Any BLUE mic owners in the house?

[chessrock]

I'm interested in your thoughts on the BLUE line. Not so much the Baby Bottle, because I've tried that one.

I'm talking the vocal mics like the Berry, Dragonfly, Kiwi, Mouse, etc.

They seem to get a lot of mixed reviews. I've heard some vocal recordings with these mics that sounded absolutely creamy and luscious. And I've heard some that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard . . . particularly on sibilances and hard consonants.

Reviewers all report that they're quarky when it comes to angling and placement.

So what's the real story here? Are they a truely professional line of mic, or are they just a harsh, sibilant piece of crap? I'm interested in picking up a Dragonfly, and I'll be happy if it only sounds wonderful only half the time. I have other mics I can use during the times it sounds shitty.

Thanks!

 

[Recording Engineer]

Feeling Blue?

Well I don't own any BLUE mics, but I've gotten to use a couple on occation. To me, you can go ahead and forget the Mouse. It wasn't bad at all, it's just I'd pick-up TONS of other difference mikes that cost less before I'd pick the Mouse.

Hand me over a Dradonfly any day of the week... I'll put it to VERY good use EVERY session!!!

 

[chessrock]

Re: Feeling Blue?

Hand me over a Dradonfly any day of the week... I'll put it to VERY good use EVERY session!!!

Interesting. I haven't had a chance to use it extensively, but I'm looking at the frequency curve, and I'm saying to myself : "Hey, that curve looks familiar -- in that it's almost the exact same one I use when I EQ drums (small bump around 80-90hz for kick. . . big, wide dip in the mids . . . small rize around 2K for snare "crack," followed by a rise in the higher frequencies for cymbal/hi-hat definition).

If I don't like it, I'll let you know, or I'll just ebay it . . . like I've already done to half of my collection already. I'll find one I like one of these days.

 

[Michael Jones]

I have the B.L.U.E. Mouse.
I think it's a wonderful mike.
Definately has a coloration to it. Wouldn't use it on a nasal-y vocalist, but on a soprano female it takes some of the harshness out, and on a low alto male - it defines warmth!

I picked mine up on consignment. Paid $650 for it. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

 

[laptoppop]

I use a Dragonfly often and love it, especially on vocals.

-lee-

 

[frist44]

The dragonfly is incredible.

A couple months ago i bought an NTK thinking that would be the ticket for my voice. After using it, i bought a few more, TLM-103, and dragonfly to try out. The dragonfly was so much better on my voice. Silibance and popping was all better. It was almost like there was a compressor on it for how it responded. it didn't peak out when i sang a "p" word.

Hands down i think the best mic in that range is the dragonfly, at least it worked for me

Brandon

the craftsmanship is amazing too, they ship it with set screws to hold the diaphragm still during shipping. the store i called didn't have one in stock and BLUE sent me one straight from Latvia that day.

 

[chessrock]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Frist.

Actually, I have you to thank, partially for bidding on it (ebay) in the first place. I heard the vocal you cut with it and shared in the mp3 clinic . . . then I listened to one of your preveous tunes you cut without it and it was like . . . wow . . . that's like night and day. Your voice sounds great with it.

This is the strangest coincidence, but after I bid on it, I did a quick search and found something in the mp3 clinic from a year or two ago. And believe it or not, it was from the same guy I bought it from! ! ! Isn't that a hoot?

So here I am listening to MY mic, and I'm thinking . . . damn, that doesn't sound at all like Frist44's dragonfly. This one sounds kinda' shrilly and harsh. Check it out:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=29213&highlight=dragonfly

AJ Grossman the III. Small world.

Anyway, my guess is either a) he forgot to take the screws out, b) it just didn't fit his particular singing style, c) he didn't position it right, d) bad preamp?

If it sounds that way when I get it, I might consider sending it to BLUE and tell them it doesn't sound right and can they tweak with it? They're pretty well-known for their customer service (ala Studio Projects), so it wouldn't surprize me if they accomodated.

 

[littledog]

I picked up a BLUE Mouse a couple of years ago from Guitar Center, when they were blowing them out for $1000 including the pop filter.

The good news is that the pop filter perfectly fits my Lawson L47mp, and it's a killer pop filter and looks REALLY cool.

The bad news is that I hate the Mouse. Now, to be fair, I suspect there is something wrong with it. It only seems to want to work with certain of my preamps (phantom power issue?) and even so needs to be cranked. This is in the face of reviews that say it has a very hot output. So perhaps something is wrong. One of these days I'll send it back to BLUE and have it checked oout, since i never use it. (I know, it's been two years... what can I say, I'm a master procrastinater...)

Anyway, when I have got it working, it seems way overhyped in the upper mids. I had some success with it on darker sounding acoustic guitars.

But, it's hard to generalize based on my experience, as it's probably not a healthy specimen. Love that metal pop screen, though. And nice wooden case, too. And it is kind of pretty to look at... (and I do like their mic cables, and I've HEARD great things about the big bottle...)

But let's face it, these days all my mic purchase pennies are being set aside for that magic January 20003 date when the Stephen Paul mic goes on sale. (pant! pant!)

 

[ausrock]

January 20003 date when the Stephen Paul mic goes on sale. (pant! pant!)

I suspect we will all be dead by then

 

[frist44]

hey chess,
I'm glad the mp3s i posted helped someone else and not just myself. To tell you the truth, i think my voice is kind of odd in a sense. I tried several of the mics that everyone recommends on here and none of them sounded good to me. I found that my voice has an exagerrated midrange and can be quite nasaly with certain mics. The blue was the first mic that i was honestly proud of the vocals. If that isn't enough evidence to purchase it, i don't know what is.

You send that thing to me and i'll send you some bitchin' tracks. No tellin if the mic is not for your voice (or the guy's you bought it from) or just wasn't used right. you know how all the shootouts go on here and all the variables that come into play. Take it with a grain of salt. good luck man. that's a sweet mic.

Brandon

 

[Bear'sGnFission]

I've seen a lot of comments on the forums and in the mags comparing the Dragonfly to the TLM-103. Kind of similar in that they are scooped in the mids, with a big top and a big bottom. The Neumann's high's boost at a lower frequency than the Dragonfly's, so it has a bit more of what one might characterize as "presence" in it's sound, espescially for vocals. The Dragonfly's boost becomes substantial closer to frequencies associated with "air-iness". Particular voices are going to favor one over the other. If you have one or the other, though, the Baby Bottle will be a good choice as an alternate mic, as it has clear, flatish mids and attenuated top and bottom.

Bear

 

[alanhyatt]

I suspect we will all be dead by then

Especially if it is not ready!!!!

 

[ausrock]

20003 - 2002 = 18001yrs.

Maybe littledog was actually thinking in "doggy" years......but even then it's a hell of a long time to wait for a mic

 

[littledog]

ehhhh, what's an extra zero or two among friends.

but - an interesting follow-up to my post:

i figured since someone praised BLUE's customer support, i'd finally stop procrastinating and try and contact them about my misbehaving Mouse.

So I went to their website, only to find no e-mail contact info, just some phone numbers (not 800). So I cheated and used the Mix 2002 Master Directory and sent an e-mail to their general corporate address explaining my dilemma.

It was Friday night when I sent it. I left early Saturday to do a couple of gigs, and imagine my surprise to find my girlfriend left a note explaining that while I was out, Skipper, the owner of BLUE called (on a Saturday!) to say that BLUE will be happy to examine and repair my mic free of charge, regardless of whether it is in warranty or not.

Damn! That's customer support!

 

[chessrock]

Skipper, the owner of BLUE called (on a Saturday!) to say that BLUE will be happy to examine and repair my mic free of charge, regardless of whether it is in warranty or not.

That's not too surprizing. I've heard many similar stories about Skipper. He's a class act.

 

[CyanJaguar]

I like my blueberry through my tube vmp-2, but I hate it through the solidstate sytek, even though the sytek makes the 4033 shine and the vmp-3 does not work well with the 4033.

I think that with the blue mics, its highly dependent on the preamp. They will show flaws in a pre really quickly. I dont know if this is because they are so quiet or if the high end boost is just overly aggressive.