Aston Microphones Announces Element, World's First 'People's Microphone'

This is perhaps the most ambitious studio microphone project ever undertaken, then it's no surprise that Aston Mics are behind making the people's mic a reality, with your help of course!!  

 Aston Microphones are used the world over by countless artists, engineers and producers who rely on their incredible sound quality and near indestructible build for their work. 

Every Aston mic to date has been developed in conjunction with the Aston 33 panel, a 600 strong group of many of the top industry professionals in the business who, through a series of blind listening tests, have ensured that each mic produced has outperformed all the competition, including big brand mics costing 10 times as much.

Now it’s YOUR turn! 

Aston Element will be the first microphone in the world to have a sound crafted by the public, the musicians, engineers and producers who will eventually be using it to create their own musical magic. Aston have taken the mic to prototype stage – now here’s the chance to have your say on how the final version will sound. By registering to take part you can become a member of a voting panel who take part in a series of blind-listening tests.

There will be several stages of public voting between late April and July 2020. At each stage you will be able to listen to 5 takes for each of 3 audio sources (male vocal, female vocal and acoustic guitar) recorded on prototypes of the new Aston, alongside a number of competitors’ mics. Then you’ll rate them, from best to worst. But here’s the thing – you won’t know which sound files are which, or even which mics are being used in the test!

 fter each voting stage Aston’s design team will modify the prototypes in line with the voting results and the blind-listening test process will be repeated. Only when the new Aston mic is consistently voted the best sounding microphone will the Element be signed off for production. This whole process is being peer reviewed by participating magazines and a team of independent professional engineers and producers.

This is a unique chance for you to contribute to the sound design of a professional studio microphone.

Sign up to be part of the Aston Family Developer team

https://www.astonmics.com/votingform.aspx

The Aston 33

So where did the idea for the world’s first ‘customer-designed’ mic come from?

Actually, Aston have created all their award-winning mics so far using a similar blind-testing process with hundreds of the top producers, engineers and artists in the world… But now it’s time to let everyone in on the action! Here’s the history…

 The ‘classics’ of the mic world differentiate themselves by having their own subtle yet recognisable sonic character, and this is subjective. So how do you know in advance if your new mic design is going to please the ears of the world’s top music and audio professionals?

Simple. You ask them. In fact, Aston went further and invited them to participate in the R&D right from the start of every mic project. The resulting panel of experts, affectionately named the Aston 33 after the original 33 panel members, now comprises more than 600 top producers, engineers and artists from around the globe, 120 of whom took part in the testing procedures for the development of the 2020 TEC Award winning Aston Stealth.

No other brand develops their microphones this way, in fact it is unique in the Pro Audio technology industry, and it’s the reason Aston mics sound SO good. Aston work with the very best ears in the industry. And now it’s your turn!

Sign up to be part of the Aston Family Developer team

https://www.astonmics.com/votingform.aspx

Project Element – join the Aston Family Developer team

Every participant will not only be able to call themselves an official ‘Aston Family Voter Panel’ member, you’ll also have the opportunity to pre-order a highly collectable ‘Voter’s Edition Aston Element’ at 25% off list price. These will ONLY be available to members of the Aston Family Voting Panel (limited to one per customer) and will come complete with a certificate signed by Aston’s CEO, James Young, special edition window stickers and a special edition Aston pin badge, as well as digital logos for panel members to display on their own social media posts and web pages. The special edition mics will be available ONLY to Aston Family Voter Panel members.

To participate you will need to have access to a DAW or recording device plus good quality monitor speakers or headphones.

Find out more and Sign up to be part of the Aston Family Developer team

https://www.astonmics.com/votingform.aspx

 

 

 

 

Rounik is the Executive Editor for Ask.Audio & macProVideo. He's built a crack team of professional musicians and writers to create one of the most visited online resources for news, review, tutorials and interviews for modern musician and producer. As an Apple Certified Trainer for Logic Pro Rounik has taught teachers, professional... Read More

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