Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone

Reviews for Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone

Customer Reviews and Ratings

4.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 37 reviews

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great!

    • Written by from Conroe

    I've had quite a few mikes over the years, and this is by far the best I've ever had for home recording. It can be mounted on a mike stand, but the metal base that it comes with is so easy to use that recording with this is easy to do on any kind of table, desk, etc. That coupled with its plug-&-play functionality makes it a snap to use with my MacBook Pro. On top of that, no other pre-amp or similar device is necessary to use this. It truly JUST WORKS! Right out of the box! Nothing to install. Definitely worth the price. (And no, I honestly don't work for the company).

    39 of 42 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Beautiful

    • Written by from Cupertino

    This mic is absolutely wonderful. The recording quality had my wife doing a double-take when I played a short clip back for her - she legitimately thought it was me talking and could not tell that it was a recording. Even I - a self-appointed audiophile, is thoroughly happy with my purchase. The multiple pickups are wonderful and make a tremendous difference based on what you are trying to record.

    Awesomest of all is the beautiful headphone amp built into this. Now owning the mic, I would likely have purchased it for the headphone amp alone. It adds a tremendous level of audio quality to audio playback and provides latency-free monitoring of what the mic picks up. My only gripe with this is that you can't disable the monitoring. Turning the gain all the way down would achieve this effect, but I'd prefer to just be able to turn off the mic while still hearing sound from the computer.

    51 of 54 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Can't miss...

    • Written by from Mukilteo

    I'm a huge fan of Blue products, and this is another winner. I got this to record "demos" of my songs...basically just wanted something simple to get ideas down without having to set everything up (since space is limited, I can't have it dedicated to music all the time). This fits the bill. Plug and play, fantastic sound quality for the price. I can't compare directly to the snowball, since I haven't used it. This is essentially the upgrade to the snowball. But this mic utilizes three capsules instead of two, so it is more versatile with 4 discrete recording modes instead of 2. You can record a podcast, or your whole band. There is a setting for pretty much all your needs.

    If you are looking to take this on the road with your laptop, may not be the best choice. It's pretty solid. Still, it is certainly doable.

    I won't bore you with the rest. I love and trust Blue products. I love and trust Apple products. Put the two together and you can't miss.

    49 of 51 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Fantastic USB Mic

    • Written by from Provo

    This mic is fantastic! I tried the Samson G-Track before this one and this one is head and shoulders above it. Sound/price ratio is super high - for anyone that is starting in recording/podcasting and doesn't want to spend 500+ dollars to get into a professional setup, this is a great alternative. A great feature is the no-latency headphone jack.

    183 of 199 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Beauty, Versatility, Quality

    • Written by from Charlotte

    Blue is famous for their striking microphone designs, and their streamlined Yeti is a worthy addition to their product lineup.

    The first thing you'll notice is what a beautiful, well-designed object this is. The Yeti has a solid built-in desk stand that provides a bit of built-in cable management for headphone and USB cords. It's not the ideal choice for on-the-go recording -- this sucker is really big and heavy -- but the swivel-stand arrangement allows you to rotate the body of the mic upside down into the base if you do need portability.

    On the front: a mic mute button and headphone volume dial. On the rear, mic level control and a pickup pattern selector. (The dials are just a tad jiggly and plasticky for such an otherwise elegant design.) On the bottom are the zero-latency headphone jack and mini-USB connector. The swiveling body makes accessing the USB and headphone ports a snap. Another thoughtful addition is a 5/8 inch threaded hole that allows you to remove the base and mount the Yeti on a standard microphone floor stand.

    The Yeti houses multiple mic elements to offer stereo, omni, cardioid, and figure-eight pickup patterns. The selections give the mic a versatile bag of sound tricks, whether you're recording a solo podcast, taping an interview or group meeting, or laying down some vocals in GarageBand. The headphone amp doesn't exactly go to 11, but the mic delivers a pretty respectable output level. We're talking 16-bit USB audio, so the Yeti doesn't have quite the full warmth and sonic detail of a "real" large-diaphragm condenser like Blue's pro studio models, but the sound is surprisingly good for a USB mic, and noticeably cleaner than noisy competitors like the Samson G-Track.

    To avoid P-pops and breath sounds when working up-close, you might want to invest in a pop screen of some kind, though it seems a shame to put a big foam hat on top of such a beautiful head.

    No drivers needed -- just plug in the included USB cable and select "Yeti Stereo Microphone” for both input and output in the Sound control panel of your Mac's System Preferences. Configuring Yeti in GarageBand's Audio preferences is a snap, too.

    Did we mention how cool The Yeti looks sitting on your desk? The retro-modern aluminum styling matches the finish of Apple's current product lineup quite well.

    The Yeti's sound quality and multiple pickup patterns raise the bar for USB mics, and leave even Blue's much-beloved Snowball playing catchup. For the price, a product that looks and sounds this good is going to be pretty hard to beat. Highly recommended.

    211 of 230 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    A very very fun mic to work with

    • Written by from Valleyfield

    Sometimes, you buy an objet and you are very pleased with it, more than you expected... That's the YETI for me. I owned a few mics for music. All below 200$. I plug them into a small Mackie and then hook it up to a computer. That setup is bulky. And I never quite get the sound I would like to have. I am not a sound engineer. Just a musician who plays classical guitar and sing for his own pleasure.

    I purchase the Yeti for professional podcasting. I have a variety of devices to record stuff. And my favorite setting by far is this mic hook to a macbook pro. You can record for quite a long time without even bothering to plug into a wall, which make the whole setup totally portable.

    This is not the kind of mic to you put your mouth on... it needs space. If you're looking for a bass boost created by proximity, that is not the thing. If the room your record in is not too bouncy, you can easily record a voice 1,2 or 3 feet away. But it pick up everything... including your mac running. My PC is way to noisy to even try to record.

    The recording patterns are quite fun to play with. (for podcasting and music) it gives a distinctive feel. I found recording with this mic is quite forgiving. You don't need elaborate setting. For the voice, a little bit of compression and a touch of EQing do the job. I do not know much about this THX certification, but the sound is rich, detailed and overall very pleasing to me. Very easy to EQ. Nothing odd or unexpected as it often happen with a mic.

    The design is clever. I am a design freak. I like well designed objets and they are rare. This is one of those. It's beautiful and very functional. The base is heavy so it will not fall. You can position the mic on its stand with one hand. And when you fold the mic into the base for transportation, the capsules are protected. I was a little surprised to see a red led in the mute switch... Hey... Blue people... Make it blue. See my point... Blue... blue. Make sense don't you think. Apart for that tiny detail, I think this mic should received a price for design.

    From my point of view, I don't see the point in shooting for professional studio stuff unless you have a professional room to record. My sound will never be perfect. But this mic makes my work sound better. it's more pleasurable, easier to record and mix. it's by far the best upgrade for the price.

    391 of 406 people found this useful

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