Had the Snowball Ice for almost 7 years at this point and has never failed, it's outlived my entire setup. Comparable to the 1080ti for how iconic and how good value it is
This mic was the champion in terms of price-to-performance for a very very long time and is still impressive even in 2022 Sure the Razer Seiren Mini is the new king in that category, but what the snowball achieved for as long as it did is nothing to scoff at i'v had my snowball for just over 7 years at this point and i don't see myself upgrading it unless it dies it's still far better then any headset i'v ever listened to (better then "Mod-Mic" too at least in my opinion) People still ask me occasionally what mic i use in discord as it sounds great. This mic is an absolute classic.
I bought the non ice version used for 20$ to use for an online class. The sound quality if just using to talk to others online either zoom meetings or Skype is more than adequate with this microphone.
Love the "Every child matters" shirt dude! As a fellow Canadian I think we should all show some more support for our indigenous people! Keep up the great content by the way!
I have one but never use it.however it was a fun mic at the time and if as you said get up real close and use a pop screeen..can you recommend a jack to usb quality cable for my Rhode NTG-1 mic.I am a singer wanting to get into voiceover work and audible books.
I had the idea that everybody loves it. Still. After god knows how many years it has been out for. I think I heard it's from 2005? it's a basically the same mic it was back then. No one did it better after all these years? All I hear is Blue Snowball & Yeti. I found one video where someone recommended the Elgato Wave 3 and the Samson Meteor, but I was wondering if the Elgato can be used on any stand? Because they're asking more than a 100 euros for their stand alone. The fucking nerve. XD
The Samson Meteor. It's about $20 more and sounds a lot better. IMO it's good enough that someone talking into one mic for RUclips narration or podcasts won't need to upgrade it.
Most mics fit the bill there. I think we lose sight of what really is needed. And frankly...while I am not a huge fan of the audio from this mic...I can tell you it isnt off putting enough for me to switch off a video. We get caught up in the recommendations of all this equipment that is "entry level" ...and we forget that it is a huge variation between actual entry level...and expensive entry level. To get started...you dont need to go broke. That was the message here... Which is why I didnt do a mic comparison... It wasnt about the specific mic...it was more about the message.
I think a mic that does offer a better price to performance, the Razer Seiren Mini. Same exact functionality at $50 which is what the Snowball Ice goes for, and to my ears sounds way better.
Yeah no doubt. I think all the mics sit in the same "entry" position for anyone getting into audio. All I was trying to get across was...start as cheap as needed. Upgrades will follow...so save your wallet now.
I appreciated your video on "When to upgrade your gear". I think a good collaboration between the two of you would be "A Viable Barrier To Entry Setup" that can yield reasonably good quality results for the beginner/learner without throwing it all away the first time you try to do a "paid" gig. And toques. Always do videos on toques.
I think that's apt. The Razer wasn't available locally so I defaulted to the Ice in a pinch. I wouldn't use either for a critical situation if I could avoid it.
Bought the non-ice model for about $25 used which also included a rather expensive pop filter. Yeah it sounds meh, so I would not recommend buying either the ice or non-ice for above $30. Could fix up the audio with filters, equalizer and other add-ons, but that probably is an apples to oranges argument as it's not being tested as is out of box as is. Not really great price per performance at above $30, but damn good value if you get either model for sub $30. It appears that it was never meant or marketed to be used in professional recordings, so really it shouldn't receive hate but criticism since it was priced at $60-80, when it really should have been priced at $30-40, and a bunch of other mics outperformed it at around the same price point.
I know Blue makes quality condenser microphones but the quality on these USB mics is bad enough to keep me from even considering using them in my setup. I understand there is a place for these but for the same same cost you could just use a headset and get better sound. I have messed with these and find them harder to use than they should be. The only use case I can see these in is when streaming games and you need a separate mic to talk to your people watching.
What could you really learn spending the additional money on this microphone that you couldn't learn with a cheap hand held recorder, your cellphone, a gamer's headset with microphone or another device that you may already own for other purposes? You have identified that it is below the standard needed to produce anything that you want a potential client to hear. You can't achieve the minimum standard needed to do proper audio work. You can't produce something that would go into a collection of samples or a portfolio. It won't really teach you microphone handling or microphone technique. It won't give you a an accurate representation of your voice and sound space. It falls below what you need to do the job. You touched on this. Many people are going to buy some gear only to upgrade it when they have built some skills and want to get serious. So what is the true barrier to entry? What do you need to buy and how much will it cost you to get a microphone and interface that is good enough to produce something worth sharing with the expectations of doing "Professional" or serious work? As a side note the death of hundreds if not thousands of indigenous children in residential schools is a terrible stain on Canada's reputation. Each of us should mourn the loss of these children.
Ok...lets start at the top. For someone starting out with a podcast, or as a streamer, there is a massive learning curve in working with audoi. Post production to be exact. How many Rodecaster Pros are being sold off because people arent following though. I see so many people giving up on their audio journey so quickly...why go so far in with your wallet...when you dont need to. Microphone handling isnt advisable with any decent mic...unless it is specifically a handheld mic. Yes you can learn microphone technique on this mic...why not? The barrier to entry is rarely the equipment...generally it is experience when talking about doing voiceover or audoibooks. That said...there is generally an expectation that the equipment you are using is quiet enough to allow for the audio to be used in commercials or for audiobooks...which tends to require a quiet recording...as well as quiet preamps. Generally a $250 to $350 investment can do this... That said...that price may include recording in a closet until you can start with a treated room.
@@DarkCornerStudios You're quite right in one regard. I went looking on the used market for some gear and found many entry level microphones and audio interfaces. Many of the listings indicated that they used in once or twice and it is in new condition. Gently used. Sitting around doing nothing. The seller says "Didn't use it as much as I thought I would". And I just think to myself well that's going to be me. I'll buy this and be the next guy to play around with it then let it sit in my closet. How serious am I about any of this? At 2 a.m. working a night shift you can go down a rabbit hole on the internet and imagine yourself creating a channel, podcast or radio show. In the light of day these golden opportunities don't always seem like such a good idea. I have made some of the same arguments myself with photography and video work. Buying really good gear won't make me a really good shooter. A decent DSLR will provide you with something to learn on. No you can't do billboard advertising photos on a hobbyist camera, but buying the absolute best still or video camera won't help if you don't know lighting and composition. Don't go into debt to get learning level gear. But you do have to be able to have something that is capable of fully manual and operates like the better quality gear will. Now as a guy with nearly 30 years experience in TV/Video production and master control playback I'm going to skip over some of the early stuff. I'm not an absolute beginner. My learning curve simply isn't as steep. I have thousands of hours in TV studios and have worked on major broadcasts. My ability to focus on a task and separate the professionals from the pretenders is better developed. But if a product is trash you can't really do anything with it. It doesn't matter that it is less expensive than the other trash at that price point. I think maybe this microphone is well below what you really need to learn audio recording. At that quality level just use something else that you probably already have for other applications.
@@DarkCornerStudios If this video gets buried and forgotten then you still have a chance to pretend that this never happened. Otherwise I might have ruined it for you. And for that I am truly sorry.
Sorry, this mic is terrible, and it is also a terrible value. Thomann "t.bone MB 88U Dual" - $48 CAN. Sounds great. USB+XLR, plus zero-latency monitoring and playback. But, most importantly, your t-shirt is super great!
Thanks! And yeah...I get the point about the mic...the basic message was more about not getting bogged down when first starting out. Most mics at this price are meh. But this was more about not spending stupid amounts on higher priced intro products.
@@allanwarsing I think what is driving me crazy is that during this public health crisis conventional TV news agencies in Canada are bringing on guests and "experts" using Zoom, Skype and other services and they are using technologies and setups well below any acceptable professional level. Not something that I want to see continue on going forward. Good audio is actually more important than good video. With a microphone at this price point or a little higher you really can be heard properly on a stream. Connecting a DSLR or quality video camera is definitely more difficult and costly. So I understand why guests who aren't technically savvy are reluctant to spend the money or invest the time. The microphones are pretty much plug and play. If you can get that in a video camera then I'm going to expect these remotes to up their game. Better quality video, better camera blocking and better lighting. For now let's focus on the audio. It's more easily achieved. They can also just use a full page graphic with a nice headshot and feed your audio into the stream. RUclips social influencers and Tiktok stars shouldn't be showing up national affairs panelists.
@@DarkCornerStudios Whoa!!! I have to play contrarian here. I will draw parallels to photography here. An "entry level" camera will take photos but you can easily outgrow it and have little to show for your investment. (Think Canon Rebels.) But if you go one step up the ladder you'll have a much more competent camera and, if you get more into it, no loss as it will serve well as a backup. You can find a used AKG D5 or Sennheiser e835 (not one of my favs) for around $50 or so. A new SM58 is $99 ($89 if you hit one of the semi-annual sales). I would NOT recommend a used SM58 because they are counterfeited so often. Bottom line is that the cheapskate often spends the most and I learned that lesson the hard way.
Had the Snowball Ice for almost 7 years at this point and has never failed, it's outlived my entire setup. Comparable to the 1080ti for how iconic and how good value it is
This mic was the champion in terms of price-to-performance for a very very long time and is still impressive even in 2022
Sure the Razer Seiren Mini is the new king in that category, but what the snowball achieved for as long as it did is nothing to scoff at
i'v had my snowball for just over 7 years at this point
and i don't see myself upgrading it unless it dies
it's still far better then any headset i'v ever listened to (better then "Mod-Mic" too at least in my opinion)
People still ask me occasionally what mic i use in discord as it sounds great.
This mic is an absolute classic.
I bought the non ice version used for 20$ to use for an online class. The sound quality if just using to talk to others online either zoom meetings or Skype is more than adequate with this microphone.
Love the "Every child matters" shirt dude! As a fellow Canadian I think we should all show some more support for our indigenous people! Keep up the great content by the way!
Thank you!
Stay tuned!!!!...more is on the way.
Can't say much at the moment...but I am hoping to help with SOME change
Doesn´t sound bad, doesn´t sound good - looks great! Not a bad deal if the latter matter.
I have one but never use it.however it was a fun mic at the time and if as you said get up real close and use a pop screeen..can you recommend a jack to usb quality cable for my Rhode NTG-1 mic.I am a singer wanting to get into voiceover work and audible books.
This plus the blue Sherpa software that you can use with it makes it pretty dandy
I forgot to go over that...good point.
I bought one used for $25 just to play with. I had an issue with it shorting the USB and turning off my computer.
oh dear...yeah...used...especially with these mics can be dicey...
Most of the people who use Blue USB microphones use them incorrectly which gives them a bad rep
Have a blue mic thats going on 11 years at this point. Still works and high quality.. Mind you its the regular snowball not the ICe
Not everyone hates it though…
I have had 2 blue snowball ices and both have served me well. I don't get the hate. I spent like $20 per and run an entire podcast on these.
Up next the elgato Mic ?
Yeah...currently in talks with Corsair to see if I can get any gear from them...doubtful though...may just have to buy it.
@@DarkCornerStudios that great news
I had the idea that everybody loves it. Still. After god knows how many years it has been out for. I think I heard it's from 2005? it's a basically the same mic it was back then. No one did it better after all these years?
All I hear is Blue Snowball & Yeti. I found one video where someone recommended the Elgato Wave 3 and the Samson Meteor, but I was wondering if the Elgato can be used on any stand? Because they're asking more than a 100 euros for their stand alone. The fucking nerve. XD
The Samson Meteor. It's about $20 more and sounds a lot better. IMO it's good enough that someone talking into one mic for RUclips narration or podcasts won't need to upgrade it.
Most mics fit the bill there.
I think we lose sight of what really is needed.
And frankly...while I am not a huge fan of the audio from this mic...I can tell you it isnt off putting enough for me to switch off a video.
We get caught up in the recommendations of all this equipment that is "entry level" ...and we forget that it is a huge variation between actual entry level...and expensive entry level.
To get started...you dont need to go broke.
That was the message here...
Which is why I didnt do a mic comparison...
It wasnt about the specific mic...it was more about the message.
I mean for the price point today its not a bad mic.. but that original price is insane for a budget mic from Blue
I think a mic that does offer a better price to performance, the Razer Seiren Mini. Same exact functionality at $50 which is what the Snowball Ice goes for, and to my ears sounds way better.
Yeah no doubt.
I think all the mics sit in the same "entry" position for anyone getting into audio.
All I was trying to get across was...start as cheap as needed.
Upgrades will follow...so save your wallet now.
I appreciated your video on "When to upgrade your gear". I think a good collaboration between the two of you would be "A Viable Barrier To Entry Setup" that can yield reasonably good quality results for the beginner/learner without throwing it all away the first time you try to do a "paid" gig. And toques. Always do videos on toques.
@@seanwebb605 that title might need some work tho
@@DarkCornerStudios Taught at the Zoolander School For Children Who Want To Learn To Read And Write And Do Other Things Good Too.
I think that's apt. The Razer wasn't available locally so I defaulted to the Ice in a pinch. I wouldn't use either for a critical situation if I could avoid it.
Bought the non-ice model for about $25 used which also included a rather expensive pop filter. Yeah it sounds meh, so I would not recommend buying either the ice or non-ice for above $30. Could fix up the audio with filters, equalizer and other add-ons, but that probably is an apples to oranges argument as it's not being tested as is out of box as is. Not really great price per performance at above $30, but damn good value if you get either model for sub $30. It appears that it was never meant or marketed to be used in professional recordings, so really it shouldn't receive hate but criticism since it was priced at $60-80, when it really should have been priced at $30-40, and a bunch of other mics outperformed it at around the same price point.
Bought one new for $32 no regrets. Man do I ever regret watching this. Just get to the point without the animation.
Lol
Thank you for providing such great reviews. Please review the Tula USB-C mic.
Cheers...I will add it to my list!
@@DarkCornerStudios Thank you.
I know Blue makes quality condenser microphones but the quality on these USB mics is bad enough to keep me from even considering using them in my setup. I understand there is a place for these but for the same same cost you could just use a headset and get better sound. I have messed with these and find them harder to use than they should be. The only use case I can see these in is when streaming games and you need a separate mic to talk to your people watching.
True but in like 2010 it work for me.
you sound like the dude from the big lebowski
Which one?
The Dude?
@@DarkCornerStudios yeah, that one
My first mic was a blue snowball Ice
What could you really learn spending the additional money on this microphone that you couldn't learn with a cheap hand held recorder, your cellphone, a gamer's headset with microphone or another device that you may already own for other purposes? You have identified that it is below the standard needed to produce anything that you want a potential client to hear. You can't achieve the minimum standard needed to do proper audio work. You can't produce something that would go into a collection of samples or a portfolio. It won't really teach you microphone handling or microphone technique. It won't give you a an accurate representation of your voice and sound space. It falls below what you need to do the job. You touched on this. Many people are going to buy some gear only to upgrade it when they have built some skills and want to get serious. So what is the true barrier to entry? What do you need to buy and how much will it cost you to get a microphone and interface that is good enough to produce something worth sharing with the expectations of doing "Professional" or serious work?
As a side note the death of hundreds if not thousands of indigenous children in residential schools is a terrible stain on Canada's reputation. Each of us should mourn the loss of these children.
Ok...lets start at the top.
For someone starting out with a podcast, or as a streamer, there is a massive learning curve in working with audoi.
Post production to be exact.
How many Rodecaster Pros are being sold off because people arent following though. I see so many people giving up on their audio journey so quickly...why go so far in with your wallet...when you dont need to.
Microphone handling isnt advisable with any decent mic...unless it is specifically a handheld mic.
Yes you can learn microphone technique on this mic...why not?
The barrier to entry is rarely the equipment...generally it is experience when talking about doing voiceover or audoibooks.
That said...there is generally an expectation that the equipment you are using is quiet enough to allow for the audio to be used in commercials or for audiobooks...which tends to require a quiet recording...as well as quiet preamps.
Generally a $250 to $350 investment can do this...
That said...that price may include recording in a closet until you can start with a treated room.
@@DarkCornerStudios Would you say that is "sound" advice?
@@seanwebb605 I have waited this whole time to make that joke...in fact at one time I considered making that the tag for the channel.
Sigh.......
@@DarkCornerStudios You're quite right in one regard. I went looking on the used market for some gear and found many entry level microphones and audio interfaces. Many of the listings indicated that they used in once or twice and it is in new condition. Gently used. Sitting around doing nothing. The seller says "Didn't use it as much as I thought I would". And I just think to myself well that's going to be me. I'll buy this and be the next guy to play around with it then let it sit in my closet. How serious am I about any of this? At 2 a.m. working a night shift you can go down a rabbit hole on the internet and imagine yourself creating a channel, podcast or radio show. In the light of day these golden opportunities don't always seem like such a good idea. I have made some of the same arguments myself with photography and video work. Buying really good gear won't make me a really good shooter. A decent DSLR will provide you with something to learn on. No you can't do billboard advertising photos on a hobbyist camera, but buying the absolute best still or video camera won't help if you don't know lighting and composition. Don't go into debt to get learning level gear. But you do have to be able to have something that is capable of fully manual and operates like the better quality gear will.
Now as a guy with nearly 30 years experience in TV/Video production and master control playback I'm going to skip over some of the early stuff. I'm not an absolute beginner. My learning curve simply isn't as steep. I have thousands of hours in TV studios and have worked on major broadcasts. My ability to focus on a task and separate the professionals from the pretenders is better developed. But if a product is trash you can't really do anything with it. It doesn't matter that it is less expensive than the other trash at that price point. I think maybe this microphone is well below what you really need to learn audio recording. At that quality level just use something else that you probably already have for other applications.
@@DarkCornerStudios If this video gets buried and forgotten then you still have a chance to pretend that this never happened. Otherwise I might have ruined it for you. And for that I am truly sorry.
Sorry, this mic is terrible, and it is also a terrible value. Thomann "t.bone MB 88U Dual" - $48 CAN. Sounds great. USB+XLR, plus zero-latency monitoring and playback. But, most importantly, your t-shirt is super great!
Thanks!
And yeah...I get the point about the mic...the basic message was more about not getting bogged down when first starting out.
Most mics at this price are meh.
But this was more about not spending stupid amounts on higher priced intro products.
@@DarkCornerStudios Yep great point. I also made a small mistake... the MB 88U Plus for $54 CAN has headphone playback.
@@allanwarsing I will have to pick one up for review
@@allanwarsing I think what is driving me crazy is that during this public health crisis conventional TV news agencies in Canada are bringing on guests and "experts" using Zoom, Skype and other services and they are using technologies and setups well below any acceptable professional level. Not something that I want to see continue on going forward. Good audio is actually more important than good video. With a microphone at this price point or a little higher you really can be heard properly on a stream. Connecting a DSLR or quality video camera is definitely more difficult and costly. So I understand why guests who aren't technically savvy are reluctant to spend the money or invest the time. The microphones are pretty much plug and play. If you can get that in a video camera then I'm going to expect these remotes to up their game. Better quality video, better camera blocking and better lighting. For now let's focus on the audio. It's more easily achieved. They can also just use a full page graphic with a nice headshot and feed your audio into the stream. RUclips social influencers and Tiktok stars shouldn't be showing up national affairs panelists.
@@DarkCornerStudios Whoa!!! I have to play contrarian here. I will draw parallels to photography here. An "entry level" camera will take photos but you can easily outgrow it and have little to show for your investment. (Think Canon Rebels.) But if you go one step up the ladder you'll have a much more competent camera and, if you get more into it, no loss as it will serve well as a backup. You can find a used AKG D5 or Sennheiser e835 (not one of my favs) for around $50 or so. A new SM58 is $99 ($89 if you hit one of the semi-annual sales). I would NOT recommend a used SM58 because they are counterfeited so often. Bottom line is that the cheapskate often spends the most and I learned that lesson the hard way.
I don't do usb microphones.
I love it