BLUE Snowball Condenser USB Microphone Package

Feature:
The tripod feet for the mic feels REALLY sturdy. It also allows you to raise or lower the mic by a couple inches. Comes with a USB cord which is all you need for plugging into your laptop or PC.

Quality:
This mic is SOLID. Doesn't feel cheap at all. Almost like you can drop it and it won't break. It's small, compact, solid.

Value:
I mean, look at the price, its a good deal. And did I mention it sounds amazing?

Desirability:
This mic is sexy. Period.

Sound:
VERY GOOD for recording acoustic guitar. You can even play your guitar while singing and it sounds great. Place the mic about 1-2 feet away from your guitar and jam away... its awesome. The 3 way switch really helps with getting the right sound according to what you're doing. The quite mode is good for the above mentioned acoustic guitar stuff. The loud mode is good for jamming even with full on drums!

Ease of Use:
PLUG AND PLAY... its a USB mic, is there really more to say? I use it with a program called Audacity which is free, you can do multi track recording with it and it sounds great with the mic. thats it!

Support:
can't rate, had no problems with at yet, had it for about 2 months.

Overall:
Since our band got this mic, we never have a session without it. It simply captures all the jamming awesomeness for us.

Feature:
With the two capsules and 10dB pad, this mic has more features than you'll find in mikes costing several grand.

Quality:
If I was to re-build this mic on 10 times the budget, I wouldn't be able to make it as solid feeling / looking as it is. No rattles, creeks, pops, squeaks... While I record, I can pick up the mic by the stand and you'd never even know in listening to the playback.

Value:
Excellent. A lot of it comes down to how you use it but, assuming you use all your equipment correctly, the Snowball will outperform a lot of far more expensive microphones.

Desirability:
Besides being a microphone to me, it's a conversation piece to anyone who sees it. It doesn't really look like anything. Could be a giant web cam, could be a small fan, could be an alien probe. It gets a lot of attention and, even if for some reason I stopped Podcasting, I would still wouldn't give away or sell this mic. I want it. It's mine. Hand's off--get your own.

Sound:
Obviously, this is subjective. Until the Snowball, I've used regular dynamic microphones with XLR running through a mixer and into the AUX in on my sound card. With the Snowball, the sound (voice) is more airy, crisper, and carries more of the baritone. It will make you a lot more comfortable with your voice. As long as you can find a relatively quiet room in the house (away from the fridge, AC unit, etc...) background noise isn't a problem, especially if you're mixing a voice-over into something that already has some sound - what little background noise there is, becomes inaudible. Also, software like Adobe Audition can learn and subtract noise from the selection altogether.

Ease of Use:
I have to come down to an 8 here. Depending on the USB chipset and the operating system, you may or may not be able to install this mic. Worst case scenario: Upon plugging it in, your "Found New Hardware" wizard will pop and ask you to select how you'd like to install this USB device. Whether you choose automatic or advanced install, it will invariably tell you that Windows couldn't find the proper drivers. Just something to keep in mind. I wanted to use it with my main workstation but it wouldn't install so I'm using it with my laptop which took it no problem.

Support:
I don't know yet. I e-mailed BLUE about the above mentioned driver issue and am still waiting to hear back. Then again, it's only been a day.

Overall:
Overall, my happiness with this mic now is on par with my anticipation when I was waiting for it to get here. Aside from the minor USB compatibility issue (and I say minor because it worked with 7 of my 8 computers,) the Snowball is the mic to get if you want to record high-quality vocals (maybe instruments too - I don't know; I'm not a musician.)