song at the end. Great review!
Hello from the USA! Again, Mononcle = good! I've been interested in this mic, I like something that represents the bass well, for voiceover etc. This seems to have it, but could it be too much?
mr manual makes every mic sound good but while doing the comparison it sounded kind of !?dull?! to me but i’m spoiled by the the sv33 nothing compares to u honey 33 ⭐️
Little glazed sounding, this one. Am I mistaking the flatness of the mic's response for a lack of articulation? Think Aston's sold this one on marketing; bit too pricey for a Chinese mic.
Nothing inherently wrong with Chinese microphone production, in my experience. If you have the spec and the funds, I imagine they could produce the best mic in the world, and beautifully finished... if YOU have the spec and the funds, that is! You probably won't make any profit, in fact a considerable loss, but I imagine our Chinese sisters and brothers could produce it beautifully and efficiently.
@@AntonBrowne Chinese production carries some ethical baggage, namely the employment of Uyguhr slaves and poor factory conditions/ labor compensation. It's not easy to find accurate information on which corporations source their labor intentionally or unintentionally from said unethical firms/ factories (some 100 major corporations including Volvo and Apple recently linked), unfortunately. My general approach is to avoid Chinese manufactured goods, unless the product, like this mic, is bought secondhand.
Hmm, I think this is a minefield. I imagine nearly every product we consume falls under this category, one way or another, albeit China, Africa, India etc. Thank you for your sentiment; with which I concur. How are we to move forward? It's so tempting to go with Amazon or whatever, but reminders from such as yourself can stimulate a personal change.
The Aston Element sounds terrible for vocals, way too bass sounding and distorts, not impressed and I have the Aston Spirit and this does not compare in quality.
I think the flat sound of the Aston Element is very likely to make eq decisions a lot easier, since it has very little emphasis. It certainly does not sound as if one is listening to a microphone. Pretty neutral. I still think its expensive. No reason why it should cost over £80 pounds. None.
In over 30 years I've never come across a worse sounding microphone than the Aston Element. Up untill the launch of this microphone I had always been a fan of this British microphone manufacture, but not anymore. This microphone sounds like an SM7b that has been wrapped up in a dozen blankets and then placed 6ft away from a vocalist. The day I returned it I didn't even have to say anything, the guy behind the counter preempted me saying "let me guess, muffled with a horrendous frequently response?" He went on to say almost everyone who purchased the Aston Element returned it. A few weeks later the same store dropped Aston's entire line of microphones. Every manufacturer has a bad product once in a while, but in this case I can't help but feel Aston deliberately tried to cash in on their success of the highly acclaimed Spirit and Origin mics by producing this Chinese made piece of plastic garbage. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if this signals the end of the road for Ashton microphones and they cease trading in the next 12 months.
Many testers have commented that a low-cut / high-pass filter is needed for most sources. If you didn't try that, you missed out. The low end is there for sources that can take advantage, e.g. stand-up bass. If that feature were built in, it may have changed perception. Maybe on the Aston Element II
In reality Spirit and Origin are China made. Made in UK, China is exactly the same. It's machines who made the product. And UK use the exact same machine than China. The only different are the price because China can make the exact same things for x4 less.
10:27 Reminds me of that 90s dance hit by C+C Music Factory:
"Things that make you go... AUM!"
😄
New subscriber! This is an EXCELLENT review, commentary! Thanks so much. Love the flat frequency profile on the Aston Element. Would be good for recording bass tracks if the mic is placed FAR enough away from the source to capture the full length of the wave (so that you actually HEAR the bass, not FEEl the rumble lol). The key is to do mono tracks adjusted to be as LOW as possible before combining multiple tracks into a stero mix. Same with avoiding any "pops" and robotic sounds at the high end. The extremely low self-noise makes this the ideal mic for recording source materials at the LOWEST volume possible, for clean mixes.
I got lost in the review because your voice is so wonderful and soothing!
Oh thank you!
Saw the monocle. Subbed.
unintentional ASMR! :) your voice is really relaxing, sir, i had asmr tingles listening to this video
Thank you for this detailed review, you made it very easy to "hear the mic" as apposed to lots and lots of mic reviews doing the opposite !! Thank you for helping me be accurately informed... Thanks also for a laugh at the end, how many glasses of red did Mr M have ???☺️
Glad it was helpful!
Great humble review, thank you for givin us impression, especially in comparison with M88 and M500! Well done!
PS: One small correction: the label from behing (on plastic XLR connector housing) says Made in P.R.C, not UK
Hah! Thanks for that, I didn't even look at it!!!
Love the duofold in the intro!
That monocle is fire!
With the Element, I figure they either measured the graph two miles away or they just added the wrong one. This thing has so much low end a high pass almost doesn't save it. It's a shame, cause if it didn't have so much of that, it could be a decently potential mic.
Looking at the frequency charts, where other mics start rolling off the bass, this one just keeps going all the way down to about 30Hz. It really could've used a 100Hz roll-off switch, as most vocal mics don't go down there for a reason. This could be great for drums, or bass amps, but for vocals it needs a treble boost or a HPF, depending on what sound you're going for (I'm sure some men would love to boost their low-end). Positioning it slightly further from the source could help too, as it sounds like it's giving proximity effect without even getting right up to it. The high-end is there, it's just drowned out by the bass, so potentially fixable with EQ.
Subbed for the monocle, and the song at the end. Great review!
Anton Browne's voice with this mic could cause an earthquake
Hello from the USA! Again, Mononcle = good! I've been interested in this mic, I like something that represents the bass well, for voiceover etc. This seems to have it, but could it be too much?
Still diggin' the M88 here.
Me too. 1962 design, makes you wonder.
Ha. Your singing made me.... smile.
Better than bursting out laughing!
mr manual makes every mic sound good
but while doing the comparison it sounded kind of !?dull?! to me
but i’m spoiled by the the sv33
nothing compares to u
honey 33
⭐️
Awesome!
@antonbrowne did you know about the Sennheiser MD 435 and the 445? Hint, hint. 😉
Little glazed sounding, this one. Am I mistaking the flatness of the mic's response for a lack of articulation? Think Aston's sold this one on marketing; bit too pricey for a Chinese mic.
Nothing inherently wrong with Chinese microphone production, in my experience. If you have the spec and the funds, I imagine they could produce the best mic in the world, and beautifully finished... if YOU have the spec and the funds, that is! You probably won't make any profit, in fact a considerable loss, but I imagine our Chinese sisters and brothers could produce it beautifully and efficiently.
@@AntonBrowne Chinese production carries some ethical baggage, namely the employment of Uyguhr slaves and poor factory conditions/ labor compensation. It's not easy to find accurate information on which corporations source their labor intentionally or unintentionally from said unethical firms/ factories (some 100 major corporations including Volvo and Apple recently linked), unfortunately. My general approach is to avoid Chinese manufactured goods, unless the product, like this mic, is bought secondhand.
Hmm, I think this is a minefield. I imagine nearly every product we consume falls under this category, one way or another, albeit China, Africa, India etc. Thank you for your sentiment; with which I concur. How are we to move forward? It's so tempting to go with Amazon or whatever, but reminders from such as yourself can stimulate a personal change.
Uno lens greengo chocolate coated blanka
my ASTON ELEMENT came as a condenser mic, not a DYNAMIC.
They use a moving coil, like a dynamic, but they are also powered and have circuitry like a condenser.
Re: Squeaky chair. Just buy a new one. They're not that expensive. BTW, I love the M88 and use one regularly for a recurring audio book job.
Yup, lovely mic.
even though its far too boomy for your voice... it sounds way more natural than the others.
Comment for da algorithm
The Aston Element sounds terrible for vocals, way too bass sounding and distorts, not impressed and I have the Aston Spirit and this does not compare in quality.
It's made in the people's republic of China, not UK.
Thanks.
This Mike is a fantastic Mike for the price put a little eq on it and sounds even better
I think the flat sound of the Aston Element is very likely to make eq decisions a lot easier, since it has very little emphasis. It certainly does not sound as if one is listening to a microphone. Pretty neutral. I still think its expensive. No reason why it should cost over £80 pounds. None.
I don't mind the bass push - you can always tame it - the lack of fine detail is more of an issue for me.
In over 30 years I've never come across a worse sounding microphone than the Aston Element. Up untill the launch of this microphone I had always been a fan of this British microphone manufacture, but not anymore. This microphone sounds like an SM7b that has been wrapped up in a dozen blankets and then placed 6ft away from a vocalist. The day I returned it I didn't even have to say anything, the guy behind the counter preempted me saying "let me guess, muffled with a horrendous frequently response?" He went on to say almost everyone who purchased the Aston Element returned it. A few weeks later the same store dropped Aston's entire line of microphones.
Every manufacturer has a bad product once in a while, but in this case I can't help but feel Aston deliberately tried to cash in on their success of the highly acclaimed Spirit and Origin mics by producing this Chinese made piece of plastic garbage. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if this signals the end of the road for Ashton microphones and they cease trading in the next 12 months.
Many testers have commented that a low-cut / high-pass filter is needed for most sources. If you didn't try that, you missed out. The low end is there for sources that can take advantage, e.g. stand-up bass. If that feature were built in, it may have changed perception. Maybe on the Aston Element II
Saw this same review on their website. You know L&M still stocks Aston mics, right? Wwwww
In reality Spirit and Origin are China made. Made in UK, China is exactly the same. It's machines who made the product. And UK use the exact same machine than China. The only different are the price because China can make the exact same things for x4 less.
I’m mad
Good on you.
Element Terrible Mic Vocal....