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ericthegreat « blue spark really shines »
Published on 10/25/11 at 22:26This microphone sounds good on most sources. Great on acoustic guitars, percussion i.e. shakers, tambourines etc, drum overheads, and in front of electric guitar amps. Can sound great on vocals with the right voice. I purchased 2 of these for stereo recording acoustic guitars and as drum overheads. Even though they are not consecutive serial numbers or a matched pair, they excel in these 2 areas.
OVERALL OPINION
Disengage the focus switch (just a fancy name for a high pass filter) and acoustic guitars are full sounding and detailed, with all frequencies represented well. With the focus switch engaged, extra low end energy from the kick and floor toms are nicely controlled when used as drum overheads. This mic is strongly built. No flimsy plastic or cheap looking contraction anywhere, it is all top notch. It even comes in a cherry stained custom wood case. Presentation is first class.
The only negative that keeps this from being a 5 star mic is the flimsy shock mount and a mediocre pop filter. The shockmount is made of aluminum and looks fantastic, but the screw mount on the base is very hard to turn, as the machined aluminum binds on itself. Also the wingnut to tighten the adjustment pivot does not seem to hold very well, so a bump to the stand can cause the mic to move from position. The custom pop filter looks amazing as well, but cannot handle hard plosives that a good pop filter should and the shock mounts makes a lot of noise if the mic is bumped. That's disappointing cause with the quality of this mic I don't want anything else to get in the way.
Overall I strongly recommend this microphone to anyone looking for a professional sound at a project price The blue spark is a high quality condenser mic, but if you have a little more money go with the higher model from Blue.
OVERALL OPINION
Disengage the focus switch (just a fancy name for a high pass filter) and acoustic guitars are full sounding and detailed, with all frequencies represented well. With the focus switch engaged, extra low end energy from the kick and floor toms are nicely controlled when used as drum overheads. This mic is strongly built. No flimsy plastic or cheap looking contraction anywhere, it is all top notch. It even comes in a cherry stained custom wood case. Presentation is first class.
The only negative that keeps this from being a 5 star mic is the flimsy shock mount and a mediocre pop filter. The shockmount is made of aluminum and looks fantastic, but the screw mount on the base is very hard to turn, as the machined aluminum binds on itself. Also the wingnut to tighten the adjustment pivot does not seem to hold very well, so a bump to the stand can cause the mic to move from position. The custom pop filter looks amazing as well, but cannot handle hard plosives that a good pop filter should and the shock mounts makes a lot of noise if the mic is bumped. That's disappointing cause with the quality of this mic I don't want anything else to get in the way.
Overall I strongly recommend this microphone to anyone looking for a professional sound at a project price The blue spark is a high quality condenser mic, but if you have a little more money go with the higher model from Blue.