Blue Microphones Bluebird

I am a home recording artist and engineer. I insist on over the top vocals. I have been able to get great vocal tracks from using an MXL 990 mic, but only after a specific EQ regimen.

With the Bluebird, the regimen is history.

This studio condenser mic was put through a simple side by side test. A simple vocal line with no processing. One track with the MXL 990 and one with the Bluebird. The result was clearly evident. The MXL 990 was very dry while the Bluebird track was crisp and full. I read reviews of this mic and they were all right on target.

It is a hot mic. You must be careful about overdriving your preamp and getting too close. I did 3 tests at various distances. 3", 6" and 8". The 3" was a bit boomy and I could not increase volume without red-lining. The 6" distance was probably the best, as the " left the track a little thin.

This mic is a keeper for sure.

I started writing and recording almost 20 years ago, but I went on a 10 year hiatus which ended in summer 2007. In my old life I was primarily MIDI-based with vocals being the only recorded sound. In my new life I've got a full fledged home studio going, with more emphasis on guitars and other "real" instruments. I use Sonar to record, and I monitor through KRK RP-5's. My interface is an Emu 1212m, fed from a pair of Focusrite Trakmaster Pro channel strips and a Presonus Digimax FS 8 channel preamp. My mic collection includes a Blue Baby Bottle, Blue Bluebird, Sennheiser e906, Shure SM57, Blue Ball, Blue Kickball, and a pair of MXL 603s's.

The Blue Bluebird is a cardiod large diaphragm condenser mic. I use it primarily on vocals, though I have also used it on guitar amp, melodica, and acoustic guitar. This was my first large diaphragm condenser, and I bought it primarily due to the recommendation of my salesperson at Sweetwater. I initially wanted to purchase a tube mic and was considering the Rode NTK or K2, but the salesperson convinced me that for my first LDC I'd be better off getting a good all-around mic without a specific character.

The Bluebird is an exceptional mic for the money, especially now that it sells for $300 (I paid $500 in summer 2007 for it). It is very crisp and clear on the high end without sounding harsh. The Bluebird is extremely sensitive and does not require much preamp gain, yet it has extremely low self noise. It has a strong proximity effect if you get up close to it.

I have primarily used it for male vocals, and it delivers a very smooth sound with a lot of mid-high presence. It does not impart any particular character on the sound, leaving you free to compress and EQ to achieve whatever character you want. For poppy, bright songs, it delivers perfectly for male vocals. For darker songs, some of the presence would probably need to be cut back. I also have a Baby Bottle which has a dark, warm character and is better in that role.

I've only used it once on female vocals, for a harmony part, and it sounded fine though admittedly it was not a particularly critical part so I wasn't evaluating it all that closely. But with it's very crisp high end response, I imagine it would be an excellent mic for female lead vocals.

I've also used it on guitar amp. Most of the time it's not any noticeably better than my e906 or SM57, however I did prefer it for one particular application. I was recording my Epi Dot (ES-335/semi-hollow) with a dark, jazzy, slightly crunchy tone, and the Bluebird picked up the nuances of this sound better than my dynamics.

I tried it briefly on acoustic guitar, and it sounded just fine, but I wound up going with a pair of small diaphragms instead so I could record in stereo. If I had two Bluebirds, I'd definitely use them for stereo acoustic guitar recording.

I also used it once on a melodica, and it did just fine.

I highly highly recommend this mic to anyone looking for an all-purpose large diaphragm condenser. I'm giving it a 10 not because I think it's the best mic ever made, but because I think for $300 it is an incredible value.

I've been making music for about 18 years. I've been recording my own music for about 14 years I guess. I've recorded using anything from cassette, digital hd, ADAT to Analog 8 track. I tend to favor analog in general. And my favorite way to listen to music is from a turntable.

The BlueBird was part of a package deal with a Focusrite Voicemaster pro. The price? I really can't break it down but I'd think I purchased a $500-$600 mic. One site had a list of $699.00.

The Mic is a large condenser with one Polar pattern, Cardioid. The first thing I noticed about the mic is it picks up more sound than my previous Condenser (AKG C-414). In some ways it sounds better recording myself singing and playing guitar with just 1 mic. It just really picks up sound.

My primary use has been for male vocals(tenor) and acoustic (d-28)guitar. I try different positions out because the mic does change depending on where I sit. If I'm recording guitar I tend to want to be closer so much vocals dont get drowned out.

The mic's charateristics remind me an AKG C12 I used in the studio once. Now that's a hell of an expensive mic that was traveling through a Neve board. Now I didn't have both to A/b but it just reminded me of the results. I can't desrcibe it in frequency or any of that jazz. I like it better than my old c-414. It's certainly brighter than the 414.

One problem I have experienced is it's extremely sensitive to humidity. At times it has just stopped, clicked, popped etc and become non-operational. This problem was solved by storing it in its case, although it could take days. I don't know if something is wrong with the mic or it just doesn't like humid home studios. The C414 for example never had this problem.

It has a nice sound and certainly lends character to a vocal. I definately think it's a bargin. I haven't tried it on everything but I mostly wanted to record vocals and guitar. It suits my vocals well. Keep also in mind I was only running this through 2 Focusrite preamps. Results could vary. Now I'm not sure how this would sound on lower male voices. I like a vocal out front and on top of my d-28. Some might not like the sonic blue color. Blue is a cool color and this is a cool mic.