Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone Bundle

Other products by Blue

Product Features

• Uniquely designed plug-and-play USB mic connects to either a Mac or PC
• Dual capsule design and unique three-pattern switch can handle everything from soft vocals to loud garage band
• Switchable mic patterns for a variety of recording applications, including podcasts
• Swivel mount located on the bottom center of the mic body
• No additional software required

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B000EOPQ7E
• Item model number: BLU SNOWBALL
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16 in Musical Instruments (See Bestsellers in Musical Instruments)

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  #3 in	Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Microphones
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Product Description

From the Manufacturer
Finally, a USB mic that’s not only easy to use, but sounds as good on your desktop as it does in a professional recording studio. Meet the Snowball,™ theworld’s first professional USB mic.

Whether you’re recording a guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in the studio, the Snowball can capture it with detail unheard of before in a USB mic.

The Snowball is a direct plug n’ play mic that connects to either a Mac or PC – no additional software is needed. With its dual capsule design and unique three-pattern switch (cardioid, cardioid with -10dB pad and omni), the Snowball can handle everything from soft vocals to the loudest garage band — and it’s ideal for podcasting. Check it out and you’ll see why it’s the coolest mic in town.

Podcasting Perfected and More Golly. What is that thing? Simply put, the Snowball is Blue Microphones’ revolutionary new USB microphone—the first studioquality USB mic on this (or any other) planet. It’s never been easier to get live audio into your Macintosh or Windows desktop or laptop. Just plug it in, adjust your input level and you’re up and running! Ok. But what’s so great about it? Aside from its simple direct interface, the Snowball is simply the best-sounding USB mic on the market, and with two pickup patterns and a separate setting for really loud sounds, it’s versatile enough to cover a wide range of recording and real-time applications, from high quality podcasting and telephony to vocal and instrument recording in both home and professional studios. Whether you’re recording a podcast, a guitar at your kitchen table or the whole band in the studio, the Snowball can capture it with detail unheard of in a USB mic. iPod, therefore iPodcast. Of course you want to do your own podcast! Enter the Snowball — the perfect solution for professional-sounding results in an affordable, easy-to-use package. Ideal for any application where you need to get high-quality audio into your computer, the Snowball unites the heritage of vintage classic microphones costing thousands of dollars with cutting edge technology and an ease of use never imagined! Engineered to be heads and ears above built-ins and "computer store" mics, the Snowball can handle everything from vocals to sound effects and, of course, just about any musical instrument! Yep, it’s included. The Snowball includes a shielded USB cable and a spiffy desktop mic stand. You also get an easy-to-understand manual with loads of recording tips, so you can literally set-up your Snowball and be recording in just a matter of minutes. Plus, a variety of software recording applications are compatible with the Snowball,* including Apple’s new GarageBand 3. Give it a listen — you won’t believe your ears.

The world’s first professional studio-quality USB mic, from Blue.

Features & Functionality

1. What exactly is this Snowball all about?
   The Snowball is a revolutionary microphone. Leave it to Blue to reinvent the wheel… err, microphone once again! With USB connectivity, it has never been easier to get live audio into your Macintosh or Windows desktop or laptop. Just plug it in, adjust your input level and you’re up and running.
2. Is The Snowball a dynamic microphone like the Blue Ball, or a condenser like the Blue 8Ball or Kiwi?
   The Snowball is a condenser, which, according to the audio wonks we know, has a smooth open sound with a nice, natural high-end.
3. I’ve heard that condenser microphones require something called phantom power. Do I need to concern myself with this? Does The Snowball need batteries?
   No. The Snowball derives its operating voltage from something called bus voltage, which is always present on your USB port. As long as the red LED is glowing, you know you’ve got power. The Snowball does not require batteries.
4. Do I need any special software to use The Snowball? Do I need any drivers?
   Technically, no. Depending on your application, your OS may have sufficient features to utilize the capabilities of The Snowball. But, to get the most out of your Snowball, you’ll want to have some kind of software that allows for digital signal processing and non-linear editing that will accept audio from the USB port. Some examples of these programs are listed below. As long as you are using Windows XP or Apple OSX, you will not need any drivers.
5. Can I use The Snowball with a traditional analog audio mixer?
   No. The Snowball features digital output only. It must be connected to a USB port in order to function.
6. What sample rate and word length does The Snowball use?
   The Snowball’s digital output is set to 44.1 kHz / 16-bit, just like an audio CD. But this is something that only audio geeks really need to worry about.
7. How can I select a different sample rate?
   Because The Snowball is designed for the greatest ease of operation and setup, sample rate / word length are not user-definable. Sorry, geeks.
8. Can I use more than one snowball at a time?
   Some audio editing software allows for multiple USB connections. Check with your software vendor – they should have technical support staff who can answer all of your questions about their product.
9. What does cardioid and omnidirectional mean? Why should I care?
   These are the two polar patterns The Snowball is capable of producing. If you think of polar patterns as the shape of the area that a microphone "hears," omnidirectional hears everything at equal volume from all angles (in a 360o sphere surrounding the mic), while cardioid only hears what’s right in front of it at full volume and other sounds at increasingly diminished volume as the sound source moves further away from the center of the mic (audio techs call this off-axis). You should care because one of the most useful features of a microphone is the ability to control its pickup. We like polar patterns so much, that some of our professional studio microphones have as many as nine different patterns! With The Snowball, we’ve given you the two most likely to be useful to you.
10. What is The Snowball used for? Is it a vocal mic, an instrument mic or both?
    The Snowball was designed to provide a wide range of applications where a high-quality transducer (a fancy way to say microphone) is needed, but so is ease of use and setup. Though most professional engineers prefer certain microphones for certain applications, we designed The Snowball for use with a wide variety of sources. Here are some suggested applications we came up with when we were locked in Blue’s patented anechoic think tank: instrument and voice for music production / pre-production / demos, DV-looping / dialog, podcasting, sound effects, audio sampling, interactive programming, video sweetening / post, internet telephony, internet conferencing, recording lectures, poetry slams, spoken word performances and speeches by your favorite politician – generally anywhere where you need an easy-to-use microphone and you have access to a computer with a USB port. Happy recording!
11. Do I need to keep The Snowball in the freezer when I’m not using it?
    No. This is one snowball that won’t melt!

Please note: as there are so many different software packages that are compatible with The Snowball, we are compiling a list of software we’ve tested and assured compatibility. We will publish that list shortly along with detailed instructions explaining how to use The Snowball with each package because, as you can imagine, they are all different! In the mean time, we suggest consulting your software’s manual, user forums and technical help lines. Here are a few to get you started:

Software Setups
How to get audio from my Snowball with…

• Garage Band
  1. Go to Preferences->Audio and select the Blue mic as the input device (it will only show up when The Snowball is plugged in).
  2. Create a vocal track and select the Blue mic as the input device for that track.
  3. You may need to adjust the Snowball’s input level in the control panel if you experience any distortion (crackling).
• Logic 7
  1. Open the Audio and MIDI setup program in your Apps->Utilities folder.
  2. Create an Aggregate Audio Source (Audio menu - open Aggregate device editor).
  3. Add the devices you want to use to the aggregate device (Built in audio and Blue mic).
  4. Change the audio device in Logic's audio preferences from Default to Aggregate.
• Sonar
  1. Select "USB Audio Device" ( 1, in, 0 out) from an audio track.
  2. From within that subcategory, there are 3 selections: Left USB Audio Device, Right USB Audio Device, and Stereo USB Audio Device.
  3. Select Left or Right for mono audio tracks.
  4. Press "R" to arm the track for recording.
  5. Roll disk.
• Adobe Premier Elements 4 (Windows Vista/XP)
  1. First, make certain that your Snowball has the latest firmware update. With this latest update installed, you'll be good to go. If you should experience any problems getting the program to recognize the mic, Adobe recommends the following:

     If the device does not allow you to record, then your microphone is not being detected as a valid input device in Premiere Elements. You can use an open source program called ASIO4ALL, which is a device driver that essentially wraps existing WDM devices, like USB microphones, as ASIO-compatible sound devices. Use the following steps to utilize this tool:

  2. Quit Premiere Elements.
  3. Visit the following web page and download the latest available version of ASIO4ALL: http://www.asio4all.com/
  4. Install the software, and restart the system if asked to do so by the installer.
  5. Make certain that your microphone is plugged in.
  6. Launch Premiere Elements.
  7. Go to the 'Edit->Preferences..>Audio Hardware' menu option.
  8. For the Default Device, choose the ASIO4ALL option.
  9. Click the ASIO Settings button, then select your microphone from the list of devices, click Exit, and then click OK on the Preferences dialog. Close and then restart Premiere Elements.

Hardware Platforms

• Windows Setup Procedure
  1. Under START MENU open SOUNDS AND AUDIO DEVICES control panel.
  2. Select AUDIO tab; insure BLUE BALL USB MIC is selected as DEFAULT DEVICE.
  3. Click on VOLUME; select appropriate volume level.
  4. Exit control panel.
• Macintosh Setup Procedure
  1. 1. Open Apple menu -> SYSTEM PREFERENCES.
  2. Double-click SOUND preference file.
  3. Click INPUT tab.
  4. Double-click BLUE USB BALL MIC under CHOOSE A DEVICE FOR SOUND INPUT dialog box.
  5. Set input volume to the appropriate level.
  6. Exit SYSTEM PREFERENCES.

Product Description
Includes: tripod stand. Blue Microphones Snowball - Round and white, the Snowball lives up to it's name, and features a retro style that harkens back to the early days of audio. But on the inside, the Snowball represents only the most modern in microphone technology. Bringing you professional quality audio recording on the PC or Macintosh via USB. It's perfect for everything from soft vocals to a loud garage band. It's also ideal for professional sounding podcasts. PC Requirements - XP Home or Professional Edition, USB 1.0 or 2.0 port, and a minimum of 64MB of RAM Mac Requirements - Mac OSX, USB 1.0 or 2.0 port, and a minimum of 64MB of RAM

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, clean cardiod sound, mac core audio, warm omni mode, May 24, 2006

By	Matthew J. Rygelski (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, I own a lot of microphones. I am very picky when it comes to sound and I would gladly waste $40 in gas to return a microphone that just didn't have the sound I expect. I was delighted to hear the quality of this USB mic! It has a great clarity to it, without being "tinny" or "crispy", and without sacrificing on the lows either. No "boomy" or "hollow" sound, just a nice clean and full-range quality that I expect from my $500-range microphones (but thankfully, without having to fool with an audio interface or goofy proprietary driver software!) What a great find... plug it in and it is ready to record!!

If you are looking for an intelligent, clean, affordable microphone for voice-over projects, podcasts, quick-and-easy live recording (with your laptop, of course), or open-mic music composition before dragging all the gear out to record a full-blown multitrack, this is the best money can buy in this category. Not to mention, it looks great sitting on your desk! BLUE has definitely convinced me to buy again, solid construction and solid sound (and no stupid drivers like Samson's USB garbage). Maybe next I'll get a Bluebird or Baby Bottle, this company is worth a closer look now that I've heard the very smooth sound of their entry level -- BLUE has got my attention!!

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great microphone with a lot of options., November 20, 2005

By	Cesar G. Gamez "CG" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I started podcasting I began looking for a quality microphone that would provide me with quality sound while being inexpensive. This microphone has been GREAT for my podcasting efforts. There are three options: single vocal, live music, and a 360 degree vocal mic which allows me to share my microphone with other guests in the room without loosing sound quality.

In fact, I once did a podcast outside by the freeway and the outside noise was minimal. This is a great buy.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, April 21, 2009

By	Robert Taylor (La Jolla, California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Length:: 1:36 Mins

Always hold it close to your mouth to eliminate echo and get that deep, rich satin voice you're looking for!