The Blue Snow Ball - Finally, a USB microphone that’s not
only easy to use, but sounds as good on your desktop as
it does in a professional recording studio. Meet the
Snowball,™ the world’s first professional USB microphone.
Whether you’re recording a
guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in
the studio, the Snowball can capture it with detail
unheard of before in a USB microphone.
The Snowball is a direct plug n’ play microphone that
connects to either a Mac or PC – no additional
software is needed. With its dual capsule design and
unique three-pattern switch (cardioid, cardioid with
-10dB pad and omni), the Snowball can handle
everything from soft vocals to the loudest garage
band — and it’s ideal for podcasting. Check it out
and you’ll see why it’s the coolest microphone in town.
1. What exactly is this Snowball all about?
The Snowball is a revolutionary microphone. With USB connectivity, it has never been
easier to get live computer microphone audio into your Macintosh or
Windows desktop or laptop. Just plug it in, adjust
your input level and you’re up and running. You can
use it as a desktop microphone or as a microphone
for your laptop.
2. Is The Snowball a dynamic microphone or a condenser?
The Snowball is a condenser microphone, which, according to the
audio wonks we know, has a smooth open sound with a
nice, natural high-end.
3. I’ve heard that condenser microphones require
something called phantom power. Do I need to concern
myself with this? Does The Snowball need batteries?
No. The Snowball derives its operating voltage from
something called bus voltage, which is always
present on your USB port. As long as the red LED is
glowing, you know you’ve got power. The Snowball
does not require batteries as with other pc
microphones.
4. Do I need any special software to use The
Snowball? Do I need any drivers?
Technically, no. Depending on your application, your
OS may have sufficient features to utilize the
capabilities of The Snowball. But, to get the most
out of your Snowball, you’ll want to have some kind
of software that allows for digital signal
processing and non-linear editing that will accept
audio from the USB port. Some examples of these
programs are listed below. As long as you are using
Windows XP or Apple OSX, you will not need any
drivers.
5. Can I use The Snowball with a traditional analog
audio mixer?
No. The Snowball features digital output only. It
must be connected to a USB port in order to
function.
6. What sample rate and word length does The
Snowball use?
The Snowball’s digital output is set to 44.1 kHz /
16-bit, just like an audio CD. But this is something
that only audio geeks really need to worry about.
7. How can I select a different sample rate?
Because The Snowball is designed for the greatest
ease of operation and setup, sample rate / word
length are not user-definable. Sorry, geeks.
8. Can I use more than one snowball at a time?
Some audio editing software allows for multiple USB
connections. Check with your software vendor – they
should have technical support staff who can answer
all of your questions about their product.
9. What does cardioid and omnidirectional mean? Why
should I care?
These are the two polar patterns The Snowball is
capable of producing. If you think of polar patterns
as the shape of the area that a microphone “hears,”
omnidirectional hears everything at equal volume
from all angles (in a 360o sphere surrounding the
mic), while cardioid only hears what’s right in
front of it at full volume and other sounds at
increasingly diminished volume as the sound source
moves further away from the center of the mic (audio
techs call this off-axis). You should care because
one of the most useful features of a microphone is
the ability to control its pickup. We like polar
patterns so much, that some of our professional
studio microphones have as many as nine different
patterns! With The Snowball, we’ve given you the two
most likely to be useful to you.
10. Do I need to keep The Snowball in the freezer
when I’m not using it?
No. This is one snowball that won’t melt!
System Requirements
Macintosh: Mac OSX; USB 1.0 or 2.0; 64MB RAM
(minimum)
Windows: XP Home Edition or XP Professional; USB 1.0
or 2.0;
64MB RAM (minimum)
A great recording microphone |
Your Blue Snow Ball includes:
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The Blue Snowball
-
Microphone stand
-
High Quality USB cable
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Price $99.00
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