User Manual
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The Aston Halo/ Halo Shadow microphone screen is designed to
address the shortcomings of other ‘reection lter’ style products
combining low weight with minimal audio colouration.
Designed, engineered and tested in the UK, the Halo combines
modern advances in material technology and production, cutting
edge patented manufacturing processes and rigorous acoustic
testing to bring you the ultimate in portable acoustic devices.
Using patented PET Felt and beautifully engineered hardware
components, your Aston Halo has been created to the most
exacting standards. PET felt is one of the most lightweight and
ecient, technical acoustic products available on the global
market today. An additional side benet is that PET acoustic felt
is made from 70% recycled PET plastic bottle material and so is
also very environmentally friendly.
The Halo is actually made from two PET felt shells, with 100mm
of loose PET acoustic material sandwiched internally. These rigid
shells provide the structure as well as the absorbing surface,
removing the need for any internal support, making Halo
incredibly light and strong. Halo’s hardware allows easy, fast and
stable mounting. Every Aston Halo is individually tested during
manufacture to ensure reliable and consistent performance and
the most musical sound capture possible.
The Halo oers radically improved performance while maintaining
the green credentials of our manufacturing process (as with
our mic packaging which is 100% recyclable and 84% recycled
material). It also contributes both sonically and visually to the
creative environment, helping the artist to get the best from
every take. In our opinion, the Halo oers the very best possible
solution for portable room acoustics available today.
How to setup and use my Aston Halo
The Halo can greatly improve the quality of recordings made in
untreated or partially treated rooms. To get more information
about how to setup and use the Aston Halo reection lter
please visit:
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/Halo/Halo#tab4
Aston Halo & Halo Shadow
Using Your Aston Microphone
If you are an experienced audio practitioner, then you’ll need
little instruction in using Aston microphones - just apply
standard 48 Volt Phantom power to our capacitor models and
you’re in business. For the Spirit and Origin models, the Aston
badge denotes the front of the microphone when using cardioid
pattern for main vocals, guitars and so on. When using the Spirit
in gure-of-eight mode, the logo denotes the ‘positive’ side of
the microphone. The Starlight is end-re, meaning that it needs
to be aimed directly at the sound source where the laser helps
with exact placement.
You can nd detailed information on using your Aston product,
and hints & tips on setting up for best results, here:
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/Mics/Origin#tab4
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/Mics/Spirit#tab4
https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/Mics/Starlight#tab4
Microphone Terminology
Pad: The pad switch on a microphone reduces its output level,
which is often necessary when working close to very loud sound
sources such as kick drums, guitar ampliers or brass instru-
ments. At very high sound levels the electrical signal generated
by the microphone can cause distortion both in the microphone
circuity itself and in the pre-amp to which it is connected. If your
pre-amp meters indicate a safe level but you are still hearing
distortion, then try the 10dB pad position. Mics that have a 20dB
pad setting can deal with even higher sound levels, but unless
you are in the habit of recording tank battles at close quarters,
you’ll probably nd that the 10dB pad does the trick. Do not use
the pad when working with quiet or moderate level sounds as
under those circumstances it may lead to slightly more back-
ground noise (circuit hiss).
Low-cut Filter: The low cut lter reduces the level of signals at
the bottom of the audio spectrum and in most cases will have
little or no eect on the tonality of vocal recordings.
Its purpose is to reduce the level of those very low frequencies
Microphone Terminology
& General Care