I'd love to give this 4 and three quarter stars because it's a great microphone. There's one or two things that mean it doesn't get 5 stars, which is why it's at 4.
Good:
-It looks great. I got it in glossy black, and it's a really good looking, cool, retro style microphone - In glossy black, I might add, really does look glossy, much like the DS lite in terms of looks, unlike the matte looking picture on amazon. When it's turned on, the red light looks great and the shiny "Blue" logo on the front looks awesome.
-It's well made. The plastic is of great quality, it feels pretty sturdy, the microphone grating part behind the logo and through the slits at the back is a strong metal. The tripod that it comes with is really good, it's strong, sits on the desk well, the rubbery feet mean it doesn't move easily once you put it down, so the tripod does the job and is easily adjustable. There is one issue with how it's made, but I'll get onto that.
-The sound is good. It's very clear, crisp, and on the whole has good pick up. There are three settings which are different, I tend to use the omnidirectional even for podcast like recording, because the one designed for it picks up more noise from the room, so the omnidirectional does a better job at just getting my voice, but that's just through my experience. The second setting for recording instruments has quite a low pick up, so talking in that mode isn't so easy, and since I don't have a pop filter, talking close to the microphone isn't really an option - it is, however, the most warm sounding of the settings. For better sound tests, look it up on youtube, as that'll give you an idea for some of the modes, but in my experience so far, it's better than what you hear on youtube, but that might just be because I'm hearing my own voice.
-Very easy to set up. Takes less than a minute if you know what you're doing - Control panel, sounds and audio devices, audio, then change the default microphone to snowball. Very simple and easy. One issue I had (not the microphone's fault), was that when I opened up my audio editing program, in this case audacity, it was still set as the inbuilt microphone, so I was pretty worried for a second until I realised my mistake and changed it to the correct setting.
-Delivery was good. After it was dispatched, took a day or so, and I was using super saver delivery (the free one). This was my first purchase on amazon, so I was delighted to get it so quickly.
-Price. Excellent. Got it for £63, or there around, and I see it's been cut from around £80, I saw it in maplins for £99, so a really good buy at the moment for the money.
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Bad:
-There's a sticker type thing going around the upper ring which has the name and company name, which has a bubble in a couple of places which means it's raised up a bit, and it's hard to push out. It's like getting a bubble when laminating a sheet of paper. It's somewhat annoying, and a shame because the rest of it is so good. It covers up the joint between the two halves of the microphone, so I won't peel it off, and will refrain from reminding myself that it is there. I make it sound like it's a bodily issue, but it's really something that should have been printed on, not a cheap sticker.
-Sound could be *slightly* warmer. I can't really explain it. I like the omnidirectional and the second setting, but the podcasty setting was slightly too harsh in its pick up. A little hard to explain, but not worth not buying for.
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Verdict:
It's great. For the price, for what you get, it's wonderful. It's my first stand-alone microphone, and it's a great buy. Obviously there are better microphones in the world for higher prices, and there are a few features I would have liked like an on-board mute button, so I wouldn't have to go into skype to mute myself, or to pause the editing program. It's visually an awesome mic, it's a physically strong mic, and it sounds really good. I'm very pleased with it, and it's 100x better than the inbuilt mic I was previously using, and can't wait to continue my use of the snowball in future. If you're looking for a microphone, buy this one.
| Product Dimensions | 12.38 x 20 x 25.4 cm; 0.1 Grams |
|---|---|
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. |
| Item model number | 988-000068 |
| Colour | Silver |
| Compatible Devices | PC (Windows 10 or later), Mac (macOS® 10.14 or later) |
| Connector | USB |
| Hardware Interface | USB |
| Material Type | Aluminium |
| Country Produced In | china |
| Colour Screen | No |
| Hardware Platform | Laptop, PC |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1, Windows 7, macOS 10.10 or higher, Windows 10 |
| Power Source | Corded Electric |
| Voltage | 240 Volts |
| Item Weight | 0.1 g |
