If you want a solid, safe-sounding reproduction of your sound, then the Origin is one of the best, It's not a wholly characterful microphone, but that's one of the things we liked so much during our testing. We found that the Aston Origin sounds pretty pure and clean. There are two switches on the stainless steel casing: 10dB pad and 80Hz low-cut filter. The Origin is a fixed pattern (cardioid) condenser and is the smaller of Aston's two mics: the larger Spirit is a multi-pattern condenser with an extra 10dB of pad available. The Aston Origin may be competitively priced, but it possesses a degree of originality that is uncommon in this range. Instead, we’ve highlighted a couple of high performers for your consideration. As such, it’s difficult to single out an overall ‘best in class’ mic, as everyone’s requirements will be different. The recording microphones we’ve rounded up in this guide each excel in their own field, whether that’s accurately recording the unique tonality of a vintage acoustic guitar or grand piano, embellishing the sound of a great vocal performance, or providing that velvet-smooth broadcast voice track. Best microphones for recording: Our top picks We’ve featured these mics in price order to help you find the right one for your budget. So, read on to discover our top choices for the best microphones for recording musical instruments and beyond. The microphones we’ve chosen sit across a variety of budgets and ability levels, and we’d happily use any microphone on this list in our own recordings. We've got some useful buying advice at the bottom of the page, too. In this guide to the best microphones for recording, we’ll explain the key differences to look out for when choosing among the different recording mics available, and we'll aim to give you a clear idea of which mics are best suited to which applications. That said, there can be excellent value found at all price levels. It also pays to invest in the best studio mic that your budget will allow. But not all mics are created equal, as we’ll outline here. Essentially, you need a recording microphone capable of accurately capturing a quality audio signal – that's a basic for any record producer or musician.