Rap vocals Blue Bird Mic

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ugg2009

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Hello everyone, I am looking at the BLUE BlueBird Cardioid Studio Condenser Microphone I'm loving all the positive reviews but I'm just wondering if they will give me good clear crisp vocals for rap music? I want a good studio sound.

Second question will a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface be a good match to use with the Bluebird mic? I plan on using this setup on a laptop.

If you have any recorded vocal samples using a bluebird mic can you please post a wave sample. The you tube videos I have seen are not the best of quality.

Thank you ,for any help in this matter.
 
ugg2009 said:
Hello everyone, I am looking at the BLUE BlueBird Cardioid Studio Condenser Microphone I'm loving all the positive reviews but I'm just wondering if they will give me good clear crisp vocals for rap music? I want a good studio sound.

Second question will a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface be a good match to use with the Bluebird mic? I plan on using this setup on a laptop.

If you have any recorded vocal samples using a bluebird mic can you please post a wave sample. The you tube videos I have seen are not the best of quality.

Thank you ,for any help in this matter.
Click to expand...

Well, I use the Bluebird primarily for female vocalists who have a deeper voice. But occasionally I'll use it on male rappers who have a mid to high vocal sound. The result is - pretty decent, I love it on female vocals as it adds this air to a deep vocal, sounds very open. On percussive vocals such as rap, it's difficult to really have a 'go-to' mic for rap as many rappers differ in their pitch / plosives / energy(level) so sometimes I'll reach for the Bluebird other times I'll reach for the sm7b. The 4047 is fantastic on higher-pitch rappers, I use that a fair amount too!

The bluebird is unfortunately very open and airy sounding, and because of this you are more likely to pick up (and increase) the sibilance when tracking. A better mic placement can help on sibilant vocals, but I often have sibilant vocalists come in who I have to switch between 2 or 3 mics before getting one that settles nicely with the high-freq.

I'd suggest looking for a more neutral sounding mic, with a smoother top end but no hype in the low end. You'll be looking at around the $500-$800+ range though if you want something that is smooth and STILL open sounding. If you don't mind waiting 24hours (I just got in from a 12hour shift so I'm getting some shut-eye in a few minutes) I can track a quick snippet of my vocals through a Bluebird into a very neutral/clean RME preamp (so you hear just the mic, not the preamp). Hopefully that will give you some better judgement before you purchase.
 
UrbanKlass said:
Well, I use the Bluebird primarily for female vocalists who have a deeper voice. But occasionally I'll use it on male rappers who have a mid to high vocal sound. The result is - pretty decent, I love it on female vocals as it adds this air to a deep vocal, sounds very open. On percussive vocals such as rap, it's difficult to really have a 'go-to' mic for rap as many rappers differ in their pitch / plosives / energy(level) so sometimes I'll reach for the Bluebird other times I'll reach for the sm7b. The 4047 is fantastic on higher-pitch rappers, I use that a fair amount too!

The bluebird is unfortunately very open and airy sounding, and because of this you are more likely to pick up (and increase) the sibilance when tracking. A better mic placement can help on sibilant vocals, but I often have sibilant vocalists come in who I have to switch between 2 or 3 mics before getting one that settles nicely with the high-freq.

I'd suggest looking for a more neutral sounding mic, with a smoother top end but no hype in the low end. You'll be looking at around the $500-$800+ range though if you want something that is smooth and STILL open sounding. If you don't mind waiting 24hours (I just got in from a 12hour shift so I'm getting some shut-eye in a few minutes) I can track a quick snippet of my vocals through a Bluebird into a very neutral/clean RME preamp (so you hear just the mic, not the preamp). Hopefully that will give you some better judgement before you purchase.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input, and please do post the sample when you can.
 
One difficulty in getting a good sound from rappers is that most of them cup the mic when they perform live. In the studio it's not possible to do that so I think a lot of times we have a hard time trying to get a sound that they like and are used to. The mic needs to capture the agression/passion of the artsist's voice. I think the Blue Bird is a good mic but it might not work for every rappers voice. You honestly need a wide choice.
 
Fruity Loops said:
One difficulty in getting a good sound from rappers is that most of them cup the mic when they perform live. In the studio it's not possible to do that so I think a lot of times we have a hard time trying to get a sound that they like and are used to. The mic needs to capture the agression/passion of the artsist's voice. I think the Blue Bird is a good mic but it might not work for every rappers voice. You honestly need a wide choice.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback, I have finally heard a sample of some vocals from a Blue Bird mic so I bought one today along with an interface. Now I'm shopping for a laptop so I will post some samples next week. I love the bright and punchy sound. If it doesn't work out I can return it and just buy something else.
 
Sounds str8 pro.. Very nice and clean sound. I subbed u as well.

I will be using the saffire 6, Blue bird, shure headphones,and finally an HP laptop I5 so I'm hoping I get a great sound wit it. Thanks for posting some full tracks, I love what I heard . Check my page out sometime.

myspace/ugg2009
 
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