Bluebird condenser microphone review
This review is a sequel to my comparison of the Bluebird to the Shure SM58 dynamic microphone. I was so impressed with the microphone that I wanted to add more comments specific to the Bluebird.
In the store: Of the many microphones in the cabinet, the Bluebird struck me as the best large diaphragm microphone for vocals with the custom pop screen (shown attached at right) that lets you get within an inch or two comfortably. Also the diaphragm up above the bottle lets you sing with your mouth well above the shock mount which is also included. The price was $299, which is a really good price when you consider not just the retail price but that the shock mount and pop screen are included. The styling of the microphone is cool too, really inspiring you to get into the studio.
Blue also put together a really helpful demo CD that let me compare the Bluebird to other Blue microphones. I found this really helpful because the right condenser microphone for you more influenced by personal preference than microphones for live performance, and buying $300 to $400 microphones until you find your favorite isn’t practical for most of us. In the live world, the Shure SM58 is such a workhorse that all other live mics are compared to it. To do significantly better than a trusty SM58 it becomes more important that the microphone match your voice. While generally, the consensus of the sales staff was often the Bluebird, sometimes they preferred another Blue model for the demo category, such as the Male Vocal. And I typically agreed with the assessment for the vocalist recorded, but knowing the difference between that voice and mine was able to see that the Bluebird would be the better microphone for my baritone voice.
Unpacking: I expected the standard foam insert in a box with cutouts for the microphone and shockmount. Instead, I found a sturdy wooden box for the microphone. First class packaging. When you lift the microphone out of the box it has a nice heavy feel to it. It gives the feeling that it was built with quality and corners were not cut.
Features: Many of the microphones had pad switches to reduce sensitivity, roll off filters to lower low frequency sensitivity, and switchable patterns to switch from a front only mic to front and back. Since I plan on digital processing where I could filter lows after the fact if I wanted, and knew I wanted the mic primarily for vocals and acoustic guitar none of the other features were value added for me. I was happier with a mic meant to do that job and do it well. The mic might overload if I tried to mic an electric guitar cab, but I’m generally happy with an SM57 for that job anyway.
Using the mic: The shape of the Bluebird does make it easy to sing into. I also found that it captured subtle nuances very clearly. It definitely inspired an expressive approach to vocals. You can listen to the trials I’ve done so far in my comparison to the SM58. This microphone was designed with close proximity use in mind, making the bass response right for this kind of close work. If you are used to singing live into a SM58 or similar mic, you will feel right at home working this microphone in the studio. I really wanted this close proximity capability not only for tone and feel but because the room sound of my studio (living room) is not ideal, and I want more direct and less indirect sound. I plan on trying the mic with and without tube preamps and also compare it to a Shure KSM27 in the near future.
The shockmount was sturdy and I noticed no issues with vibration during recording. It took me a few minutes to get the pop screen properly installed, but once in place it was fully isolated from the rest of the mic with felt. Another quality touch.
Summary: This micorophone is a great mic with versatility for acoustic applications as well as electric guitars, horns, and drums. My only knock is that you can’t put the mic back into the molded foam with the pop screen installed. That’s really looking hard to find something to improve.
To paraphrase Tom Hnatiw of SpeedTV’s Dream Car Garage:
Do you need a microphone like this? Unless you are feeding yourself with income from studio recording, no. You don’t need a mic like this.
Do you want a microphone like this? Yeah, you want a microphone like this. This microphone adds some personality and expressive inspiration to studio work that can become tedious. Blue knows how to build inspiring products for musicians.
- the MuseTags: recording
