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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 8, 2017 21:43:39 GMT -6
Blue has updated their three big sellers: Baby Bottle, Bluebird and Spark. Always thought the Bluebird sounded pretty good...although bright. www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluebirdSLBlue announced the newly updated and enhanced Essentials Series now featuring Spark SL, Bluebird SL and Baby Bottle SL. Taking their most popular microphone line one step further, Blue advances each mic with a new streamlined build and refined sonics, along with a versatile 100Hz high-pass filter and -20dB pad. The enhanced Essential Series provides the flexibility to track a wide variety of sound sources with nuance and power.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 15,697
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Post by ericn on Feb 8, 2017 22:08:40 GMT -6
Blue has updated their three big sellers: Baby Bottle, Bluebird and Spark. Always thought the Bluebird sounded pretty good...although bright. www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluebirdSLBlue announced the newly updated and enhanced Essentials Series now featuring Spark SL, Bluebird SL and Baby Bottle SL. Taking their most popular microphone line one step further, Blue advances each mic with a new streamlined build and refined sonics, along with a versatile 100Hz high-pass filter and -20dB pad. The enhanced Essential Series provides the flexibility to track a wide variety of sound sources with nuance and power. Translation we found somebody who can build it for less!๐
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Post by Ward on Feb 8, 2017 22:26:00 GMT -6
Johnkenn listen to Samples 29 and 30 on www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluebirdSL That is what a Bluebird excels at. If you have the space and the ability to deal with bleed, the Bluebird can do an AWESOME snare capture. It's kind of bright, but a slight roll off can take care of that plus can tame rattle buzz and other annoyances.
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Post by jeromemason on Feb 9, 2017 1:31:41 GMT -6
Don't be quick to disregard that Baby Bottle..... A fella I do a lot of mixing for exclusively uses that mic as his main vox mic and puts any and everyone in front of it and IMO it sounds great. It has a nice top end and a really nice lowend. Folks really don't put enough thought or care into the acoustics of their vox booth. I've heard that mic in another room he uses for cutting acoustic and it sounds like a totally different mic, it's really incredible how much acoustics matter in every facet of a recording from start to finish. Get the acoustics right and there are a TON of great options in microphones that won't require the sale of a kidney or child.
The Bluebird however does have a bit too much on the topend for my tastes. Its a bright mic, which could be good, but to me it comes off as sounding really hyped and unnatural. The Baby Bottle though is a great mic for $400. I'd love to hear that Hummingbird. Curious to how it sounds.
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Post by ragan on Feb 9, 2017 1:44:15 GMT -6
Don't be quick to disregard that Baby Bottle..... A fella I do a lot of mixing for exclusively uses that mic as his main vox mic and puts any and everyone in front of it and IMO it sounds great. It has a nice top end and a really nice lowend. Folks really don't put enough thought or care into the acoustics of their vox booth. I've heard that mic in another room he uses for cutting acoustic and it sounds like a totally different mic, it's really incredible how much acoustics matter in every facet of a recording from start to finish. Get the acoustics right and there are a TON of great options in microphones that won't require the sale of a kidney or child. The Bluebird however does have a bit too much on the topend for my tastes. Its a bright mic, which could be good, but to me it comes off as sounding really hyped and unnatural. The Baby Bottle though is a great mic for $400. I'd love to hear that Hummingbird. Curious to how it sounds. I agree. I've always dug the Baby Bottle, both the Latvian original and current Chinese version. I think they're great mics.
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Post by guitfiddler on Feb 9, 2017 4:32:10 GMT -6
I got a text from one of my clients and she just bought this mic. She is bringing it to the next session. I can't wait to try it out.
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Post by iamasound on Feb 9, 2017 7:14:00 GMT -6
I had bought the Bluebird for a song, 95 bucks brand new from a bassist who never used it. I wound up giving it to a friend who needed a mic, any mic. For my ears it was completely unnatural sounding, and though I tried hard to like it, couldn't, so passed it on.
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Post by nick8801 on Feb 9, 2017 8:54:22 GMT -6
They also discontinued the cactus and the woodpecker. Not too sad about the woodpecker, but the cactus was such a cool mic. I ordered a pair of the hummingbirds for my school and we use them for micing the choir up. They have a nice extended top, but I find them to be a little thin sounding. Placement is a breeze though!
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 17, 2017 12:44:10 GMT -6
Anyone every use either of the bottle rockets? They discontinued the stage 2 and now have these bundle deals, which they probably should have had all along. My cousin was a huge fan of the bottle and always encouraged me to pick one up. He had worked at a studio where it had gotten a lot of use and was used next to many of the classics. He loved the bottle and the Cactus. I don't have the money for the bottle, but a used bottle rocket stage 2 might be doable.
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Post by johneppstein on Jun 17, 2017 13:42:49 GMT -6
They also discontinued the cactus and the woodpecker. Not too sad about the woodpecker, but the cactus was such a cool mic. I ordered a pair of the hummingbirds for my school and we use them for micing the choir up. They have a nice extended top, but I find them to be a little thin sounding. Placement is a breeze though! The Peckerwood was an horrible mic.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 17, 2017 14:57:27 GMT -6
They also discontinued the cactus and the woodpecker. Not too sad about the woodpecker, but the cactus was such a cool mic. I ordered a pair of the hummingbirds for my school and we use them for micing the choir up. They have a nice extended top, but I find them to be a little thin sounding. Placement is a breeze though! The Peckerwood was an horrible mic. You know, for all the hate I've heard the Woodpecker get, I've heard some great Trumpet tracks done with it.
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Post by johneppstein on Jun 17, 2017 16:30:20 GMT -6
The Peckerwood was an horrible mic. You know, for all the hate I've heard the Woodpecker get, I've heard some great Trumpet tracks done with it. Interesting. I wouldn't normally belive it - it's the only ribbon I've that I'd describe as strident and peircing - but you're reputed to have a very good ear, so...
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Post by svart on Jun 19, 2017 11:06:16 GMT -6
I bought a broken first generation bluebird once. I repaired it and sold it for considerable profit, but I certainly liked it while I had it. I now wish I hadn't sold it.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 19, 2017 11:26:10 GMT -6
You know, for all the hate I've heard the Woodpecker get, I've heard some great Trumpet tracks done with it. Interesting. I wouldn't normally belive it - it's the only ribbon I've that I'd describe as strident and peircing - but you're reputed to have a very good ear, so... A friend of mine who composes digital orchestrations for a lot of TV and video games had one. His first instrument was a Trumpet and he owned a good instrument, so he would often use the Woodpecker to record real trumpet when needed rather than use a digital one. He also has excellent mic placement technique, so that could also account for it. I tried it on vocals a while back. It reminded me of a mellow condenser rather than a ribbon, but had that ribbon compression sound. When we recorded my first album we used a Woodpecker and a U87ai and blended them together to give the U87 a bit more weight on a few of the songs. My recording of "Nessun Dorma" shows that blend off nicely. Didn't hurt that we were in an amazing hall with a Royer SF12 about 6-8ft in front either. Anyway, that's my experience with it. Is it an RCA or Coles?....No.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 28, 2017 19:20:54 GMT -6
Ok.......I caved. I just took the last Bottle Rocket Stage II in Sweetwater's inventory off of their hands. Now to start collecting capsules.... In truth I'm probably going to use it as my center mic on a Decca Tree setup with the B4 capsule. It's not an M50, but it should do the job.
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Post by Ward on Jun 29, 2017 4:34:00 GMT -6
<snip> It's not an M50, ... Yeah, but what is? The M50 sets the bar, is the benchmark by which all others are measured in this application. Just how close is a bottle rocket with a B4 to an actual M50?
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 29, 2017 8:13:30 GMT -6
<snip> It's not an M50, ... Yeah, but what is? The M50 sets the bar, is the benchmark by which all others are measured in this application. Just how close is a bottle rocket with a B4 to an actual M50? The B4 is a Sphere Omni SDC with a similar size and frequency response to the M50. It's tuned to sound in the vein of the M50. The same capsule was used in their Omnimouse before it was discontinued. I'm using the Stage II body which is a transformerless tube style circuit, so it may be a bit cleaner, but should still have some of the tube saturation we all know and love. I don't think it's going to be identical by any means, but if it gets me close, I'll take it. Now for the other two mics, which need to be a pair. I'm looking at the Rode TFM50s, but they're not out yet. Supposedly by the end of the year. Which is fine, cause I'm putting cost together to start a campaign to raise the funds anyway. No one is sure of the cost of these yet, but I have a few dealers looking into it for me. If the pricing is similar to their usual line than it will be in a good range for me. I wish I had the funds for M50 clones, but at 4-6k each it's just beyond me right now. If all else fails, the Stage I bodies can usually be picked up for about $500 each on eBay. I could always grab two of those and two additional B4 capsules.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jun 30, 2017 22:50:14 GMT -6
I think it's time to sell my Slate VMS and get more capsules for this baby........ The B8 is a bit like an M269 style sound. It reminds my of my Advanced Audio CM67LE in standard mode. The CM67 has a bit more low mids, the Bottle Rocket 2 with the B8 a bit more clarity. Both are so much more 3 dimensional than the Slate mic in either FG67 or FG269 mode.
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Post by ragan on Jul 1, 2017 0:03:04 GMT -6
I think it's time to sell my Slate VMS and get more capsules for this baby........ The B8 is a bit like an M269 style sound. It reminds my of my Advanced Audio CM67LE in standard mode. The CM67 has a bit more low mids, the Bottle Rocket 2 with the B8 a bit more clarity. Both are so much more 3 dimensional than the Slate mic in either FG67 or FG269 mode. That was what sent my VMS back. It just sounded flatter and more, well, plugin-like, than my other 'real' mics.
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Post by ChaseUTB on Jul 1, 2017 1:11:40 GMT -6
Vincent R.So the tube 's output is electronically balanced instead of transformer coupled ? Why is this design approach taken? I'm sure this transformerless output could be changed if you find you want more than the mic is giving ( sans preamp )I'm sure Shannon / Mic Rehab or Brian Fox at Fox Audio Research could do this type of work for you.. Plus Shannon is a master of capsule making ๐ค
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Post by Vincent R. on Jul 1, 2017 8:13:40 GMT -6
Vincent R. So the tube 's output is electronically balanced instead of transformer coupled ? Why is this design approach taken? I'm sure this transformerless output could be changed if you find you want more than the mic is giving ( sans preamp )I'm sure Shannon / Mic Rehab or Brian Fox at Fox Audio Research could do this type of work for you.. Plus Shannon is a master of capsule making ๐ค I think for right now I'll just enjoy the sound as it is.
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Post by drsax on Jul 1, 2017 10:13:04 GMT -6
ย <snip> It's not an M50, ... Yeah, but what is? ย The M50 sets the bar, is the benchmark by which all others are measured in this application.ย Just how close is a bottle rocket with a B4 to an actual M50?ย I have no idea how well the B4 compares to the M50 but I do have a Blue Bottle with a B4 and that Omni capsule is stunning. The crown jewel of the Blue Capsules I think. If anyone is interested though I will be selling off my Latvian Blue Bottle with 5 caps soon. Gonna get the Chandler REDD mic. The B4 Omni cap will be the thing I'll miss most about the BLUE
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Post by ChaseUTB on Jul 1, 2017 10:51:18 GMT -6
Vincent R. So the tube 's output is electronically balanced instead of transformer coupled ? Why is this design approach taken? I'm sure this transformerless output could be changed if you find you want more than the mic is giving ( sans preamp )I'm sure Shannon / Mic Rehab or Brian Fox at Fox Audio Research could do this type of work for you.. Plus Shannon is a master of capsule making ๐ค I think for right now I'll just enjoy the sound as it is.ย Cool ๐.. I hope you get the results you seek! IMO , That mic is sterile, thin and bright! It could use a few tweaks and transformer upgrade and really be an outstanding mic๐ค๐ Setup your max mod and 87ai and this and sing into them simultaneously You will see when you belt into it verse you max mod or 87ai it collapsed and becomes shrill...
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Post by Vincent R. on Jul 1, 2017 18:46:02 GMT -6
I think for right now I'll just enjoy the sound as it is. Cool ๐.. I hope you get the results you seek! IMO , That mic is sterile, thin and bright! It could use a few tweaks and transformer upgrade and really be an outstanding mic๐ค๐ Setup your max mod and 87ai and this and sing into them simultaneously You will see when you belt into it verse you max mod or 87ai it collapsed and becomes shrill... Yeah. It's more M269 than U67, which is what I expected. I actually like the sound of it, but wouldn't use it where I'd use the MK U67. I don't want to do anything to it until I have a few more caps and really get the run down on the versatility of the mic.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jul 15, 2017 11:52:12 GMT -6
Well, that's done. Slate VMS is sold, among other things. Purchased a used BLUE Bottle Rocket Stage 1 Mic Locker package. Now I'll have the Bottle Rocket Stage 1 & 2, plus B0, B6, B7, (2) B8s, and I am receiving a free B4 (M50 SDC Sphere Cap) free with rebate from my Stage 2 purchase. I have a feeling these will do me better than the Slate VMS. I'll let everyone know more once I have it. Going to put up the Stage II verses some of my other clones once it arrives, since I have most of these types of mics covered CM251:B0, CM12LE:B6, CM67LE & MK U67M:B8 (both in bright mode), CM49:B7. B7 should be a bit more U47ish than M49, but we'll see. Maybe I'll make another video. Actually really looking forward to hearing the B6 and B0 on my wife's voice.
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