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Winning multiple awards for its sound and special physical design, the Aston Spirit Black Bundle features a limited edition black version of the Spirit mic and Aston's Swiftshield pop filter and shockmount set. This large-diaphragm condenser microphone boasts a sonic signature developed in cooperation with a panel of industry professionals and three selectable polar patterns—cardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-8. Not only is it tonally versatile enough to use with most instruments and vocals, but it's also tough enough to take abuse and spring back to life. Plus, it has pad and high-pass filter switches to increase its flexibility even more.

Inside, the mic features a 1" dual-diaphragm, gold-evaporated capsule and high-end transformerless circuitry to ensure audio performance far outside its price point. An integral mesh-knit pop filter softens vocal plosives without coloring tone, and the stainless steel wave-form head simultaneously protects the capsule from knocks and enhances off-axis sound rejection. The internal shockmount system and integrated stand mount allow direct-to-stand mounting while maintaining isolation from vibration noise. The included Swiftshield  provides added protection against vibration and vocal plosives, and gives a classic "big studio mic" appearance. Being an XLR-equipped solid-state condenser mic, the Spirit requires 48V phantom power from an XLR-connected audio interface, mic preamp, or mixer.

The Aston Sound

Right from the start of "project Aston," the company engaged with some of the top audio professionals in the industry to create a development panel to be their ears while focusing on perfecting the details in their mics. With its high-performance, multipattern 1" gold-evaporated capsule, the Spirit is versatile enough to use with any instrument and, for singer-songwriters, excels on acoustic guitar and vocals. Its capsule, selected by the Aston 33, is paired with high-end transformerless circuitry using only the finest components. This allows the Spirit to deliver a beautifully open sound with sparkling harmonics. This highly accurate microphone gives a stunningly natural and transparent recording, capturing all the detail in the high range, but without adding the harshness of some condenser microphones.

Wave-Form Spring Head

The Spirit has Aston's signature wave-form spring head. This special design not only looks great, but delivers an unprecedented degree of protection for the heart of the microphone, the capsule. The shock-resistant wave-form design allows the head of the mic to distort if given a heavy knock, and then return to its normal position, without any damage. It also offers a degree of off-axis rejection, helping to eliminate unwanted artifacts from your recordings.

Built-In Pop Filter

Aston's vocal condenser microphones have an exclusive mesh-knit pop filter built into the wave-form head. The random weave allows sound to pass while drastically eliminating unwanted plosives at the source. It also shields against multiple wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, making the microphones ideal in critically sensitive electronic applications. This completely encapsulating, single-piece mesh cage is formed in stainless steel, so it won't rust with use, and can even be removed and washed.

Direct-to-Stand Mounting

Yet another special design element of the Aston Spirit is the use of custom molded end caps with an integrated XLR and a universal stand thread adapter. Because the internal shock absorption system is so good, you can mount the microphone directly to a stand via this built-in thread and interchangeable thread adapter with outstandingly low handling noise. The design also makes Aston microphones extremely easy to repair and maintain.

Stylish and Rugged Chassis

The limited edition Spirit features a special, beautiful, and hard-wearing black textured finish on a 2mm solid stainless steel chassis. To perfect the look, each microphone is separately engraved with its legends, and the Aston brand mantra, "The Art of Audio."

PCB

The Spirit features a superbly balanced mix of discrete and integrated electronic circuitry including a harmonized circuit stage arrangement for easy integration from phantom power input circuitry to the capsule voltage bias. The novel non-linear voltage/current source rectification provides controlled amplification and smooth, clear audio output.

Selectable Settings

Two switches are provided on the Spirit to optimize the sound at the mic. Use the two pad options (-10 or -20 dB) to prevent the mic from distorting when using it on extremely loud instruments. Flip the filter switch to engage the 80 Hz high-pass filter, which rolls off bass frequencies to keep rumble and proximity effect from becoming problematic.

Eco-Friendly Packaging

Aston put their hearts and minds into creating the attractive performance pieces with each Aston product. When it comes to packaging, they believe simplicity is king. So, they use protective, re-useable, environmentally sensible packaging that doesn't cost the earth.

SwiftShield Included

As standard, every Spirit comes with a built-in pop filter and internal shock-mounting system which elevates the performance bar compared to many other mics. In many applications, you can use the Spirit just as it is, but if you want to get the best results possible, then the Aston SwiftShield (included) takes things to a whole new performance level.

The Aston Swift shockmount is not only elegant and designed specifically to show off your mic in all its glory with its open-fronted design, but also boasts an incredible fast mic mounting system. Combined with Aston's internal shock-absorbing system, the Swift gives supreme performance in seconds.

The Shield SM clips on and off the Swift mount quickly and easily when switching between vocal and instrument applications. Utilizing Aston's Hextech perforation acid etching process, the Shield gives excellent plosive (pop) control without affecting the tone of your recordings at all.