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Author Topic: Blue's Ball mic  (Read 3501 times)

ThirdElevator

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Blue's Ball mic
« on: May 11, 2004, 02:03:35 PM »

I'm currently in charge of putting together a studio, and during my initial research, i stumbled across Blue's Ball mic at Guitar Center while researching prices.  Since it was on sale for $100, and the salesman gave a good recommendation for it as a kick drum mic, I figured, why not add it to my personal collection?  Upon opening it up and flipping through the manual, I noticed that the frequency response graph was almost identical to that of an SM57.  Worried that I just threw away $100 on something I already had, I took it into a studio to test it out.  A friend of mine added it onto a guitar rig they were recording along with an SM57, the two mics sounded nothing alike!  Altogether, the Ball, SM57, and a Sennheiser MD 421 II gave us a pretty well-rounded sound for the recording.  So I'm wondering if anyone out there has any experience with the Ball, and perhaps would like to shed some light on the mic's applications, and any other comments you might have on this mic.
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Robert McTigue

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Re: Blue's Ball mic
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2004, 03:12:43 PM »

I try to avoid anything that has "blue" and "ball" in th same name  Shocked
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Robert McTigue
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Corey Ellis

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Re: Blue's Ball mic
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2004, 07:04:43 PM »

I just grabbed a couple of these a few weeks back.  They are great for micing the "120 db guitar player"  Twisted Evil   Great pickup...not a lot of gain needed.  Not sure how they hold up when "bounced", but they sound great.
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ThirdElevator

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Re: Blue's Ball mic
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2004, 12:15:52 AM »

I hear you on that, it can definitely handle a lot of noise, and it added some nice body to our guitar sound on the recording, and I thought it had a nice vintage feel when used on it's own.  Has anyone out there tried it out as a bass drum mic?  As I said before, studio's not yet up and running, so I can't do it myself.  I'm interested to hear how it sounds though.
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Mick_LoMauro

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Re: Blue's Ball mic
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2004, 10:07:47 AM »

I got to use one live on kick. Pretty well balanced and didn't put the channel into overload too early.
 One of the neat things about the 'Ball' is its circuitry. With most dynamic Mics their impedance will change with the frequencies shown to the mic which can cause some phasing and slightly inconsistent gain. Its usually pretty minor but its there.
The phantom Power required by the 'Ball' is for the balancing circuit not the element.
The claim is to offer the same impedance throughout the frequency response of the Mic.

Here is a cut and pase from Blue's website
Blue Ball
"Most recordists know that conventional dynamic mics do not require external DC power. Rather, they employ a relatively simple circuit and derive their output voltage through electromagnetic induction. While this makes them rugged, reliable and easier to operate than their electrostatic counterparts, they also present the user with a unique set of problems. Chief among these is frequency-dependent variable resistance which has dramatic effects on the transducer’s acoustic balance, phase coherence, noise specification and overall output. Our engineers solved this problem by incorporating a phantom-powered proprietary active balancing circuit in the Ball’s output stage. This circuit maintains a constant pure-resistive 50-ohm load across the usable frequency spectrum yielding an exceptionally smooth and open sound previously unheard of in a dynamic microphone. Additionally, as a dynamic mic, the Ball is capable of handling extremely high sound pressure levels without distortion"

Hope it help you in your quest.
Mick
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Corey Ellis

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Re: Blue's Ball mic
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2004, 02:38:05 AM »

ThirdElavator-

Any impressions yet?
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