Blue Microphones

[pohaku]

does anyone spend money on ebay for expensive mics such as these, or do you play it safe when you spend more than a hundred bucks or so?

Almost all my mics (and most of my other audio gear) were bought on e-bay or used from other web vendors or BBs, including somewhat more expensive mics like GT MD-3, Beyer M160, Beyer M500, Audix VX-10, AT-4050, etc. I've rarely had a problem with mics after doing my due diligence on the seller (maybe 1 in about 80 purchases - and it was a relatively cheap mic -- Beyer M69). On the other hand, I haven't bought anything really high buck in the way of mics, like a Neumann U-67 or U-87 or a Sony C800G or AKG C12, off of E-Bay. I get the sense that scammers target really high end stuff more than the mid price gear. Most of the mics I've purchased, and most of the Blue line, are relatively mid-priced as mics go, with a few exceptions

 

[PhilGood]

Alright, I can add something helpful!

If you're looking for versatility, you can try Red mics (offshoot of Blue) and get the Red Type B. It's capsules are interchangeable via a bayonnette style connector. It's very quiet and transparent and allows the capsule to be the main component of the sound. You can then purchase different capsules the are voiced from classic mics, such as the Ela M 251, the U47/48, C12 etc.

It's a very inexpensive way to get to a vintage sound. I have one and love it. It's phantom powered as well.

 

[rory]

I've got a Kickball, and I like it. Again, it sounds horrible on some things and sounds great on others. I use it when I need a mellower sound than a 112 or a D6. It is for sale, by the way if anyone is interested . I very rarely use it, and am saving up for some APIs.

Rory

 

[ozraves]

i've got a dragonfly, and i've talked about it in numerous threads here.

it's an excellent mic. it is NOT an all-arounder. it excels at a LOT of things......vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, amps, drum overheads.....and it sucks on a lot of things too.....vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, amps, drum overheads.....

it's a matter of whether it works on the source in question for the song in question. not every mandolin track i record is going to have the same "demands" placed on it within the context of the song/mix. in some cases the dragonfly works great....in some cases an MXL603 is what's needed, or maybe even an SP B1 or an sm57.

mostly lately i've been loving it on drum overheads. that's just yummy.

but in general, the emusician review you quoted is pretty spot-on in terms of its "sound"....


cheers,
wade

The best sound I've encountered over a kit is the Dragonfly (in the right room, over the right kit and over the right player). I'd like to get another one.

 

[Phosphene]

I liked my Baby Bottle before I sold it to get my U195. I thought it was fairly smooth and pretty flat and versatile, actually. The only problem with it was that it was too damn hot for loud sources.

Anyway, you must not have done too much of a search if you think this site doesn't have any info on the Blue line. Just do a search on "Baby Bottle" or "Dragonfly" or "Blueberry." You'll get lots of opinions.

I bought a Baby Bottle on reputation and loved it. As one of their less expensive mics, it really is a great buy. It worked on my friend's vocals on his project I did a few years ago. Funny that I was auditioning a U195 at the same time amd we were comparing them for his vocals/acoustic guitar.
It is true, the Baby Bottle does have a lot of gain. It has a thick tone to me that is bumped in the mid (as mentioned by BLUE). The BB is my first mic I try when doing vocals (mine, or others)....and I usually stick with it.

I ended up still buying a brand new U195 a few weeks later (at an amazing price) and have kept it around as well.

 

[Phosphene]

All the time. Nearly all of my mics were from eBay or the Free Ads board . . . including my Baby Bottle

Same with me (Baby Bottle, Great River 1ME-NV, KM184 etc, Avalon 737) I sometimes get the persons' number and see if they are fo real or full of shite.

 

[Warhead]

I believe the "BlueBird" was built as more of an all-rounder.
HSG

Correct. As far as all purpose goes the Bluebird is a very useful mic.

If you guys ever want to hear a condensor mic with a low end sort of like a ribbon, check out the BLUE Mouse. That is a huge sounding mic.

War

 

[xstatic]

I love my Blueberry it has been a great mic over the years for vocals, some acoustic guitars, brass and many other things. If you want a powerful thick sound, look at the Cactus. For a meelower more vintage warm sound the mouse and to some extent the Kiwi fit that bill. If you want a mic system that fits the bill for just about anything you throw at it and holds its own against virtually any mic in existence, get the bottle with a few caps. The Baby bottle is also a nice mic, but I was never all that impressed when compared with the rest of the Blue line (except the spherical mics). Then again it costs much less too so maybe I should not expect it to compare. As for the Bluebird, I never really liked it much. I would pick up a baby bottle or two before ever considering the Bluebird.

 

[tsl92802]

I owned both the Blueberry and the Dragonfly. I've since gotten rid of them. IMHO, they're much too expensive for such sonically tailored mics. The blueberry has a great air and presense about it, but the kind that cuts through a mix really and given the majority of the stuff I record (heavy rock, etc) it didn't cut it on a lot of things. The dragon fly is probably the best mic for a clean guitar ever built. It's bright, very present, more in your face, but also found it can really bring out bad characteristics in a lot of singers. Again, very tailored and for 1000 and 800 I'd really expect and want a more versatile mic. I purchased two AT 4050's (at about 500 each new I believe) and have been MUCH more satisfied with them. A lot more versatile, a really nice kind of in your face, etc. I assume it has a lot to do with the style of music I record though...I just haven't heard a blue mic really "slam."

 

[littledog]

A few years ago I was in Guitar Center and I noticed they were selling a BLUE Mouse for under $1000. I bought it on impulse, and when I got it home I hated the way it sounded. I called up BLUE and they said send it to them and they'll check it out. They did find something wrong with it, which they fixed.

But then they asked me what I was looking for in a mic sound, and I described my likes and dislikes, and they revoiced the microphone so it was tailored to my own tastes.

So I guess i have a BLUE Mouse that doesn't really sound like a BLUE Mouse anymore, but at least I like it. Kudos to Skipper and the gang at BLUE for such great and personalized customer service.

 

[KonradG]

A few years ago I was in Guitar Center and I noticed they were selling a BLUE Mouse for under $1000. I bought it on impulse, and when I got it home I hated the way it sounded. I called up BLUE and they said send it to them and they'll check it out. They did find something wrong with it, which they fixed.

But then they asked me what I was looking for in a mic sound, and I described my likes and dislikes, and they revoiced the microphone so it was tailored to my own tastes.

So I guess i have a BLUE Mouse that doesn't really sound like a BLUE Mouse anymore, but at least I like it. Kudos to Skipper and the gang at BLUE for such great and personalized customer service.

wow thats pretty cool

 

[meriphew]

I would pick up a baby bottle or two before ever considering the Bluebird.

Ditto that. The Baby Bottle is a great little mic.

 

[littledog]

Correct. As far as all purpose goes the Bluebird is a very useful mic.

If you guys ever want to hear a condensor mic with a low end sort of like a ribbon, check out the BLUE Mouse. That is a huge sounding mic.

War

Hey, Warren!

I finally got around to thumbing through my May issue of Pro Sound News, and there you were taking up half of page 14!

Nice feature on you and your company. Congratulations!

 

[EDAN]

Very well-put.

Blue mics are not only application-specific ... they're situation-specific.

I've had people look at my DF and say: "That's a cool-looking mic. How does it sound?" And I usually say: "It depends."
.

That's the story of all mics, it all depends. The only way to see if a mic is REALLY going to work for you and your application/s is to buy it, take it home and try it out in your recording space with your equipment, running your chain, playing your instruments, recording your performances, your songs, using your "skills" etc., etc., etc. You can try it out in the store and "maybe" get some faint idea if it does or doesn't work on your voice, but in the end that's gong to have little do do with it and have nothing to do with how it sounds on other instruments. I find it funny someone in this thread said it's a much better mic than tha ST-C1 although their C1 sounds better on some sources, lol. I'm not sure how a mic that sounds better for an application is worse than a mic that sounds worse for the same application, but to each their own.

 

[BigRay]

The Blue mouse was used on Wilco's video I am trying to break your heart.

http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_wilcos_sonic_adventure/

 

[slobbermonster]

NIN uses some Blue stufff also

http://www.audiohead.net/interviews/nin/index1.html

 

[LeeRosario]

I was reading an article about the blue baby bottle microphone when he made this statement:



They've tailored microphones to handle certain tasks instead of one shitty do-it-all mic?

anyone here used blue microphones? if so, i would like to hear what you have to say about them, as there is no information on this site for them.

thanks.

(im a rock/alternative singer with a mid range voice, sometimes whispery, sometimes high and strong... male)

See what you have to understand is that it's not limited to Blue. There are mics out there to meet specific needs and tasks from all sorts of companies. It may turn out that blue may not even be the greatest thing on your specific voice.


In terms of blue, they are really getting out there with the quality of products they put out. In terms of being a household name (yet), hard to tell. But they are a definative name in the industry.

The rec room in gainsville (sister hazle, against me, some less than jake stuff) carry the baby bottle and do very well with it.

The mouse is also a mic that blue offers that seems to get a hidden wrap. Very versitle, but more so specific. Sounds great on snares, but also fantastic on broadcast type vocals.

In terms of blue mics, I'd say it's like having one of those knives in your kitchen set that comes in really handy after the others couldn't cut the steak.

So in other words, in my personal opinion, blue is not usually the first mic I would go for, but extremely close to that (unless we're talking about the the blue bottle mic)


I suppose the best thing is really getting the chance (through the store setups or friends/studios carrying the mics) to test your voice on different mics with others present. They don't have to be experts, but they can give you fanatic input on what they think sounds good for your voice. After all, the music will eventually circulate back to them.

 

[chessrock]

See what you have to understand is that it's not limited to Blue.

That's true. Just about anything out there can be hit or miss.

It's just that Blue tends to be a lot more hit/miss than the rest of the guys. The up-side is that when it's happenin,' it's really happenin.' When a Blue mic is a good match ... it's magic.
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