How do you use the Blue Yeti USB microphone? - Blue Microphones Yeti USB MIC Review
Blue Microphones Yeti USB MIC Review:
Blue Yeti Microphones USB Mic
Whether you're recording a podcast, interview, or concert, Yeti's THX-certified sound quality, built-in gain control, and four recording modes (including stereo) make it the best choice for a USB microphone.
Bad, if you're looking for something thin and portable, Bigfoot isn't for you. In addition, the wobbly plastic handles make us wary of durability.
The bottom line of the Yeti is one of the richest-sounding, sonically flexible USB microphones money can buy, but its large size makes it inconvenient for portable applications.
Forget what you think you know about recording audio-the traditional home microphone is dead. You'll never have to plug in a mini jack again to trigger your awful buzzing signal in your Mac's microphone jack to record podcasts, conversations, or music.
The USB digital domain is here, and it's better. Blue's Yeti, the beastly follow-up to its innovative Snowball USB microphone, exudes a retro charm completely at odds with its next-gen makeup.
A heavy metal construction in the style of the 50s, complete with a brilliantly designed table stand with a large footprint, gives it a gravity that its little brother (a white plastic ball) missed.
Blue Yeti (silver) on Amazon from
How much does it cost?
The Blue Yeti microphone can be purchased for $ 129.99 (about £ 100 / AU $ 180), which is quite reasonable for a high-end microphone, given that you can spend over $ 1,000 on very high-end models.
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Home EntertainmentBlue Microphones Yeti USB Mic
Blue Yeti Microphones USB Mic
From the company that brought you the snowball and the Snowflake comes the Yeti, a $ 149 USB microphone designed to ravage and plunder desktop recording studios.
If you're wondering why Blue Microphones would name their microphone after the mythical hideous snowman, then you should see Bigfoot in person. This thing is huge, like, eerily huge. It's a foot tall, weighs 3.5 pounds, and makes most microphones look like Happy Meal toys.
But aside from its intimidating size, the nickname Yeti is just as well suited to describe its sound. Compared to similar microphones like the Samson G-Track or even Blue's own $ 99 Snowball, the Yeti's sound quality delivers noticeably better depth and detail. It produces great sound from a large microphone.
You can also buy a smaller version of the Nano for $ 99, 99 (£89, 99 / AU $ 159) if you want to save money, but keep in mind that the smaller version doesn't support stereo or bidirectional modes (so you won't be able to sit at the guest table on your podcast.)
Earnings by day
One of the advantages of its 5v USB port is that the Yeti is able to put many of the most important recording controls onboard. There is a built-in gain dial, necessary if you are recording quiet or distant sounds, and useful to prevent further processing.
It also features a volume control for a real-time headphone amp, a mute button to pause recording, and the most important control: a pattern switch that you choose from the four operating modes of its triple capsule array.
In terms of features, Yeti offers zero-latency headphone monitoring, a headphone volume control, and a handy mute button that's perfect for when you need to clear your throat. On the back, it has a knob that allows you to directly control the microphone gain. Under the gain dial is the real gem of this microphone: a multi-channel selector with four recording modes. Like the snowball, it has an omnidirectional mode to capture sound from all angles, and a cardioid pattern to focus on the sound right in front of the microphone. Because the Yeti uses a unique three-capsule design (instead of the two included in the snowball or one capsule used by most other microphones), the microphone offers two more recording patterns: stereo mode and bidirectional mode, which extracts sound directly in front of or behind the microphone.
To better understand the Yeti's stunning size, we photographed it with two of the most common USB microphones on the market: the Snowball (left); and the Samson G-Track (right). Bigfoot towers over both of them.
While it's not as flashy a feature as counting capsules, the solid, human-shaped metal stand does a better job than a G-Track or Snowball when placing the microphone at mouth level. However, if the banality of the stand is overwhelming, a standard microphone stand is also included at the bottom of the Yeti.
Unfortunately, the wobbly plastic knobs used to adjust the volume and gain seem out of place on a solid brick Yeti. During our few weeks of testing, the flimsy handles never disappointed us, but their seemingly delicate design should probably be handled with care. If you are a chronic klutz, a two-year warranty against defects is included.
When it comes to performance, the yeti has a lot to brag about. To begin with, this is the first microphone or audio input device to receive the coveted THX certification. Certification involves many factors, including frequency response and signal-to-noise ratio testing, and perhaps most importantly, performance consistency testing across multiple product batches. In other words, the Yeti had to sound good and have a reasonable chance of sounding good to each user.
The Yeti three-capsule, multi-antenna microphone design is another world-first USB microphone. The three 14mm microphone capsules are arranged in a slightly offset triangular design, offering four different recording patterns, including stereo, which is a rare find for a relatively large capsule microphone like this one. And while we're big fans of the microphone capsules used in the Blue Mikey and Snowball products, a Blue product representative was quick to point out that the Yeti uses a new capsule design with a slightly different fit that uses a three-capsule design.
Of course, you'll need to hear the Yeti to truly appreciate what the microphone has to offer. We've included a few audio samples to give you an idea of the superior depth and range of the Yeti recording compared to similar USB microphones.
The quality of the Yeti was clear and complete in every test we gave it to its numerous templates, although you can invest in a pop shield for best results. Its omni-directional mode captured a room full of people chatting clearly and loudly, the cardioid and bidirectional patterns were pleasantly accurate (though you'd have to lean near the microphone to get the best of them), and its stereo pattern is perfect for podcasting, carefully separating the multiple voices gathered around the table.
If this range of functionality does enough to counter the only obvious drawback of the Yeti-the fact that it's connected to a single microphone rather than a multi-head configuration-it's a matter of taste.
But keep in mind that an external mixer and matching microphones to replace your stereo function will cost a lot more than a Yeti, and it's undoubtedly a high-end microphone (THX certified, no less) at a ridiculously reasonable price.
