Blue Microphone – Snowflake – First Impressions
June 11, 2010
Lots of friends and social media colleagues use BlueMic equipment to do their podcasting. I have been using the Zoom H2 as my mic for 51 episodes of one podcast and for about 40 episodes of another (along with some recording for NPR and other projects). I can say without doubt that the Zoom equipment has served me well, but I wanted to see if there were other mics that I could use in my studio so I wouldn’t have to break out the Zoom every time I wanted to make a Skype call or record a column.
Here’s a fast fast fast first take on the Snowflake Portable USB microphone from BlueMics (they’re at BlueMic.com).
*By the way, here are two podcasts for you to listen to. One was made with the Zoom H2 and the other with the Snowflake. No need to listen to the entire file, you can tell the sound quality once I begin my intro after the lead in by Natalie Gelman and the typewriter.
Now my thoughts…
The bad…
I think the Snowflake is a little more hollow than the Zoom. It has a slight echo and didn’t have the fine-tuning features as the other mic. This made me wonder if I had to go right up against the screen to get the strongest sound. It also may have some build-quality issues as the first unit that was provided to me didn’t work at all and I had to send it back. This unit worked fine, but the head swivels around easily and made me take extra care not to move for fear it would spin and miss some of my words.
The good…
It’s tiny. It’s plug-and-play. It’s affordable for anyone who prefers to use an external mic instead of the onboard one. It looks sleek. It works pretty well – again with some limits. And the customer service at the company is top-notch.
Verdict…
Too soon to tell. I’ve recorded one podcast on the thing and had the one hiccup of a bad unit. I’ll use it some more in various situations and let you know what I think.
What microphones do you use when you’re recording? What camera equipment do you use. I welcome your thoughts. Whether you’re Bob Knorp or Steve Garfield or even Robert Scoble, I know we can all learn something about the technology you use to record.
Thanks for reading.
