Today we are looking at the Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB, a a great choice for podcasting.

Blue is a respected name in the world of microphones, and for good reason. The company was found in 1995 by an American and a Latvian and it makes headphones, microphones and other products for musicians and audio professionals.

The capsule of this microphone, though, the heart of the mic, has been made in China since 2005. But these days they’re built in China but tested in America.

But we don’t care where they make this cool mic, what we care is the quality of the microphone and performance, also its value for money. So, let’s have a closer look at the Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB.

Specifications

• Type: Condenser

• Sensitivity: 120dB SPL

• Connection: USB

• Frequency response: 40Hz to 18,000 Hz

• Polar pattern: Cardioid, 10dB pad, Omni

• Weight: 460g

• Price: check on Amazon

Box Content

• Microphone

• USB Cable

• Table Top Stand

• Documentation

• Also comes with a 2-year warranty

Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB: Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Plug and play

• Superb for integrating with a computer

• Choice of Cardioid or Omni

• Very good sounds for the price, but don’t expect studio-quality recordings

• Affordable

Cons:

• Not the clearest indication of what polar pattern you are using

• May take some experimentation to get the best sound when recording due to its tripod

Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB: Design

The Blue Snowball is very beautiful looking round shaped microphone.

It’s literally shaped like a ball, it comes with 4 inches diameter, the bottom of the mic has a threaded metal hole for attaching the included tripod base, and it has an adjustable height of 5 – 6.5-inches.

The front side if the mic, there is a wire mesh grille and an integrated foam wind screen that protects the mic’s two 0.5-inch mic capsules. At the top you will get an LED indicator, so the LED light indicates when the ball is connected to your PC.

The back side if the microphone you will get microphone’s single audio connection, which technically is not an audio connection at all, but rather, a metal USB port.

Also this mic have a convenient three position switch for the microphone’s three recording modes (omni, cardioid and cardioid -10dB).

Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB: Sound Quality

The sound quality of the Snowball is crisp and clear.

This microphone is designed to capture a wide decibel range of sounds, so you don’t worry about the sound, you will hear the richness of your voice without static or crackling.

This microphone also have 2 settings cardioid & omni-directional.

Cardioid means that the mic mute all the other sounds and focuses on the all audio sources that’s right in front of the device.

While the omni-directional setting will hears all the audio sources at the same volume. This settings allows you more power to record what you can and the sounds quality remains great. As long as with the right setting your recordings will be always crisp, clear and loud.

This makes the Snowball great for recording voice and music.

If you are making a podcast or recording your solo music album, then this microphone can help you, also it is a good choice for all types of artists.

Also this mic is great for teleconferencing with your colleagues or voice chat with you friends, because it will capture your voice in higher quality audio, thanks to its powerful A/D conversion.

Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB: Features

This cool looking microphone has a number of big and small features. Blue uses 2 similar capsules to get the stereo recording.

This mic sticks to monophonic recording and dedicates the use of one capsule to an omni-directional cardioid pattern and the second capsule takes sound from all directions in an Omni pattern.

You can switch between the 2 capsules as per your recording needs, using the mode switch that located on the back of the microphone.

If you are beginner or you are not interested in the technical details of the mic, then Blue provide us a plug-and-play functionality.

You will not have a worry about software or anything, with included desktop tripod stand and a 6 foot clear coated USB cable you will have to just plug it in to your PC and start recording.

Stylish, Retro Design

The microphone’s design is very stylish and eye catchy, inspired by classic recording equipment that looks great on your desktop and on camera.

Adjustable Desktop Stand

Blue provides us an adjustable desktop stand that is very well, can position the microphone in relation with the sound source, and its improve sound quality while saving space on your desktop.

-10 dB Pad

The Snowball microphone maintains it’s professional audio quality with a -10 dB pad in cardioid mode, which keeps Snowball sounding distortion-free and clean on instruments and louder voices.

Available in Three Bold Colors

The microphone comes with three distinct finishes: Gloss Black, Textured White and Brushed Aluminum.

Plug ‘n Play on Mac & PC

With this you can start your recordings quickly, just plug it into your Mac or PC and you’re ready to go.

Multiple Pick up patterns

It has multiple pickup Patterns, with this you can record audio on a single source or multiple sources at a time.

It gives you 2 pickup pattern modes to choose from. Just tap to the pattern selection button to set the one that is right for you project

Cardioid Mode

The cardiod mode is perfect for podcasts with a single host, game streaming, Skype calls, voiceovers, vocal performances and instruments.

This mode will mute all the other sound and focuses on the audio sources that is in front of the mic.

Omnidirectional

The Omnidirectional mode, record the sound equally from all around the mic.

This mode is best for multi person interview on a podcast or conference call with multiple participants in the same room.

The good

The Snowball is a stylish multi-pattern microphone that plugs directly into your PC’s USB port with a minimum of fuss.

The bad

The Blue Snowball microphone not gives you any other audio outputs or inputs, the recording mode switch is not intuitively labeled, and no recording software is included.

Conclusion

The Blue Microphones Snowball iCE USB is decent mic, and this mic is the cheapest on the market, its price around $50 – $70.

If you are a podcaster, streamer or voice over artist then this mic is very good choice, because of its price and ease-of-use.

Anyway, thanks for reading the article, I hope this review was helpful to you.

If you need a comparison and know the list of the best USB microphones, please read this article.

Have a good time!

Dr Walnut