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 Snowflake-a professional USB mic from Blue. Whether you re recording a guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in the studio the Snowflake can capture it with detail unheard of before in a USB microphone.

The Snowflake is a direct plug n play mic that connects to either a Mac or PC computer-no additional software is needed. With its dual-capsule design and unique three-pattern switch (cardioid cardioid with -10dB pad and omni) the Snowflake microphone 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 mic in town.

Snowflake Questions and Answers

1. What exactly is the Snowflake all about?
The Snowflake is an innovative microphone with USB connectivity so you can get live audio into your Macintosh or Windows desktop or laptop. Just plug it in adjust your input level and you re up and running.

2. Is the Snowflake a dynamic microphone like the Blue Ball or a condenser like the Blue 8Ball or Kiwi?
The Snowflake is a condenser mic 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 Snowflake need batteries?
No. The Snowflake 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 Snowflake does not require batteries.

4. Do I need any special software to use The Snowflake? Do I need any drivers?
Technically no. Depending on your application your operating system may have sufficient features to utilize the capabilities of The Snowflake. But to get the most out of this mic 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 include Logic 7 Sonar GarageBand or Adobe Premier Elements. As long as you are using Windows XP or Apple OSX you will not need any drivers.

5. Can I use it with a traditional analog audio mixer?
No. The Snowflake features digital output only. It must be connected to a USB port in order to function.

6. What sample rate does this mic use?
It 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 Snowflake 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 Snowflake 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 do cardioid and omnidirectional mean? Why should I care?
These are the two polar patterns this microphone 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 360° 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. With The Snowball USB mic Blue gives you the two most likely polar patterns to be useful to you.

10. What is this mic used for? Is it a vocal mic an instrument mic or both?
It was designed to provide a wide range of applications where a high-quality transducer (a fancy way to say microphone) is needed but so is ease-of-use and setup. Though most professional engineers prefer certain microphones for certain applications Blue designed it for use with a wide variety of sources. Here are some suggested applications Blue Microphones came up with when it locked in Blue s patented anechoic think tank: instrument and voice for music production pre-production demos DV-looping dialog podcasting sound effects audio sampling interactive programming video sweetening Internet telephony Internet conferencing recording lectures poetry slams spoken word performances and speeches by your favorite politician generally anywhere where you need an easy-to-use microphone and you have access to a computer with a USB port. Happy recording!

11. Do I need to keep it in the freezer when I m not using it?
No. This is one snowflake that won t melt!

Blue Snowflake USB Microphone Specifications:

• 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)
  
  Acoustical Operating Principal
• Position 1-2: Pressure Gradient
• Position 3: Pressure
  
  Polar Pattern
• Position 1-2: Cardioid
• Position 3: Omnidirectional
• Frequency Response: Position 1-3: 40-18000Hz

It's not expensive but it's a great mic. Order today.