For any aspiring or professional musician, singer, Web show host, podcaster or game commentator on YouTube, you want to sound your best when posting online.
We’ve put together a list of the best (Blue) microphones for YouTube starting from the easiest plug-and-play USB mics to semi-professional, all under $250:
Which microphone is best for your YouTube showcase?
Snowball is a plug-and-play USB mic that works on both PC and Mac with any recording program. Featuring a dual capsule design, Snowball allows three recordings patterns: cardioid (right in front of the mic, best for singing), omni (all around the mic, best for multiple people or band practice), and cardioid w/10db pad (best for instruments), giving you incredible versatility to produce great recordings in a wide range of situations. Snowball is also compatible with iPad via Apple’s camera connection kit! Snowball MSRP $99
The same mic used by Justin Bieber to record Omaha Mall! No kidding, he was discovered on YouTube and see how well that worked out??
Who is this mic for? The Snowball is great for the beginner or those who don’t need all the bells and whistles. While it produces quality audio used by many professionals for voice overs and recording, it’s enough for the first time recordist or the hobbyist. Or maybe you just like the way it looks in your videos.
Taking it to the next level – Yeti is a multi-pattern USB condenser microphone. Featuring Blue’s premium condenser capsules in a proprietary triple array, the Yeti offers four recording patterns: stereo (natural sounding, right and left channels), omni (360 degree around the mic), cardioid (right in front), and bi-directional (front and back, great for interviews or duets).
Additional features include a zero-latency headphone output with volume control for direct monitoring, adjustable microphone gain control, and a mute button. The Yeti’s angle can be adjusted on its custom-designed desk stand, features driverless installation and works with both PC and Mac. Yeti MSRP $149
Who is this mic for? If you are ready for gain control, direct monitoring, stereo and bi-directional modes, then you are ready for the Yeti. Or maybe you just like the way it makes you look like Walter Kronkite.
Ready to get serious with your recording? Ready to take it to the PRO level?
Yeti Pro is the world’s first USB and XLR microphone combining 24 bit/192 kHz digital recording resolution—the highest digital resolution on the market—with analog XLR output.
With recording resolution up to 24bit/192kHz, Yeti Pro captures audio with four times greater detail than CD-quality audio. Take your recordings into a studio or run it through a mixing board in your home setup, Yeti Pro’s analog output allows you to go from USB to XLR at any time. For analog recording, Yeti Pro also includes an XLR stereo breakout cable for analog equipment.
Like the Yeti, Yeti Pro features Blue’s premium condenser capsules set in a proprietary triple capsule array, offering the flexibility of four recording patterns (cardioid, omni, bi-directional and stereo) for capturing a variety of recording situations from desktop to studio. Additional features include a zero-latency headphone output with volume control for direct monitoring, adjustable microphone gain control, and a mute button. Yeti Pro works with both PC and Mac. Yeti Pro, MSRP $249.
Who is this mic for? If you have an audio interface or mixing board and need a mic that will do both USB and XLR, Yeti Pro is for you. Or if you want the highest digital resolution on the market, then Yeti Pro is for you. Or if you just like the outfit we put on Yeti…
Spark is a studio recording microphone (read: XLR-only) featuring an innovative Focus control with dual sonic signatures. Designed to capture a wide range of recording situations, Spark also comes with a custom shockmount and pop filter in a professional wooden case.
Spark features Blue’s premium condenser capsule, delivering low noise, high efficiency, and rapid response in any recording situation. With a standard 3 pin XLR connection, Spark is well-suited for the professional studio or the home-studio interface or mixing board. Out of the box, the sonic signature of Spark is crisp and powerful with an enhanced low end. To achieve a more present sound, Blue introduces the Focus control, which when selected results in a tighter, more direct and focused sound. This all-inclusive professional microphone package also provides a detailed recording guide showing complete setup and recording tips for a variety of instruments and vocal sounds. Spark MSRP $199
Who is this mic for? Spark is for the recording artist who wants to graduate from USB to a studio mic and begin to look further into professional recording gear. While it is an XLR mic, Spark is inherently well-suited for the beginner, with a Focus button that allows you to experiment with your sound.
Icicle is a USB-XLR converter that allows you to connect any XLR mic directly into your computer via USB.
The Icicle is a USB-XLR converter and mic preamp combo that features a professional-quality microphone preamp, 48V phantom power, analog gain control, and driverless installation. With high-quality analog-to-digital conversion, Icicle achieves studio-quality sound through USB. Its portable, lightweight design makes it perfect for recording music, vocals, instruments, podcasts and more straight to your laptop or iPad. The Icicle works with both dynamic and condenser microphones, providing high quality and hassle-free connectivity with Mac or PC.
Who is this for? Icicle is for that person who wants to use their favorite live mic for recording or wants to use their studio mic to record on a computer.
Jamie Hill is an American music producer, engineer, and musician. He has produced albums, EPs and songs for music artists including ArnoCorps, KALRI$$IAN (under the alias Tony Highrise), and Shannon Curtis. Hill is also a touring mix engineer with a long list of credits to his name, including Everlast, House Of Pain, La Coka Nostra, The Presets, Elliott Yamin, Matt Nathanson, Nada Surf, Rogue Wave, Jolie Holland and Ed Harcourt.
Jamie Hill
I’ve been using the Dragonflies as cymbal spot mics lately for some live work. Not as overheads — the act I’m mixing at the moment has a lot of backing tracks, which takes up a considerable amount of space frequency-wise, so I’m finding myself needing to use spot mics with severely band-limited EQs all around the kit in order to leave space in my mix for everything that’s going on. To this end, I’ve been high-passing the Dragonflies at like 3,500 Hz! My goal is to reject as much of the rest of the kit as possible, not to mention the clang-ier parts of the cymbals themselves. I’m just going for that higher-end sheen.
I’m using my Dragonflies to capture the high-end sheen of our drummer’s cymbals. In other words, I’m trying to pick up as little of the rest of the kit as possible, and as little stick sound as possible. With that in mind, I’m positioning each Dragonfly over a cymbal pair (left and right), in-between said cymbal pair, at the outside of the kit (on the opposite side of the cymbal from where the drummer hits it). I’m aiming the capsules maybe 10 degrees outward from straight down, and they’re about 26 inches above the cymbals. I’m actually using the cymbals to block the mics’ line of sight from the toms, the better to minimize any spill that I can. The snare still gets in there a bit, but only the top end of it as I’m high-passing the Dragonflies at 3,500 Hz, and the top-end snare spill actually helps the snare poke through the mix a bit, so it all works out well in the end.
Given that, I feel largely unqualified to talk about anything below 3,500 Hz on these mics! From 3,500 cycles up, though, they’re super. The high end is smooth, detailed, and not crispy in the least — even in 25,000-person concrete amphitheaters, which will quickly betray any shrill tendencies a mic might have.
Also, I especially love how the capsule rotates. For live work, this is a life-saver — loosening and tightening a mic stand to hone in on a position is a drag when your console is 125 feet from the sound source! I can just have a stagehand rotate the capsule a bit if need be, and the rest of the mic stays put. Genius.
Get rid of the case it comes with and put it in a case that allows you to leave the shock-mount on!
With programs like Audacity and GarageBand, you can easily create an in-home studio. You can even upgrade your home studio to include a professional analog mic and still record to your laptop or MacBook. Here is a quick tutorial on how to record to GarageBand with the Bluebird, a condenser capsule designed for virtually any application, and the Icicle (XLR-to-USB converter) –