A hint away from buying the Blue Bluebird, assure me!

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sugarfreeboy

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Hey guys!

A while ago i posted a thread about a new mic ;

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=3111929

I was about to order my CAD M177\9, when an opportunity presented itself to me at the form of a highly affordable second hand Blue Bluebird.

Now, as stated, I have a baritone voice (I think.).
Will it suit me better then the M177\179?

You've been of much help,
Thank you.
 
I just picked up a Bluebird, and I find it very transparent- just the facts, ma'am, very little color. For some vocalists, that's perfect. If you're looking for something to airbrush your warts, it'll suck, because it will tell the truth. For a very good clean vocalist, it rocks. Those same qualities make it a good instrument mic for a very good instrument in a good room, and a bad mic for a cheap guitar in somebody's bedroom. In other words, a good mic for Freddy Mercury, and a bad one for Bob Dylan.-Richie
 
Go and get it!

I did a project last year where I was trying out both the Bluebird and a Shure KSM44 at the same time... Where the KSM44 was pretty much dead flat and not flattering the vocals at all (a bad thing in this case - it accentuated the shrill qualities of oth of the singers) the Bluebird rounded out the vocals very nicely and smoothed them out.
 
It just seems wrong to buy a mic because it can make bad singers sound less bad...... no reason, just a hunch.....


I can assure you of this......if you save your money you can get a much better mic.

Didn't EV buy this line from Blue?
 
That's very interesting, because Isfahani and I hear two very different things. Now I have some mics that I consider "colorful", and they are among my favorites- for some sources. For instance, Oktava MC012 and AKG C2000B I like precisely because of the way they airbrush certain sources. I often use the Oktavas for rock drum overheads,because they give the cymbals a kind of rough edge, like pinking shears, wheras for jazz or country overheads, I usually use Neumann KM 184's, precisely for high end detail. The Bluebird and the C2000B are both among those mics I stick in front of stuff where the mic I want to use is already in use elsewhere, but I use them on different stuff. The C2000B I use on cabs, toms, cheap guitars, mandolins, or banjos. and frankly, bad female singers. The Bluebird I use on piano, strings, harp, clarinet, woodwinds, and *good* female singers.

And what do you mean, Soundchaser, that you woudn't buy a mic because it makes bad stuff sound good?? Spoken like a man who isn't required to record bad stuff. Congratulations- I don't have that luxury. And- color and transparency aren't good or bad- just different. I have a B.L.U.E. Kiwi, which is a rather colored mic. I love it. I have an AKG C414, which is a pretty transparent mic. I love it. If you are recording Pablo Casals on a $400,000 cello in a perfect room, you don't need a colored mic. If you are recording Jessica Simpson, and she's drunk, you don't need an honest mic. Honesty is overated. What I look for in a mic is that it will make *something* sound good, hopefully a bunch of stuff. And- I want it to be a well made mic by a respected company, so that if I need to sell it, I have a chance of getting back my money. On that basis, and in its price range, I believe the Bluebird is a very good mic indeed. Mine is certainly worth what I paid for it, and I could sell it for what I paid for it tomorrow- but it ain't gonna happen.-Richie
 
I entirely disagre with many of these posts.

bluebird is fantastic, isn't all that flat or accurate, and is a great vocal mic in many situations. it does "improve" vocals somewhat from my experience and is one of the best vocal mics (and good for other things too) in it's price range.

also looks cool and is really well made (well, the spider mount sucks on older ones...).

and I do entirely feel that one should buy a vocal mic to improve someone's singing. otherwise we'd all just buy flat mics and live with it. the term I prefer is to find a mic that "compliments" a singer's voice, but basically you want a mic that is flattering for the source you're recording. emphasizing certain midrange areas and certain high frequencies while de-emphasizing others is what a great vocal mic is all about.

I would get the bluebird if it's cheap enough. otherwise the m179 is fantastic too and in some ways more versatile while less of an "obvious" vocal mic (but I use it for vocals all the time too).

cheers,
Don
 
I owned a Bluebird for a few weeks and just didn't like it. I wanted to, but found it too bright for my taste on vox and acoustic guitar. I think if you are wanting to use it as your go to mic you might be better off with something else. Just my humble opinion though. I stumbled on a Blue Baby Bottle for a price I couldn't pass up and have enjoyed it so much more than the Bluebird. I also own a CAD M179 and love it. Much better as a go to mic for many situations. I think if you are really set on the Bluebird you should go for it and if it doesn't suit your taste, sell it and try something else.
 
Now that just goes to show you that everybody's ears (and tastes) are different. I also own a Baby Bottle and it is often too dark for my tastes. I prefer the Blubird as an all-around mic. Note that neither Jugband or I are right or wrong. Some people just like Strawberries instead of Blueberries. We simply don't all have the same ears.-Richie
 
I agree Richard, no one is right or wrong. That's the beauty of it. The Bluebird is a very solid mic. Just not for me. So did you go for the Bluebird sugarfreeboy?
 
Richard Monroe said:
If you are recording Pablo Casals on a $400,000 cello in a perfect room, you don't need a colored mic. If you are recording Jessica Simpson, and she's drunk, you don't need an honest mic. Honesty is overated. What I look for in a mic is that it will make *something* sound good, hopefully a bunch of stuff. And- I want it to be a well made mic by a respected company, so that if I need to sell it, I have a chance of getting back my money.
Click to expand...


All of which I obviously overlooked. I guess mostly because I am not recording other musicians every day, I'm just at home trying to find gear that makes me sound palatable, which means my first goal is to find mics as honest as possible (in my price range) so that I know what I actually sound like.......if that makes any sense.

If I were recording others on a regular basis, I would undoubtedly have come to recognize the truth of your point, that you need a variety of gear that will "compliment" the variety of musicians you have to record. I hadn't thought of that, and the Blue mics should be a nice fit for someone, somewhere, sometimes.....

I sure like my SM7 and C414 better than others I've used. I still think EV took over the Blue line.....which may be good for manufacture, but may not make any improvements in sound "honesty"....

But you and dkelly are quite right, sometimes the right mic for a particular sound source is a Blue or a Rode or an MXL, etc.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Now that just goes to show you that everybody's ears (and tastes) are different. I also own a Baby Bottle and it is often too dark for my tastes. I prefer the Blubird as an all-around mic. Note that neither Jugband or I are right or wrong. Some people just like Strawberries instead of Blueberries. We simply don't all have the same ears.-Richie
Click to expand...

It's more than just ears. A lot of this probably is because of differences in the sound of the sources themselves. That's why I generally try to ask for voice samples or a description of the person's vocal range and sound before we suggest a mic. There are a few "safe" choices like the M179, but different voices work better with different mics, so if you tell me you have a dark baritone voice, I'm likely to recommend something more like a Hamburg, Røde, modded Chinese mic, etc. If you tell me your voice is fairly bright/high, I'm likely to recommend an M9 or a ribbon. If you find a ribbon too lacking in the top end but otherwise a good balance, I recommend a Lundahl upgrade. And so on.
 
friends, I got the mic and it rocks.
Will post samples as soon as ill wake up tomorrow (it's 4am here right now and just got back from hanging out @ Jerusalem)

THX AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR POSTS =)
 
Go Sugarfreeboy! Yo Soundchaser! I'm glad you got the point. I don't record different people every day, but I do it a lot, including some pretty weird instruments- Viola diGama, Persian Zarb, Crumhorn, and even the dreaded accordion! My wife is a harper. I record a lot of chamber music, Middle Eastern dance music, and medieval ensembles, aside from rock, reggae, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and a 12 part Science Fiction radio play with multiple live mics and stock tracks.
What I find interesting is that you like the C414, and are not a fan of the Bluebird. I find them to be rather similar sonically, and I stick the Bluebird in places where I would use the C414, but it's already being used (unfortunately, I only own one C414). I picked up the Bluebird recently at a pawn shop, and it's been seeing quite a bit of use.
The SM7 I use mostly for voiceovers, and oddly enough, although I don't use it for *my* vocals in the studio, as a rule, it is my main live vocal mic. It sounds great through a small PA, and is very feedback resistant. My main studio vocal mics (for me) are the B.L.U.E. Kiwi and Rode NTK. On my own voice, for a studio dynamic, I often use AKG D770. The key is EQ, or lack of it. I can make the SM7 sound good on my voice with the right amount of midrange boost, but the D770 sounds good with no EQ at all. For other voices, I use other mics.
It's weird- I work with 4 female vocalists, and every one of them hates the Kiwi (or it hates them, I'm not sure) Mo, the contralto, uses Rode NTK. Susan, the Alto, and Carolyn, the mezzo soprano, both use Oktava MK319 (which I bought at GC for $50). Wendy, another alto, uses the C414. For other material, Carolyn and Wendy both use AKG C2000B. That's exactly my point. Mics are like shoes. They either fit, or they don't. Cheap shoes that fit are better than expensive ones that don't. Instruments are the same, although not as variable as vocalists. If you've got a lot of different feet, you have to have a lot of different shoes.
Sometimes I get a mic without a clue what it will be good for, just because the price was right, and I find it on the "B room" equipment lists of major studios, so I figure it will be good for *something*. In so doing, I find some hidden gems that nobody really ever used much for that purpose, or aren't respected much at all. Needless to say, there is a wicked long list of great mics I don't own, and can't afford, so I have to make the most of the ones I do have. Here's the short list of the mics I use most often, and what I use them for. I have left out a bunch of mics I own but rarely use:

B.L.U.E. Kiwi- main vocal mic. My most expensive mic, I use it for almost nothing but my voice. It's the shoe that fits *me*.

AKG C414B-ULS- acoustic guitar, especially in a dense mix. Almost any acoustic instrument, and almost any percussion that isn't wicked small (chimes) or wicked big (kick). It's a standard on Djembe. Certain specific vocalists- one in particular that sounds like Celine Dion (who happens to often use a C414)

B.L.U.E. Bluebird- almost anything I would use the C414 on, but it is already in use.

AKG C2000B- Good on cheap acoustics, truly great on rack toms, but here's the weird thing I never expected- it's simply my best cab mic, hands down. Violin/viola,cello

AKG D770- snare, vocals, voiceovers. This is an underated gem I use anywhere that most folks would use an SM57.

Shure SM7b- voiceovers, live vocals, brass/sax (studio or live), floor toms. All-purpose live instrument mic.

AKG D112- kick, standup bass, some voiceovers, especially people with deep voices. It's perfect as the bottom mic on a Djembe. Bass cabs if the bass player insists on mic'ing a cab.

Oktava Mk319- female vocals, especially if I want to tame one that is a little shrill.

Rode NTK- vocals, especially ones that are loud enough to get the tube cooking- rocks on blues, R&B. Some acoustic guitars.

Neumann KM184- Jazz and country overheads, harp, piano, nylon string guitar, woodwinds, clarinet. Also very good on stereo ensemble recording-choirs/orchestra, etc.

Studio Projects C-4- Anywhere I would use the Neumanns, but I'm afraid they'll be broken or stolen. Excellent on acoustic guitar, especially nylon string.

Oktava MC012- Rock/Blues overheads, violin/viola/cello. Like the C2000B, the color helps to tame bow scratch.

B.L.U.E. Baby Bottle- Certain vocalists, both men and women, usually ones with voices that are bright and clean.

As I said, I have some other mics, but mostly, those are the ones I use 90% of the time.-Richie
 
Middle Eastern dance music? Like who? Middle Eastern and Indian music is what I have been playing and doing sound mostly for the past 20+ years - with side trips into Celtic Folk/Irish Pub rock and Rai/Flamenco music.
And I happen to agree with your taste in mics...

Now, nowhere did I say the singers were bad. Far from it. It's just that the Shure in question wasn't the right mic for their voices and the Bluebird was.
 
I can totally understand the point about different mics for different vocalists. I find that even recording myself only, that for one tune a PR35 dynamic will be the right choice, and for another tune I will prefer a condenser. I have a dynamic that is reported to be very flat and natural(RE-15), but it mostly sits unused. I prefer some flattery...and some smoothness. It's like a movie actress who won't go on camera without make-up.
 
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