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| |  | | Home » Blue Microphones BlueBird Condenser Microphone | | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 16.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 12.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 4.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 4.4 pounds | | Package Length:
| 12.68 inches | | Package Width:
| 11.18 inches | | Package Height:
| 5.28 inches | | Package Weight:
| 4.41 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 8 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 8 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Beautiful mic with great soundAug 11, 2011
By Sean
This microphone is an excellent microphone that has a flat frequency response from 100 hz to 2khz. It does have a bump in the 2khz to 10khz which provides some sheen for higher vocalists, but can also provide some "esss" problems for certain singers. The easiest ways to fix this is to point the microphone between the upper lip and under the nose, or simply using a de-esser.
Now onto the microphone (paired with a Grace m101 pre-amp):
Great clarity, relatively low self noise, and very beautiful to look at. For acoustic guitar and mid range male vocals, such as mine, this mic is an excellent choice. To best use the bluebird to its fullest potential, I think you should really sing close into it. I found that there was a huge difference from a couple inches away to 6+ inches. You'll get your money's worth if you don't fear the mic!
Accessories: The provided pop filter doesn't really do a great job, but I think everyone that is getting into recording should buy a high quality pop filter. My personal favorites that are cheap: Stedman Proscreen, as well as the Shure Popper Stopper. The shockmount is durable, but needs to be tightened a lot to stay in place.
Compared to some of my other microphones that you guys might be looking at as well...(keep in mind I'm comparing the other mics with my 3 main needs in mind: Acoustic Guitar and Midrange Male Vocals with occasional female vocals).
1) Rode Nt1a - The rode has a much harsher sound, probably due to the freq bump in the 10khz to 20khz zone. Some people love this mic, but I think the Bluebird kills it in every way.
2) Blue Spark - The spark doesn't sound as pretty on my vocals. While it is a good mic on its own, I definitely think the $50-$100 price difference is worth it for the Bluebird.
3) Blue Baby Bottle - Hands down, the bluebird sounds better for my primary uses. For certain instrument sources, I would go with the baby bottle though.
4)MXL 2003a - This is tough. The 2003a is a very solid mic and has a permanent place in my meager locker, but the Bluebird slightly edges it out on the acoustic guitar, and kills the MXL on the looks. Buy both...or if you only have $200 to spend, get the 2003a.
5)Cad Gxl 2200 - No competition, Bluebird.
6)Shure Sm7b - This is a dynamic and needs lots of clean gain from a good pre-amp (You'll need more than 60 db). I prefer the Bluebird on my acoustic guitar. With some EQ on vocals, the Sm7b is hard to contest with. For female vocals, I like the Bluebird much better though. If you already have a great pre-amp unit, I would say try out the Shure Sm7b before anything else. It is a studio staple for a reason, if you don't have the right pre-amp though, it will be a paper weight. So...bluebird if you don't have a good pre-amp, and sm7b if you have a good one.
Bottom line: for a "budget" mic under $300, the Bluebird is quite possibly one of the best choices possible (if not the best). The quality, looks, and sound will not disappoint you if you have similar recording needs as me. I highly recommend it.
12 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Fashion over FunctionJan 24, 2010
By S. Taylor
This microphone sounds very good on everything I've tried it on. Running the mic through a DBX 376 mic pre, I was able to get some great vocals. Though to get a good amount of clarity on the consonants I did have to ask the singer to back up about six inches from the mic. Being close in, the mic just didn't pick up the T and S sounds. With that adjustment, the mic did a good job on vocals ending up with takes the singer and I were both happy with. It didn't blow me away, but it sounded good. I've used it on a combo amp with good results as well as acoustic guitar and mandolin with better results. Not blown away, but overall happy with the way it sounds being a two to three hundred dollar mic.
What I really don't like about this mic is how the look of the design and aesthetics of the mic are clearly more important to blue than the functionality. Getting this thing in and out of the shock mount is a bit of a pain as it threads into it. I just know I'm going to mis-thread the thing once and have to spend another 80 bucks to get a replacement. Also, every time you adjust the angle of the shock mount you really have to crank the small thumb screw to get it to stay into place. I find the thing very difficult to lock into place all for the sake of looking attractive. I find nothing less attractive than poor functionality. Which brings me to the pop screen. I've read plenty of reviews claiming the pop screen was useless. I wouldn't know because the screen that came with my mic doesn't fit the mic. I sent an email off to Blue and didn't hear anything for two weeks, in the mean time Amazon shipped a free replacement, but it had the exact same issue. Blue responded to a second email and they said the last batch of screens was bad. Blue is supposed to be shipping me a pop screen "when they become available", so I hope I'll be getting one.
All in all, it's a good sounding mic for the money. I find it to be on par with my ADK A51. It's not the "crown jewel" of my modest mic collection but a different flavor to use. But I find the functionality of the accessories to be cumbersome at best, and unusable at worst.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Beautiful work of art that sounds great!!!!Aug 10, 2011
By D. DAY
"EnochLight"
As always, Blue comes out on top with aesthetic design. Simply put, there's no manufacturers left that make mics that looks as beautiful as these! But mics are all about recording and the Bluebird is no slouch - it's a great all around mic, but I found it perfect for vocals, stringed instruments, and some light percussion. Highs are crisp and the plosives seemed controlled.
I like this mic so much I bought a second one not even 6 months later - highly recommended! Came in a velvet blue lined wood box, though the Birdcage shockmount doesn't fit inside for storage. :-(
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
best Mic I've Used for Vocals and Spoken WordOct 29, 2010
By Mitchell Small
I produce recorded books for the Library I work for. We've had this on order and it came in today. I Unpacked this mic about an hour ago . . .
I had just a few minutes, I have not had a chance to tweak anything and already that is the best vocal mike we've used to date. I also have to say I am impressed with Blue's presentation: the wood box and hand certified inspection only adds to the cachet of the product. I am impressed with the company's attention to detail.
Previously, I've been using an AKG-4500. I still think it's a great mic, but here's differences. I powered down the preamp to change mics, but did not change any equipment settings or distance to the mic. After powering up the preamp, I started talking, as if I were doing a book. My levels were much higher, but still not at clipping level. More significantly, the middle tones were THERE, that indefinable place that makes it sound as if you are talking right in the listener's ear. Highs were still nice and clean and the bass had more boost than the AKG. After a short session, I put the AKG back on and talked some more. Excellent pickup, but I sounded like I was talking into a microphone, not directly to the ear.
If this is their general purpose low end mic, I can only imagine what a high end voice specific BLUE would sound like! I've heard the clips from their website, but doing your own comparison is a totally different thing.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 BlueBird MicrophoneJan 22, 2010
By Sidney J. Crump
I am impressed with this microphone, but not the pop filter. This microphone captures the nuances of my voice in some ways better than my AKG 414. The pop filter is somewhat useless. The design and aesthetics get an A+, as does the value that this microphone offers. I recommend it.
See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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