When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a rock star. Now I’m in my mid-twenties I’ve grown up a lot and obviously I want to be a rock star more than ever; therefore, when the chance arose to check out a top of the range microphone, you can imagine my excitement. The tie went round the head, the tennis racket came out and I put my vocal chords (and the microphone’s decibel meter), to the test.
The first thing that hit me about Blue’s Yeti Pro is how attractive the design is; with the ‘wire-mesh’ style top inviting you to speak (or sing!), into it, there’s no unsightly foam for you to maneuver around and you don’t have to worry about a single sound wave being interrupted between your mouth and the actual microphone’s receiver.
Billing itself as the world’s first USB microphone, the Yeti Pro combines 24 bit/192 kHz recording resolution (the highest digital resolution on the market, according to the website and I damn well believe them), with analogue XLR output. For those non-techies, this essentially means that this microphone is of studio quality standard and, yes, it can plug into your computer. Forget extortionate producer bills, nowadays you really can set up a top quality recording studio in your bedroom, with this microphone as a centrepoint.
The ergonomic design of the microphone allows it to tilt back and forward, meaning that it can get closer to the source of the sound; you can get the perfect angle for vocalists or musical instruments to play into. With 3 custom condenser capsules the microphone can record with up to 4 times the clarity of CDs; when I played back my recordings, the songs may have been out of key, but the actual audio was as sharp as a tack.
Of course, it isn’t just bedroom rock and rollers that can enjoy the Yeti Pro; you can change from a ‘Stereo’ setting to ‘Cardiod’ to allow a whole room to engage in a podcast, ‘Omnidirectional’ to cater for conference calls and field recordings and ‘Bidirectional’ to record interviews or duets. It is a truly versatile piece of equipment that will be a boon to any one interested in creating exceptional recordings; if you want to audition for my pretend band, you know where to find me…
Price: £185.99
Link: Yeti Pro on Amazon
