Why I don’t recommend the Blue Yeti microphone to podcasters
I’m throwing some serious shade on the Blue Yeti microphone here, and if this is the microphone that you’re using to record your podcast, you may dislike my musings.
When first starting a podcast, a lot of podcasters search for a USB microphone that they can use to record their show. They do a quick google search for “best podcasting microphone” and one of the top search results for a USB mic, is the Blue Yet Microphone.
They purchase that microphone because it’s the most aesthetically pleasing, and most new podcasters don’t know a whole heap about microphones (which is to be expected). It’s a bit retro, it has its own stand, it comes in a few colours…what’s not to love?
Well dear reader, there are a few things not to love and I’m going to break it down for you.
1: Blue Yet microphones love to pick up background noise
One would argue that the microphone is doing its job, because it’s picking up all the sounds.
That’s what a microphone is for isn’t it? You want to pick up sounds.
Well yes, in theory this is correct but the Blue Yeti is a very delicate microphone that wants to pick up ALL your sounds. It’s not directional enough (even if you select the correct polar pattern) and as a result background noise, air conditioners, fans, noise from another room…they all love to live in the Blue Yeti.
2: Blue Yeti microphones love to highlight your plosives.
A plosive is that abrupt boomy sound in your ear when the host says a word starting with B, P, T.
Because this microphone doesn’t come with a pop filter, or have an inbuilt pop filter, the plosives can get pretty out of control depending on how you talk naturally and where your mouth is in relation to the microphone source.
As an audio producer, when I receive audio with lots of plosives, it takes considerable time to minimise or remove the sounds to ensure that the listener isn’t abused in their ear holes.
This is an easy issue to fix though, you can purchase a pop filter to go on top of the Blue Yeti, and you will be plosive no more.
3: Blue Yeti microphones don’t have enough depth to the sound
This is a personal peeve of mine and is one that is more evident in Blue Yeti microphones, and other USB microphones at a similar price point.
The voice has a wide range of beautiful frequencies. If you’re listening to a deeper voice, you’ll probably hear they have more lower tones, more bass, more warmth and body to the lower end of their voice. It’s beautiful, rich and interesting.
The Blue Yeti microphone doesn’t do a great job in highlighting those beautiful bottom end frequencies. To get a full and rich sound, you have to do a fair bit of post production processing and boost these sounds digitally.
Similarly, in the top end I find the Blue Yeti actually has a bit too much of that higher end profile. It feels a bit thin, a bit tinny and for a higher voice, this isn’t doing you any favours.
To get technical, I find the particular frequency range that introduces a more “muffled” tone is that 400Hz — 1K area. The Blue Yeti microphone almost always needs some work in that area.
4: Blue Yeti microphones are USB input only
Don’t get me wrong, I think that USB microphones are SUCH a good invention and they have come a long way since I started in this industry 7 years ago.
But there’s really nothing like a quality XLR input microphone.
XLR input microphones deliver a much crisper, wider range and truer representation of the voice.
They’re just better.
If at all possible, it’s great to get a microphone that has both USB and XLR input options so that you can upgrade to XLR when your gear budget increases as your podcasting journey progresses.
After throwing so much shade on the Blue Yeti microphone, I almost feel bad.
After all, they’re not a TERRIBLE choice. They can deliver a beautiful sound, but they just require more work to get there.
If you already have a Blue Yeti microphone as your podcasting microphone, all is not lost. I’m not recommending you go out and buy a new setup. I never like to recommend people spend money on more things unless it’s necessary.
There are just a few things that you need to make sure you account for now that you understand some of the pitfalls of the Blue Yeti microphone for podcasting.
1: Make sure you have a pop filter on your microphone.
You can purchase one here.2: To control for excessive room sound, try to control the room that you’re in as much as possible.
Turn off the air con (in Summer it’s going to be stinky and hot while you’re recording unfortunately).
Introduce more soft furnishings into your recording space.
Tell the rest of your family to shut the hell up when you’re recording (or you could be more polite about it I guess).
3: Ensure that your mouth is nice and close to the front of the microphone.
The Blue Yeti will do a great job of picking up more frequencies and giving you more depth if it doesn’t have to work so hard to find your voice.
4: Understand that you might need to do more work in post production
In your recording software of choice, spend that little bit of extra time before you publish your episode listening to the EQ and adjusting the problem areas (or your podcast production team will do it if you have one).
If you are in the market for a new podcasting microphone, the GEAR section on our website provides you with a few simple options. We don’t want to overwhelm you with choice, these are the microphones that we recommend and have personally used, or edited extensively.
Happy podcasting!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6OSaUWg0Heq4gdLdNHguJa?si=XEOUOIS1T3O0ENIUYvvXrQ
Equipment Used To Record This Podcast Episode:
Shure SM7B Microphone | Rode PS1A Boom Arm | Avalon 727 vt Pre Amp | Rodecaster Pro II | Rode NTH100 Headphones
