Perfect for: Singing, Podcasting, iChat, VoIP software (such as Skype and Vonage),Voice Recognition software, dictation, field recording, lecture recording, narration, presentations, music recording.

Say hello to the Snowflake, the first professional portable USB mic.

Whether you’re recording your newest podcast, talking business on the web, or just narrating your latest great family movie, the Snowflake can capture it with amazing clarity and depth that’s head and shoulders above any comparable portable USB on the market!

The Snowflake works on both Mac and PC with no complicated drivers to install: just connect it to your computer’s USB port, follow the prompts and you’ll have high-fidelity sound in no time. It’s perfect for podcasting, voice recognition software, iChat, and VoIP software such as Skype and Vonage. Or use it for dictation, field recording, lecture recording, and narration for slideshows and PowerPoint presentations. The sky’s the limit. It’s even great for recording music via GarageBand and other multitrack recording software.

Designed with the traveler in mind, the Snowflake’s unique design allows you to place it on a desk or flat surface near your computer, or mount it to the screen of most laptops. Because it simply connects to your USB port, it offers a wide range of applications coupled with an ease of use never before offered in a professional-quality microphone. In the tradition of Blue’s line of renowned studio microphones, the Snowflake features Blue’s superior proprietary capsule and circuit design, optimized to make sure that you always get the best sound possible into your computer, and sets a new standard for digital recording on the go!

Features/Characteristics


   •Professional recording quality — on the go!
   •Mac and PC compatible
   •Plug ‘n play — no complicated drivers required
   •Unique design fits on your desktop or laptop
   •Blue’s superior proprietary capsule and circuit design
   •Includes USB cable

Suggested Applications

   •Podcasting, voice recognition software, iChat, VoIP software (such as Skype and Vonage), dictation, field recording, lecture recording, narration, presentations, music recording

FAQ

Snowflake Q&A
Please note: Blue Microphones cannot provide software technical support. If you need help setting up your software to work with the Snowball, please contact your software vendor's technical support line. Tell them you have a USB input device and you need to learn how to route the USB port to an audio track in their recording environment.

Features & Functionality
1. What exactly is this Snowflake all about?
Like its sibling the Snowball, the Snowflake is a revolutionary microphone, but this time it's portable! This makes it even easier to 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 8-Ball or Kiwi?
The Snowflake is a condenser, 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 your computer's bus voltage. This is always present on your USB port. As long as your Snowflake is plugged into your computer's USB, it will be powered properly. The Snowflake does not require batteries.

4. Do I need any special software to use the Snowlake? Do I need any drivers?
Technically, no. Depending on your application, your OS may have sufficient features to utilize the capabilities of the Snowflake. But, to get the most out of your Snowflake, 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 are listed below. As long as you are using Windows XP or Vista or Apple OSX, you will not need any drivers.

5. Can I use the Snowflake 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 and word length does the Snowflake use?
The Snowflake'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.

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 does Cardioid mean?
This is the polar pattern or direction of sound pick-up the Snowflake is capable of. If you think of polar patterns as the shape of the area that a microphone "hears," cardioid only picks-up what's right in front of it. It will pick-up other sounds at increasingly diminished volume as the sound source moves further away from the center of the mic, to the side or even the rear (audio techs call this off-axis).

10. What is the Snowflake used for? Is it a vocal mic, an instrument mic or both?
The Snowflake was designed to provide a wide range of applications where a high-quality transducer (a fancy way to say microphone) is needed. We designed the Snowflake for use with a wide variety of sound sources.Here's a few off the top of our head: podcasting, sound effects, audio sampling, music instruments, interactive programming, video & multimedia narration/overdubbing, internet telephony, internet conferencing/chatting, field recording, recording lectures, poetry slams, spoken word performances and speeches by your favorite politician - generally anywhere where you need an easy-to-use portable microphone and you have access to a computer with a USB port. In a nutshell, you can record just about anything!!

11. Can I hang multiple Snowflakes from my ceiling to simulate a snow storm?
Yes, we actually call this "Blizzard Mode" and find it to be a pleasing atmospheric nuance to help give your room or studio space that extra sense of chill!

Please note: as there are so many different software packages that are compatible with the Snowflake, we are compiling a list of software we've tested and assured compatibility. We will publish that list shortly along with detailed instructions explaining how to use the Snowflake with each package because, as you can imagine, they are all different! In the meantime, we suggest consulting your software's manual, user forums and technical help lines. Below are a few popular software applications to get you started.

Software Setup

How to get audio from my Snowflake with...

Garage Band
1. Go to GarageBand>Preferences>Audio & Midi>Audio Input>Blue Snowflake (the mic will only show up when the Snowflake is plugged in).
2. Create a vocal track and select the Snowflake as the input device for that track.
3. You may need to adjust the Snowflake's input level in the Operating System control panel if you experience any distortion (crackling).

Logic 7
1. Open the Audio and MIDI setup program in your Apps>Utilities folder.
2. Create an Aggregate Audio Source (Audio menu - open Aggregate device editor).
3. Add the devices you want to use to the aggregate device (Built in audio and Blue mic).
4. Change the audio device in Logic's audio preferences from Default to Aggregate.

Sonar
1. Select "USB Audio Device" (1, in, 0 out) from an audio track.
2. From within that subcategory, there are 3 selections: Left USB Audio Device, Right USB Audio Device, and Stereo USB Audio Device.
3. Select Left or Right for mono audio tracks.
4. Press "R" to arm the track for recording.
5. Roll disk.

Adobe Premier Elements 4 (Windows Vista/XP)
If you should experience any problems getting the program to recognize the mic, Adobe recommends the following:

If the device does not allow you to record, then your microphone is not being detected as a valid input device in Premiere Elements. You can use an open source program called ASIO4ALL, which is a device driver that essentially wraps existing WDM devices, like USB microphones, as ASIO-compatible sound devices. Use the following steps to utilize this tool:

1. Quit Premiere Elements.
2. Visit the following web page and download the latest available version of ASIO4ALL: http://www.asio4all.com/
3. Install the software, and restart the system if asked to do so by the installer.
4. Make certain that your microphone is plugged in.
5. Launch Premiere Elements.
6. Go to the 'Edit>Preferences>Audio Hardware' menu option.
7. For the Default Device, choose the ASIO4ALL option.
8. Click the ASIO Settings button, then select your microphone from the list of devices, click Exit, and then click OK on the Preferences dialog. Close and then restart Premiere Elements.

Hardware Platforms

Windows XP Setup Procedure
1. Under START MENU open SOUNDS AND AUDIO DEVICES control panel.
2. Select AUDIO tab; insure BLUE SNOWFLAKE is selected as DEFAULT DEVICE.
3. Click on VOLUME; select appropriate volume level.
4. Exit control panel.

Windows Vista Setup Procedure

1. Under START MENU open Control Pane, then select Sound.
2. Select Recording tab; insure BLUE SNOWFLAKE is selected as Working with check mark next to the icon. (Disable alternate mic if necessary)
3. Click on Properties; select the Levels tab, set your input level, click Apply, then OK.
4. Exit control panel.

Macintosh Setup Procedure
1. Open Apple menu -> SYSTEM PREFERENCES.
2. Double-click SOUND preference file.
3. Click INPUT tab.
4. Double-click BLUE SNOWFLAKE under CHOOSE A DEVICE FOR SOUND INPUT dialog box.
5. Set input volume to the appropriate level.
6. Exit SYSTEM PREFERENCES.

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)