That’s really all there is to the Snowball Ice on the physical features front too - a USB connection and a red indicator light at the front.
Blu snowball ice driver install#
In that sense, setup really is as simple as hooking up a free USB port.Īnd unless the software in question’s offering something really valuable and easy-to-use, like the Yeti X’s Blue VO!CE suite or Elgato’s Wave Link for the Wave:3 - and let’s face it those two are rarities - we’d always rather not have to install more bloatware to control the exact RGB setting of the mute indicator. Refreshingly, the Snowball Ice doesn’t require any software at all - not even a driver. It needs some coaxing to achieve the best results.
Yes, there’s YouTube help out there - help, in fact, that this reviewer called upon to find the optimum sound - but this isn’t quite the out-of-the-box solution one might think it is. However, we call into question how well-equipped a newcomer might be to hitting on these rather finicky settings. That’s not a problem for streaming over compressed formats like Twitch, but outside of real-time broadcasting the keen-eared will hear a difference.
That’s most evident up in the top-end of the EQ spectrum, where breathier details of the voice can get lost.
Blu snowball ice driver full#
In those conditions, you get mic quality comparable to other Blue mic models, though the reduced frequency response range of 40Hz –18 kHz (versus the full 20-20 on the rest of the Blue range) means you don’t capture quite the same fidelity. In fact, as has been discovered by several YouTubers who use the mic, placing the Snowball Ice at a jaunty 45 degree angle to your mouth and talking just above it from about 6-8 inches away provides the best results. The mic is also prone to popping plosives, so with no pop shield included you’ll need to aim your voice slightly above the mic. If you’re further out than about 8 inches, you lose the focussed sound and too much room reverb creeps in.
But this seems to have a wider-than-average listening range for a cardioid mic, and unless you arrange it just right it can sound very roomy. With a cardioid and only cardioid polar pattern to work with, you should be able to point the mic in your vicinity and get something decent. Getting a great vocal recording out of this spherical budget proposition is possible, but it requires a deft touch. That said, you will have to do some fiddling when it comes to sound. The last thing you want before the first time broadcasting yourself is to spend half an hour googling what ‘cardioid’ means. While that stripped-down feature set might feel limiting to experienced streamers or home sound engineers looking for studio-quality instrumental recordings, the simplicity will feel welcome to newcomers. You just get a mini-USB cable leading out to your PC. There’s no gain control, no polar pattern switch, no mute. But that's for future endeavors and not related to now.This being at the budget end of Blue’s range, it’s not overflowing with features. Will I run into a similar issues or is that actually a better route to go for just some raw recordings?Įventually I'll attempt to use it for environment recording, live sampling, percussive sampling etc. SO! My question is will I have to contasntly switch back and forth between hardware settings in order to use this mic in Ableton? Because if that's, the case I cant hear the metronome or rhythm tracks/drums and that's obviously a major issue.Īlso, I've considered reverting to using Audacity for recording, especially guitar covers.
After, messing with some settings, various google searches, making sure Ableton was recognizing it and it was selected in the input options, I finally got it to work by going the in the Audio Preferences>Hardware Setup and switched from my Realtek Audio to the Snowglobe. So anyways, when I plugged it in and prepared to record, I noticed the red recording dot was greyed out/white-ish and it wasn't reacting to my talking/tapping. I received a Blue Snowball USB mic (please reserve your criticisms, I know this isn't exactly quality, budget was the main factor here) for Christmas this year intending to use it to start practicing home recording, mostly covers and scratch tracks for original material.