The Blue Yeti microphone is one of the most popular microphones in the online space. In this blog, I want to talk you through some of the mistakes people are making with the Blue Yeti microphone. Personally, I think it is a good mic, particularly for someone who has limited interest in audio quality but there are a few mistakes that I am seeing over and over again.
Why podcasters are choosing Blue Yeti
- Can work in most environments
The Blue Yeti can be used in most environments, but it is designed to have different functionality. You can use it if it’s just you in a room and you are the only person podcasting but you can also switch the polar pattern so it becomes bidirectional. For example, interviewing somebody else who was in the room with you. Or you could have it omnidirectional, which would mean that you could effectively have a round table discussion and everybody around that table would be picked up by the microphone. Now in that circumstance, a lot of the exterior noise would be picked up as well. Having it on the setting where it is just for your own voice, is known as the cardioid setting. The microphone is positioned so that it is only picking up what is directly in front of it. The pattern knob is on the rear of the mic, below the gain knob. Compared to the gain, you’ll find there’s a lot of resistance when you try turning it, and it clicks between positions.
2. Simple to use
The Blue Yeti is a USB microphone which means you are able to just plug it straight into the USB port of your computer You won’t need to install any software, drivers, or mixers to start using a Blue Yeti microphone. Just connect it via the included cable and start recording.
3. Easy to adjust the gain
Gain is how loud an input signal is before it enters the amplifier or computer. The higher the gain, the louder the signal. On the Blue Yeti you can adjust the gain using a dial on the device, making it really simple. It also has a mute button so, for example, you are midway through interviewing someone and you suddenly get a coughing, you can just press the mute button and it blinks at you until you press it again to know that you are now being recorded.
Most common Blue Yeti mistakes
Speaking into the mic: Make sure that you are talking effectively into the side of the microphone and, very importantly, that you have the microphone round the right way and not backwards. A very simple hack to remember is the logo blue should be facing towards you. You should be able to read it and the other dials are on the other side. This will improve the quality of your audio no end.
Environment: Be really aware of the acoustics in the room. You need to be aware that you’ve got some padding in there to absorb some of the sound. You don’t want to be recording in an environment with hard floors and walls. You’re better off trying to get your microphone into a corner where you’re facing the corner so that some of your body is then creating a wall so that the sound doesn’t jump too far and ping all around the space.
Height of the mic: You can use the table stand that comes with the microphone. What I would say though, is that that can be quite low on your table, which is why I place two big books underneath the stand. This avoids me having to hunch over and collapse my diaphragm. The other option you have is to get your Blue Yeti on a swivel mount which is much longer and can then be above you. But please do make sure that as the microphone drops down, you are talking into the side of it.
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