Blue Microphones Snowball

I bought the Blue Snowball microphone back in 2010. I was getting ready to deploy to the desert, and I was warned not to bring valuable equipment for fear of getting it filled with sand (sand gets into everything over there)! So I paid the $100 at the time for this microphone to do some temporary work during my stay away from home. I probably would have been ok bringing a better microphone for recording my vocals but, I am still able to find good uses for this microphone even to this day!

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
As I said before, while I was in the desert I used this microphone to record temporary vocals for any song ideas I would form while out there. Honestly, I wonder how well those recordings would have held up had I knew how to properly mix at the time. While not my first choice for recording vocals for commercial songs, the Blue Snowball has been my first choice for everything else. I have made great presentations, radio commercials, and voice-overs for video tutorials all with this microphone. I have also recording samples of me making noises with dishes to use them as drums for school assignments.

STAND-OUT FEATURES
So the usb-powered Snowball condenser microphone has three different modes of operation. The first position, which I use the most, is for what’s directly in front of the microphone. If you’re going to be doing any voice-overs, vocals, or podcasting, you’ll want to use “position 1” for get the best results possible. I’ve conducted video tutorials while recording my vocals from a good two feet away with this mic, and the audio comes in loud and very clear. While mixing down the tutorial I find that I have to spend very little time making sure that my voice is clear after recording.

If you need to capture loud sounds like live bands, “position 2” is going to be your best bet. I used this setting to capture the samples I needed to record for making drums samples. Lastly in the third position, you’re able to use this mic for things like conference calls where multiple voice in different places need to be heard.

MY OPINION
The Snowball is very versatile and can meet your many needs for audio recording. I think the best thing about this microphone is that it is does not require an audio interface. You can just plug and play via usb connection. Studio equipment can be expensive, but this microphone is not. Whether it’s recording acoustic instruments, voice-overs, or just chatting on Skype with a friend, this microphone is well equipped to handle the challenge with great results.

PROS
built-in stand makes easy to place mic anywhere
usb powered plug and play
clear audio

The Snowball is a Usb microphone, it's very easy to use, has a pretty decent sound and a very affordable price that's hard to compete with.

The installation is simple, it's plug in play (via the usb). Any recording application you have should be able to recognize it once installed, but if it doesn't... just go into properties and tell your soundcard to listen to your usb port (problem solved)

It's a very stable mic surprisingly Blue has always been good at building projects that last (that's one of their trademarks)

OVERALL OPINION

I hated most about this mic was it's design. I can't stand the way it looks or it's build. It's just... clunky. The audio quality isn't too bad it's very usable especially if you're podcasting or just using the mic for some basic voice overs.

I hate the fact that you can't mount this mic to a mic stand. It's meant to be a desktop/table top mic but they couldn't made it a little more versatile.

I've used several different usb mics (condenser and dynamic) before using the snowball and they all had more features and a much better sound to me.

The other thing I didn't like too much was the snowballs super low recording levels. I found myself nearly kissing the mic in order for it to pick up of a semi hot signal.

Blue is known for making quality gear (mics, cables etc). I don't know what the aim was when this was created. If they were going for a regular podcast mic cool but people that use them/trust them expect studio mics or mics that can adjust to a studio environment and that is not the case with the Snowball.


If I had $100 in my pocket and needed a usb mic today the snowball would not be my mic of choice

I used this mic when I first got into DAW based recording a a while ago. I was expecting a USB Mic to not stand up to a professional studio's sound, but it turns out this thing is amazing. If you're starting out with recording, or DAW based recording, this mic is a wonderful way to experiment with things before you go out and buy an expensive interface. Props to Blue for coming up with something inexpensive, and comparable to studio mics twice the price. Blue is known for putting out great mics so it was only right they did the same with a usb version.

It's also great when on the road with a laptop. When an melody pops in your head, or you don't want to have to walk out the door and forget a catchy lick you just thought up, you can easily scratch track it without having to mess with interfaces, and powering up equipment.


OVERALL OPINION

I'm amazed at how good it sounds. I've used it to record my band and a friends band as well. For vocals it gives you a clean and crisp signal that naturally brings the vocals to the front of the mix. I often times find myself using the Snowball to record things over more expensive mics I own, because it's so easy and convenient to use. I leave it on my computer desk and when I want record I plug it in and I'm done, there's no fussing around with big mic stands and XLR cables. It's simple, it sounds fantastic and it's inexpensive. What more could you want from a mic? Downside of the mic is it can pick up a lot of other surrounding noises. You will need to be in a really quiet room or have a room that’s sound proof or treated properly so it doesn’t pick up things going on outside of the room. But this mic is very easy, just plug in the usb slot and start recording your music!