# Microphones: Blue Snowball vs Samson G-Track



## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

Well its time for a microphone, and I've been looking at the Blue Snowball and the Samson G-Track, which have both been recommended here in the forums.

I went down to the apple store to check them out, and without being able to open the boxes, I found the snowflake to feel very light, and the samson to be very heavy and solid. I don't know if this is due to a heavier stand or something in the samson, but still it was a considerable difference.

I noticed the Samson also doubles as an audio interface, but I don't need that functionality as I already have an audio interface with all the inputs I need (for now).

So anyway, let me know your personal experiences with these microphones, and how they have worked / not worked for you in podcasting, voice recording, recording your band, etc...


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

I purchased a Snowball and had to return it. If you are running Leopard there is a known issue with low level sensitivity. You have to speak DIRECTLY into the mic otherwise your levels will be low no matter how much you crank them up.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

What did you go with instead?


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

I have held off on a USB mic and I am looking at some powered mics requiring phantom power and a USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamp. Significantly more investment ($300 range) but significantly better sound.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

Gotcha.... Ok, anyone else have some mic advice? I want to be able to record whatever kind of live music / vocals I can throw at it, but I also want it to be good for podcasting...


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## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

scandy said:


> Gotcha.... Ok, anyone else have some mic advice? I want to be able to record whatever kind of live music / vocals I can throw at it, but I also want it to be good for podcasting...


If you're recording music/vocals better go the route that Screature is going otherwise you'll be disappointed with the results if you ask me...


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## AgentXXL (May 2, 2008)

I have had really good success with some relatively inexpensive components from the local music store:

1) Shure PG58XLR microphone - $50 - $70

Shure PG58 Vocal Microphone with Cable FREE! Shure Tour Jacket - $60 Value - With purchase of $600.00 worth of Shure product! | Vancouver Montreal Toronto Canada

2) Behringer MIC100 preamp - $40 - $50

Behringer MIC100 Tube Ultragain Microphone Preamp with Limiter FREE! Behringer Tour Jacket - $60 Value - With purchase of $250.00 worth of Behringer product! | Vancouver Montreal Toronto Canada

or

3) Behringer MIC200 preamp with vocal modeling - $60 - $75

Behringer MIC200 Tube Ultragain Microphone Preamp with Preamp Modeling Technology FREE! Behringer Tour Jacket - $60 Value - With purchase of $250.00 worth of Behringer product! | Vancouver Montreal Toronto Canada

Since you already have an audio interface, this is all you should need. The MIC200 is quite nice with it's 16 pre-defined vocal models - allows you to quickly change microphone dynamics depending on whether you're recording vocals, speech, guitar, etc.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

scandy said:


> ... I already have an audio interface with all the inputs I need (for now)....


What audio interface do you have?
Price?


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

SoyMac said:


> What audio interface do you have?
> Price?


I have an Edirol UA-25 and I think it was around $250 or so when I bought it... can't remember though since I've had it for a while.

Its USB, but I wish it was firewire... not so much that I'd notice the difference, but more that my mac mini has all 4 of its USB ports jammed right now and I could use the extra space.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

AgentXXL said:


> Since you already have an audio interface, this is all you should need. The MIC200 is quite nice with it's 16 pre-defined vocal models - allows you to quickly change microphone dynamics depending on whether you're recording vocals, speech, guitar, etc.


Thats some good stuff at a nice price... I think I'll call up Axe and see if they have these things locally for pickup.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

I avoid Behringer like the plague. 

This company's reason for existing is to pirate other manufacturers' designs and produce cheap knockoffs in China under their own label. This is not rumor, they have lost 2 patent infringement suits.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

No kidding?

Ok, what do you recommend then?


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

The OP's Edirol UA25 already has a mic preamp with phantom power built in, so there's no necessity for an outboard pre. Roland U.S. - UA-25: USB Audio Interface

If you were buying an outboard preamp, you'd be looking for something that gets you higher quality circuits, or tonal shaping or dynamics or desirable coloration. Sometimes, you can get all of this (preamp, compressor, EQ and sometimes tube preamp stage) in a single unit, then it is called a 'voice channel'

Presonus and Focusrite make some good products. FMR Audio's Really Nice Preamp and Really Nice Compressor are good quality for a reasonable price. M-Audio has the DMP3 2 channel and the Octane 8 channel and some nice microphone choices, Mindprint has the Trio and the EnVoice II (which I have), ART has some inexpensive tube based pres which may not be the cleanest in the world but add character. ART is owned by Long & McQuade (Yorkville Sound) so you can always find them there. 
Most of the major audio companies have pres and voice channels - Mackie, DBX, Samson (although Samson has also been accused of piracy), Etc, and there a a large number of boutique companies with high end products.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

Thats me that has the UA-25 so good news that I dont need that preamp.

Do you think the Shure mic is the way to go?


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

scandy said:


> Thats me that has the UA-25 so good news that I dont need that preamp.
> 
> Do you think the Shure mic is the way to go?


While Shure makes quality products, this is the bottom of their line, and is a dynamic handheld mic, so its flexibility is limited.

There's no single microphone that is ideal for every task.

If you are planning on recording mostly vocals, you may want to look at a large diaphragm condenser mic as an all around first choice. The M-Audio Nova is a decent entry level mic in this area - there are many others in around the $100 price point. They are all made from Chinese components, and won't rival $1000 + mics for quality, but the consensus is that they delivery good sound for the money.

You may want to hit the library to read some backissues of Electronic Musician, Recording, Sound on Sound, FutureMusic and the like; they often have reviews of microphones and articles on mic technique.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Anyone know which microphone was used to record 
_*Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Session*_ ?


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I own and use a Blue Snowball (not the SnowFLAKE, which is a different thing altogether) under Leopard and have not experienced the "known issue" screature refers to.

For vocals, I'm VERY hard-pressed to think of a USB mic that is ANYWHERE near as good as the Blue Snowball for $100 (the retail price of the snowball). I can't claim to be an expert in this area, but I *do* use the mic for podcasts and radio commercials, and it passes the test for me.


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## AgentXXL (May 2, 2008)

CanadaRAM said:


> I avoid Behringer like the plague.
> 
> This company's reason for existing is to pirate other manufacturers' designs and produce cheap knockoffs in China under their own label. This is not rumor, they have lost 2 patent infringement suits.


While I have no allegiance to Behringer or any other company for that matter, my quick Google search led me to many articles and posts about Behringer's supposed patent infringements. Instead what I found is that they have admitted to reverse engineering of designs from other manufacturers, for the express purpose of providing the public with more affordable versions of a good product.

While this may not seem ethical to some, it happens in every industry and is more a fact of life than we may realize. I don't necessarily condone it, but I also appreciate the advantages that it creates for those unable to buy the 'golden crown' version of a particular device.

While I didn't stumble across specific patent infringement settlements, I also didn't look very hard. I did however find mentions of fines imposed by the FCC on products that did not comply with emission standards in the US and/or global market. As one such reply stated, 'it is not surprising to encounter many devices which fail to meet FCC regulations while walking down the isles of your local Walmart'. This does imply that some of the Behringer product does indeed qualify as a 'cheap knock-off'. All I know is my MIC100 pre-amp has performed very well and was very affordable.

In any case, since the OP has an interface with built-in phantom power and microphone pre-amp, even better! Grab a mic that you think will suit your needs and you should be well on your way. I do disagree with CanadaRam's comment that the Shure PG58 is their bottom of the line mic. It is more accurately an inexpensive low-end consumer grade mic. Most of their consumer grade mics sell for under $250. When you want a professional mic, the price jumps significantly. 

For most hobbyists, the Shure PG58 should be more than adequate. I have used one in many configurations - hung from the ceiling, mounted in a microphone stand, worn in a crude home-brew neck stand and of course hand-held. It has met my needs quite well - vocals, guitar, keyboard and drums all sound accurate to my humble ears. Unless you are planning to produce professional level content, it should be fine. Otherwise, look at other offerings that are a step up the ladder. I did try some low end $30 mics but they were no equal to the PG58's accuracy. Nor does the PG58 rival or come close to something like the Shure KSM9, the AKG C414 or a Beyerdynamic MC840.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with... always good to hear other opinions, even if we differ in our needs and experiences.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

I stand corrected, the PG58 is the *second* lowest priced vocal microphone that Shure offers, not the lowest.


AgentXXL said:


> I do disagree with CanadaRam's comment that the Shure PG58 is their bottom of the line mic.
> It is more accurately an inexpensive low-end consumer grade mic.


Man -- my hat is off to you -- that is some virtuoso parsing of the language -- are you sure you don't work for a political party?  

My point is - Shure does not advertise this mic for instrumental use, because it has poor bass response and limited high range -- it's tailored for spoken word and lead vocals, typically handheld or on a stand, at close range to the singer's mouth. You do not have to go to a $250 mic or the $1000 - $2000 example brands mentioned to do better for all around vocal and instrument micing.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Wow, this took a lot of digging;
For Trinity, the CowB. Junkies used Holophone's H2-PRO microphone, mainly for its 7.1 surround head.


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## ipodnano (Aug 27, 2008)

how many days does usps priority mail international take to send from DE Usa to toronto Canada?


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## AgentXXL (May 2, 2008)

CanadaRAM said:


> Man -- my hat is off to you -- that is some virtuoso parsing of the language -- are you sure you don't work for a political party?


Nah, just a case of SVD that my English prof hated too... Severe Verbal Diarrhea is an affliction that affects more people every day!  



CanadaRAM said:


> My point is - Shure does not advertise this mic for instrumental use, because it has poor bass response and limited high range -- it's tailored for spoken word and lead vocals, typically handheld or on a stand, at close range to the singer's mouth. You do not have to go to a $250 mic or the $1000 - $2000 example brands mentioned to do better for all around vocal and instrument micing.


And my point is that the OP was looking for an inexpensive solution that was possibly better than the USB solutions they had investigated. I'm only posting comments on what has worked for me, and only as a suggestion. Could you recommend a mic in the same price range that has better bass response and range?

It's the OPs decision to decide if they need to go for a solution that's a little higher end. Hopefully our discussion hasn't dissuaded them from making a purchase that meets their needs.


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## Guest (Aug 28, 2008)

Apex ( a Long and McQuade brand afaik) has some ok large diaprhagm mics near that price range, just a tiny bit over $100 I think that are more than passable. if the preamp has phantom power on it I would go this way. One thing to note with these types of mics though, you probably don't want to do handhld with them, use the provided isolation clip and a mic stand for best results.

The inexpensive shures are not really that great from my past experience. Honestly Apex isn't really all that great either, but overall has better sound quality and if the OP is not looking for CD quality but merely something good enough I'd go his route. I still have a couple of them in my studio (and I do also have $1000 mics) and I still use them for drum overheads quite often and the odd time on other acoustic instruments as well.


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## Guest (Aug 28, 2008)

Another suggestion is to go to a music store locally and ask to try out a couple of the options in your price range. If you explain to them what you want to do they might let you hook up a couple and test them out for ourself. I personally don't recommend buying sound related stuff that you haven't heard it for yourself if you can avoid it. Everyone likes different things that you may or may not like and at the end of the day you are the one that will be using it and listening to the results not us


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## AgentXXL (May 2, 2008)

mguertin said:


> I personally don't recommend buying sound related stuff that you haven't heard it for yourself if you can avoid it. Everyone likes different things that you may or may not like and at the end of the day you are the one that will be using it and listening to the results not us


Well said, and a motto I usually follow with anything that is audio or video related. Especially true when each of us hears and sees things differently. Yes, there are basic levels that we all perceive, but the nuances are individual.

BTW - when I bought my Shure PG58, I did do this. I went to the store and tried various low-priced mics ranging from $15 to $75. In the end the Shure gave me what I wanted and was a nice bundle since I didn't need to buy a cable separately. I was fairly certain that I'd be back to get another mic, but so far I haven't found the need. Of course for me, it's purely hobbyist AV - nothing commercial and no podcasting. Just stuff to entertain me, my family and friends.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Since it hasn't been mentioned in a while and it's in the title of this thread, the Blue Snowball mic works great in Leopard, is direct self-powered USB, costs $100 retail (maybe less if you shop around) and is ideal for vocals.

The following sample was just recorded yesterday using Garageband:
Snowball Sample


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

chas_m said:


> Since it hasn't been mentioned in a while and it's in the title of this thread, the Blue Snowball mic works great in Leopard, is direct self-powered USB, costs $100 retail (maybe less if you shop around) and is ideal for vocals.
> 
> The following sample was just recorded yesterday using Garageband:
> Snowball Sample


I purchased one and even with the low level firmware fix I couldn't get it to work under Leopard. You had to speak into *directly* and loudly otherwise levels were extremely low and it didn't matter what software I used and how cranked up the levels were, the results were the same.

So based on your positive experience it seems that the Snowball still yields mixed results depending on your system. I was running it on a 2.66 MacPro with the latest rev of Leopard (10.5). Needless to say I returned it.


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## DempsyMac (May 24, 2007)

chas_m said:


> Since it hasn't been mentioned in a while and it's in the title of this thread, the Blue Snowball mic works great in Leopard, is direct self-powered USB, costs $100 retail (maybe less if you shop around) and is ideal for vocals.
> 
> The following sample was just recorded yesterday using Garageband:
> Snowball Sample


I have a snowball mic as well and have had great success with it, I am by no means an audio expert but all records do sound very good!


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Here's an in-depth article a friend sent me to, from *EQ Mag*, regarding USB mics.

This article starts off a bit techy for me, but ends up profiling different companies' mics, including Blue and Samson, and I found the article to be quite informative:
USB Mics
An excerpt:
_"USB mics started out as the Rodney Dangerfields of the mic world, getting no respect. But over time, that opinion has changed. Laptop jockeys and podcasters were the first to appreciate the simplification USB mics provide. Then songwriters got into the act, realizing that they could nail vocal ideas anywhere they had a laptop—and could often get up and running faster with a desktop system, as well. Now, even audio engineers recognize that when you run out of mics, pressing a USB mic into service can not only save a session, but often, produce results on a par with non-USB, upper-middle-class mics."_


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## jhembach (May 20, 2005)

Does anyone know where I can pick up a Samson G-Track in Toronto (downtown, preferably). Steve's and Long & McQuade don't have any in stock, nor does the stripped-down Apple Store.

I picked up a Snowball, but quite honestly, it's garbage: the thread for the stand was somehow mismanufactured and I had to use a wrench to assemble it, there's persistent background hissing in the recording, the alleged firmwares that fix the insanely low recording volume are nowhere to be found on their site - I'd stay away from this option base on what I experienced. I'm returning mine for sure.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

screature said:


> I purchased a Snowball and had to return it. If you are running Leopard there is a known issue with low level sensitivity. You have to speak DIRECTLY into the mic otherwise your levels will be low no matter how much you crank them up.


And AGAIN I have to pop in to say this simply isn't true, at least no longer true.

I have a Snowball and I use it with Leopard with no issues. It's quite possible that the issue Screature talks about affected earlier Snowballs, I don't know about that, but new ones that my clients have bought do not have this issue AT ALL.


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

chas_m said:


> And AGAIN I have to pop in to say this simply isn't true, at least no longer true.
> 
> I have a Snowball and I use it with Leopard with no issues. It's quite possible that the issue Screature talks about affected earlier Snowballs, I don't know about that, but new ones that my clients have bought do not have this issue AT ALL.


The one that I bought was a couple of months ago (so it wasn't an "earlier" Snowball, they've been around for quite a while now) and as I said previously, it said on a sticker on the Snowball package that it had the latest firmware fix and it was still a no go for me. As I said previously "So based on your positive experience it seems that the Snowball *still yields mixed results depending on your system*." 

Hey if it is working for other people who are buying new ones that is great, but on my system at least I won't go down that road again. Too many other options.


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## jhembach (May 20, 2005)

The fact that some people have had positive experiences doesn't negate the fact that lots of people have had awful experiences. I think it says a lot that the company doesn't respond to e-mail, and why has the firmware download page disappeared completely?

So bizarre.

Now if only I could find a Samson G-Track in Toronto...


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## babettej (Oct 31, 2008)

I ordered mine today(samson g-track) from the apple online store so i know they are available there!
I would have preferred a store bought so I could have a hassle free return if necessary, however, i live far into the sticks of canada. 
I am a little concerned about its compatibility with mac though. 
check the reviews at this site:
STATIC! - FixYa

though im not sure because if you read this review (link below), there is a demo you can play that he did in garageband and it sounds pretty clear. 

CrunchGear » Archive » Review: Samson G-Track microphone

has anyone encountered this "static" background noise problem?


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