Blue Yeti USB Microphone with Multi-Pattern Recording

Depends. The entire "yeti bad" thing is mostly because yeti became really famous, so people were buying it for years just because it's a yeti and now other people crap on it just to show they are not sheep. It's still an okay mic, just no longer uncontested at its price point. Most of the time you ask the mic crowd for better alternatives you'll get "oh, there is this 20 dollar mic that completely steamrolls yeti, but it's XLR so you also need a dedicated audio interface and to achieve the best results, you'll also need boom arm, mount, pop, filter... couple hundred bucks should do it"

Keep the yeti, it's way more than enough. If you're only using a mic for games, literally anything that isn't broken will do. Friends will notice if you sound like you're talking through a paper cup walkie talkie, but you get diminishing returns quickly...

Like most mics it's fine for the voice calls/youtube/twitch audience. It's been widely misused due to people seeing it and treating it as an end address mic, or using the included desk stand which can often position it in a poor place and a poor room. I think that the popularity with bad users is where the worst of its reputation comes from.

Some people hate the Blue Yeti, others swear by it. Personally, I'm not a fan for most applications, especially in novice setups. The thing Blue Yeti does better than any other mic is marketing. For the price of a Blue Yeti, you could get a decent starter dynamic mic (the Blue Yeti is a condenser mic—definitely read up on the benefits and drawbacks of each), which is what I would suggest.

It's a good price for the microphone but what many don't talk about is it's a money pit: because of it's metal and large size, it's a heavy condenser microphone (which most condensers are very lightweight) and so you might need to get yourself a better boom arm than you wouldn't otherwise need if you went elsewhere. Not only that, but it's old, that doesn't mean that it's used, but the cable is out of date - meaning that if it breaks (which they are prone to easily breaking, and even terribly known for getting stuck in the USB port of the microphone itself) and it just becomes a complete headache.

My main job involves me working with amateur voice actors and I can confirm. Mids sounds weird the lows sound muddy and the highs are harsh. It also doesn't help that 99% of people who have one are in an untreated room while also being next to their pc fans and a desk.

If you already have a Yeti, stick with it unless it breaks. The difference between a Yeti and any other USB mic is just not worth the cost. If you want to invest into your audio setup, you're much better off working on the environment or moving to an XLR setup, those would give you a much larger bang for your buck.

I have been using a Blue Yeti for my show since 2017. It's perfect, only thing you need some more attention than a dynamic mic. The voice is rich and full. BTW, my show is about to hit 4 millions downloads overall.

I have used a Blue Yeti for years. It's been good for me. I just plug it into my computer, so no interface. I do a solo show. It is pretty sensitive, so it might not be best for certain setups...

I bought a Blue Yeti Pro back in the day. It was terrible for my use case, because I needed to cut out background noise, and the BYP is extremely sensitive. I bought it before I knew anything about mics, I just wanted a USB mic with headphone monitoring. So, don't be like me, and first learn the differences between condenser and dynamic mics, and different pickup patterns. Then assess your need.

I own both the Yeti and AT2020 and the Yeti sounds significantly better. Plus the ability to switch the pickup pattern for recording instruments etc makes it a clear winner for me

Not unless you can get one dirt cheap on marketplace. The price to performance is terrible nowadays compared to the competition. For cheaper microphones that are still good, The at2020 for a condenser would be better or a sm58 / sm57 for a dynamic would be better.

It's become popular to dunk on the Yeti, but it's still a good little microphone for not much money, and it has a really low barrier to entry. Other mics may make you sound better, but they're not going to be a magic bullet - you still have to consider the basics of background noise, room echo and good microphone technique, no matter how much money you pour into them...

In terms of bang for your buck, getting a stand and pop filter will be an enormous improvement in audio quality. The Yeti stand is essentially the absolute bare minimum for the microphone to function out of the box, it's not designed to be used that way for any serious application.

I think you just have low standards because you aren't used to working with better gear. The Yeti is bad. The Snowball is straight up garbage. There's only so much you can fix in post and nailing it at the source will pretty much always get a better result...

...the Yeti is a condenser microphone; by design, these are more sensitive than a dynamic microphone. They will generally pick up the sound of two gnats f**king 3 blocks away.

Any microphone is good enough for podcasting if you decide that's all you can afford right now. A blue yeti is fine. It's a usb microphone, so it isn't "professional quality", but who cares. Make your podcast. Upgrade as you go.

There are better options nowadays. It’s perfectly serviceable and you get the free software, but it’s just not the greatest sounding.

We use Blue Yeti for years. It’s a USB plug n go. I like how you can mess with the sensitivity and the direction on the mic itself. I haven’t thought much of upgrading yet, so others might be better at answering a VS question.

I own both a Blue Yeti, and two Samson Q2U (which I use as XLR for podcasting). The Blue Yeti is okay, but I do get a lot more use out of the Samson Q2Us. The Blue Yeti is a more sensitive mic and is a bit better suited for entry level voice work. It can be a decent mic for podcasting, but you will want to be more careful with treating the room to avoid unwanted noise and reverb...

Not really. It’s outdated. For the same price or even less, you can get more nowadays.

Sounds great if you have the right type of room for it. As a condenser it's sensitive to background noise. If you are in an untreated room, like a mostly empty bedroom you will get reflections or reverb. For typical streamers I'd recommend a dynamic mic instead. Q2u or MV7 are great options...

There are much better mics than the Yeti, but the mic isn’t your main problem. The trick to minimizing noise a combination of many things

It's a clunky piece of equipment that probably never deserved the popularity it somehow got, but set it to cardioid pattern, place it less than 20cm away from your mouth, maybe put it on a mic arm, gain it way down, and you should be pretty good.

The Yeti gets a bad rap, don't believe everything you read. As long as you don't expect studio quality for $120, it'll serve you just fine starting out. Can't beat that price point to dip your toe in podcasting!

I have a Blue Yet that is like 15 years old and still works perfectly.

The Blue Yeti is actually not a bad microphone, but many people struggle with it because it needs a bit higher gain and because of the selectable polar pattern, the number of times I have come across people with the wrong one set is unbelievable Make sure the polar pattern is set to the heart shape

Samson Q2U ... Condenser mics like the Blue Yeti pick up everything

Both of these mics are condenser mics meant they're both meant for a more studio like setting. They will both pickup more sound than you want initially.

Neither. A dynamic mic will help you WAY more. The mics you listed are great mics, just usually a poor fit for streamers because of external noise.

Yes. For its price, you can buy two cheap condenser microphones which would be of comparable quality, an audio interface, a spider holder and you will still have some of your money left.

I own both. Elgato wave 3 is the way to go in my opinion. Plenty of YouTube comparisons. Sounds quality is better. Software is better... However for the yeti I used EqualizerAPO with plugins. For the wave 3, I used their software with the same plugins (noise cancelling, noise gate. Basic stuff) So software wise, I wasn't really losing anything, but Elgatos I just find easier to use.

Yes, the Blue Yeti is still worth getting. ... The Blue Yeti is one of the more detailed and richer sounding USB mics still out there.

I love my blue yeti. Its plug in and play and easy enough to dial in. Maybe not the best if you're recording music or something, but otherwise its perfect.

I've got a blue yeti mic and it's quality has been on and off. I'm trying to get a consistent set up Right now I have my mic on cardioid mode, with zero gain on the mic itself, and with the keyboard behind it. It does a great job at not hearing the clicking when I'm not talking, but the moment I start talking the clicks become 10 times louder.