Blue Microphones Mikey iPod Recording Microphone with Speaker

by Blue Microphones

Product Features

• Mikey works with iPod nano 2G, 3G & 4G; iPod classic, iPod 5G, and is compatible with most protective cases.
• Superior quality, stereo recording
• Positionable/directional design
• User adjustable gain control
• Requires no software installation
• It's never been easier to get the award winning, famous Blue quality sound on the go!

Product Details

Blue Mikey User Manual [PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 8 inches ; 2.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001FBL2SW
• Item model number: MIKEY
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,416 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #37 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Portable Recorders
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 30, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

With the Blue Microphone Mikey, you can transform your iPod into an all-purpose, high-grade recording device. Mikey connects directly to your iPod and uses superior sound-capture technology to produce pristine, balanced recordings. Three gain settings let you capture lectures, voice notes, live music, interviews, travel journals, and more. And because Mikey is compatible with nearly every iPod model--including iPod touch, 5G, 4G, 3G, 2G, classic, nano, and the iPhone--you can now get award-winning Blue-quality sound on the go.

Turns your iPod into a high-quality recording device Condenser capsule technology for pristine audio 180-degree pivoting hinge Three gain settings for precise adjustment Built-in speaker for instant playback without headphones

Mikey with the iPod classic.

The unique hinge lets you pivot the microphone up to 180 degrees. View larger.

Mikey works with nearly every iPod model including the iPod nano.

A Pocket-Sized, Versatile iPod Recorder
Mikey requires no software to operate--simply plug it in to your iPod via a standard 30-pin dock connector and begin recording. Its sleek black-and-silver design will complement any style of iPod, and you'll find it's compatible with most protective cases.

Mikey's compact size makes it highly portable. Measuring a mere 1-3/4 inches in height and a 1/2 inch in depth, Mikey isn't likely to attract attention, even in the smallest venues.

Mikey even has a built-in speaker, so you can listen to the playback of your recordings without headphones. You can record up to four hours of continuous material before having to start again.

High-Definition Adjustable Sound Capture
In spite of its compact size, Mikey manages to capture high-quality sound. Thanks to Blue Microphone's signature stereo condenser capsules, Mikey is able to record sounds that range from the barely audible to the deafeningly loud--all without a loss of fidelity.

And because it's built on a hinge, you can adjust and pivot Mikey a full 180 degrees. This is a useful feature, as it lets you direct the recorder toward the source of the sound, improving your sound quality. For instance, if you're sitting on the top tier of an auditorium and want to record your professor's lecture, you can tilt Mikey downward to obtain a clear, loud recording.

Mikey features three different gain settings, allowing you to dynamically adjust the microphone for optimal recording of different audio sources. For concerts at large venues, you can simply flip the switch to high-gain and get audio up to 500 feet away. The microphone's dual-sided foam, metal grill, and proprietary rubber shock-mount work to cut out ambient noise, which helps you record a targeted audio source with maximum precision.

Supports Most iPod Models
Mikey supports a broad range of iPod models including the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod 5G, iPod Classic, iPod Nano 2G, 3G, and 4G. [Note: in order to use the device with the iPod touch or iPhone, a compatibility-promoting app may be necessary for best performance].

Mikey is backed by a limited two-year warranty.

What's in the Box
Microphone and instructions.

Product Description

With positional/directional design and stereo capability, you can record your rehearsals or gigs. Other features include a mono confidence speaker, variable gain control, overload protection, recording status light and up to 1.5 hours continuous recording. It's never been easier to record your world. Meet Mikey, Blue's new iPod recording device that makes recording lectures, voice notes, live music, interviews and more - Mikey can capture it all with audio quality unheard of in a hand-held device. But hey, you'd expect that from a company with years of experience designing and engineering award-winning studio mics! Mikey features Blue's superior quality stereo condenser capsules, 3-position user selectable gain settings, and built-in speaker for playback. You can fine-tune Mikey to record everything from the barest audible sound to extremely loud sources without losing audio fidelity. Mikey's unique user-positionable head swivels 180 to provide maximum flexibility and usability, allowing you to position Mikey towards sound sources in various directions. Record up to 1.5 hours continuously Compatible with iPod nano 2G, 3G & 4G; iPod classic; iPod 5G & most cases

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mikey...me likey! June 4, 2009

By BBLA

Sorry that's cheesy, I know but...I purchased Mikey from a local music retail store and I think I might be falling in love. I used it with my old iPod Nano and found a few uses for it, but now that I carry my iPhone with me everywhere I go I figured I would try it with that. That's where things get real interesting.

There are a whole bunch of great recording apps on the App Store (I'm currently using iProRecorder)that assume you're using the iPhone's built-in mic. But - when you plug in the Mikey, those apps go from rudimentary voice recorder to 'record anything you want, awesomely.'Here are some places I used it:

Setting 3 (loud): Recorded a rock concert (No Doubt). Made a two hour recording with the Mikey and iPhone in my shirt pocket and was amazed. Handled the peaks of the concert perfectly, and ended up with a bootleg that I was actually excited to listen to - sounded natural, like I was there. Played it back on my tunedock at home and my girlfriend thought it was an 'in concert' CD. Girlfriend impressed by my gadget = 5 stars!

Setting 2 (normal): I've been recording meetings, phone calls, and interviews at work. The stereo separation is a great feature for this - gives recorded interviews much better presence and a very natural L/R/L/R flow. Sounds eerily natural, too. The clarity is great - I can understand conversations much much better than those recorded with the built-in mic. I even compressed a recorded meeting on the iPhone, emailed it to an assistant from the phone, and had her transcribe it as well. Sweet. People ask me what it is all the time and they're always pretty wowed - gadget makes me popular = 5 stars!

Setting 1 (sensitive): The manual says this is good for quiet lectures or other quiet sounds - I find it's kinda fun for eavesdropping or just "hearing what you can hear." I haven't played much with it yet but it is very sensitive, and it did do a good job of picking up a conversation on the other end of the room - it also picks up air conditioners and lights too. Amazingly, no noise! I think Blue is just showing off how clean and sensitive the mics are. If I was a student I could see this would be super useful, though.

The Mikey product itself is a very cool concept. It's compact, the exact same width as my iPod/iPhone (so it looks natural when connected) the angle/detent feature is pretty darn slick and it allows you to pose the device/combo in any way you'd like without any extra parts to carry around. It's clear that a lot of thought went into the design. It feels pretty substantial - a lot of it is metal and the plastic has a heavy feel to it. It's also pretty cool that you can hold it up to the light and see some of the guts in between the grills, including the massive stereo microphones inside.

One of the reviewers said it felt cheap or creaky - not sure if maybe he dropped his but mine feels very solid and doesn't creak, certainly moreso than any of my other iPhone accessories. That reviewer also said he was getting weird effects between the stereo capsules. With mine, I've noticed that if I get too close to the Mikey, (less than 3-4") it can get a bit weird, but I get a great tone when I'm about a foot away anyways - I think this is what it was 'tuned' for. It's actually fun to experiment and see what this thing can do - if I was a musician I think I'd go nuts for it.

The good: Sound quality, design, versatility of the 3-position gain switch, stereo capabilities, ease of use

The not so good: Little expensive (though this company does make $1000+ microphones!), little too easy to unplug from the iPod/iPhone (not sure if this is Apple or Blue issue), does capture wind noise a little too well, would really love a carrying case of some kind.

In short, this thing makes great audio recording fun! Pick one up and have a good time discovering all the ways you can incorporate it into your life. Hope that's helpful.

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars almost perfect, but not quite August 19, 2009

By Nelson Skjellyfetti

I haven't yet done a bunch of recording with this mic, but wanted to post a review to alert possible buyers of one potential snafu with it. Based on the manufacturer's assurance that it would be compatible, I purchased one to use with my second generation iPod Touch. When I got my first one, I took it out of the package and tried to plug it into my iPod, while the iPod was still in its leather case. The connection was neither physically nor electronically effective. So I took the iPod out of its case and tried again. The connection was both physically and electronically better, but unfortunately, the electronic connection was intermittent. The blue power indicator would turn on and off as the tenuous connection made and was broken. I returned this unit, hoping I had gotten a lemon. I tried my luck with a second one. This one wouldn't power up under any circumstance. I contacted the Blue Microphone company to ask them why this was happening. Following is a paste from their response: "Apple designers made a small change to the connector housing tolerances. The result has been occasional variance in the actual depth of the connector, something in the .5mm range. We designed Mikey using Apple measurements that did not reflect this small possibility of variation in connector location.The result is that Mikey works perfectly with the majority of the new Touch but on some the connector is ever so slightly out of position yielding the result you have described." I asked if it would be relatively safe to file or cut away at the plastic around the connector on the mic, so as to allow deeper connector penetration into the iPod. Their response was: "I do not know if this is a fix. I hesitate to advise on any modifications." I returned my second one. After thinking about it for a while, since I had used other Blue mics and wanted to trust that they had built a quality mic for the iPod, I ordered a third one. Knowing I'd void the warranty, I chiseled away the plastic shoulder around the connector. Now it's stable both physically and electronically. I don't assume responsibility for anyone attempting this procedure, but I'm here to say it worked for me. So if you decide to try the mod, BE CAREFUL, good luck, but don't blame me if it doesn't work for you.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Blue Mikey iPod recorder May 31, 2009

By M. St. Clair

Have used it to record music, both acoustic and electric. Renders clear sound in both situations. Gives a slight reverb effect to vocals, which I like, in lower volume situations.
Its compactness is a plus, but the tiny switch which adjusts the sensitivity is a little hard to get at. You need your nail. The fit into the iPod slot could be tighter and more secure.
Contrary to what I read in a NY Times review, I can't get it to work with my 3G iPhone.
Have used it with the old and the newer Nanos.
With the newer Nano it is too easy to accidentally erase a recording; I've done that at least 5 times and lost precious recordings because the "play" and "delete" options are right under each other and if your finger slips slightly, it's all gone.
Old Nano has a "cancel delete" safeguard.
Sometimes the "voice memo" option would not come up when I attached it to the new Nano, which made it impossible to record, but I think it was the iPod's fault, not the microphone's.
The resulting recordings are WAV files when you open them in iTunes. If you want MP3s you have to convert them, which is very inconvenient.
Price seems high, but if it lasts years, I guess it will be worth the money.