The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Give it a listen! It offers omni, figure of 8, cardioid and other options in between to choice from. If the Blue Kiwi microphone is as great as most people say, then why are they often sold used for about half the price of a new one? by Glenn Bucci » Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:49 pm . The BLUE logo identifies the front of the microphone. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. The Kiwi is Blue’s top of the line solid-state mic. I did not purchase on here, but I ran across this and just had to leave a review. BLUE offer a very expensive pop shield as an optional extra. All in all, I really liked the Kiwi. There’s a small bump centered at 2KHz and a somewhat larger bump centered around 12KHz (est.). I loved the tambourine and shaker tracks I recorded with the Kiwi. The Kiwi is Blue’s top-of-the-line FET condenser microphone. I particularly liked the manual that came with the mic. A chunky 'paddle' enables the knuckle joint in the stand adaptor to be secured firmly. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blue Microphones Kiwi 20 Foot Quad Microphone Cable at Amazon.com. The capsule design is derived from the B6 capsule used in the Bottle mic. It looks great, sounds great, is very versatile, and is reasonably priced as professional mics go. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blue Microphones Kiwi 20 Foot Quad Microphone Cable at Amazon.com. Blue Microphones was kind enough to send me their Kiwi mic for a test drive at the same time they sent me their new Ball mic for review. The maximum SPL for 0.5 percent distortion is 133dB. Most manufacturers gloss over this detail, but BLUE have made a point of explaining it in the handbook. What is a "hybrid" audio interface anyway? I also used it to record male vocals when doing a remote recording for a local blues band. The (male) lead singer of the blues band loved the way the Kiwi captured his voice. It all translates to getting the sound right at source, and I found I didn't need to EQ the mic at all — any minor tonal changes could be effected by moving and pointing the mic, or by changing the polar pattern a couple of clicks. Published: December 31, 2003. Lots of detail, without any grittiness. The impedance converter electronics are solid state, all discrete and Class A, with a transformerless output stage. Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2015. The Kiwi is a large-diaphragm multi-pattern condenser microphone featuring discrete Class A electronics with a transformerless output. Clean electric guitar sounded great too. The Blue Microphones BOTTLE is about as good as it gets…period. Everyone remarked at how clear things sounded with the Kiwi. The Blue Kiwi is Blue's top of the line solid state microphone. Mastering Essentials Part 4 - Mastering EQ: Balance, Don’t Match. The Blue Kiwi is a special microphone that has certainly earned its reputation and praise as an excellent vocal microphone. This would be my first opportunity to use a Blue condenser mic and I was anxious to try the Kiwi. Q. Instead of using a single dual-diaphragm capsule, the Kiwi employs a matched pair of single diaphragm devices mounted back-to-back — which explains the very deep capsule housing. The frequency response chart in the manual shows basically flat response from 20Hz to 1KHz. This would be my first opportunity to use a Blue condenser mic and I was anxious to try the Kiwi. Since there is no rumble-filter facility and this is a pressure-gradient microphone, proximity effect and LF vibrations could both cause problems. Truth be told, I love microphones. However, its UK price puts it in the aspirational category for most of us. The Kiwi is Blue’s top-of-the-line FET condenser microphone. Like the other models in the BLUE range, the microphone is shipped with three brass screws to secure the capsule and prevent it bouncing in its internal vibration mount. It is also a multi-pattern mic, one of only two in the range, and the only one which is phantom powered. Kiwi’s state-of-the-art FET technology and multi-pattern versatility make it truly one of a kind. The spec sheet is very respectable, as you would expect. Hugh's review has all the great information on the company and the mic. In fact, it made the list in my 7 Best Condenser Microphones of All-Time post. 3 people found this helpful. Despite the large size of the microphone, it is not as heavy as it looks, although still needing a strong stand to accommodate its 880g without drooping. Truth be told, I love microphones. The VX2 sounded better than my U89 or C412s on the girls. The VX2 does a very nice job (IMO) of splitting the difference between the warmth of the Neumann and the brightness of the AKGs. The girls preferred the clarity of Kiwi to the slightly thicker sounding VX2, so we used the Kiwi on the remaining vocal tracks on the album. The classic “lollipop on a bottle” type design and rich green paint certainly make it a striking and handsome mic. BLUE's flagship solid-state microphone combines their trademark distinctive styling with exceptional sonics. All rights reserved. 5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Kiwi mic. It's nice to dream though... All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2020. The Kiwi is a large-diaphragm multi-pattern condenser microphone featuring discrete Class A electronics with a transformerless output. Why Are Some A-B Stereo Arrays Angled Outwards? I don't have any outboard mic pre's at the moment. Photo: Mark Ewing I have in recent years reviewed a couple of BLUE mics in the pages of SOS, both towards the bottom of the range — the Baby Bottle and the Dragonfly. Positions are marked for omni at the anticlockwise end, figure of eight at the clockwise end, and cardioid in the middle. The response is typically 2dB down at 20Hz and there are two very gentle presence peaks, one centred at about 2kHz (rising to +1.5dB) and a second centred around 12-14kHz (and peaking to about +3dB). However, the BLUE Kiwi that is subject of this review is at the opposite end of the product line, being the top-of-the-range solid-state model. It's easy to see why this is BLUE's solid-state flagship model — I can't fault it at all. Is working Great. The Kiwi sounded great on acoustic guitar in both cardioid and omni modes with little to no EQ required in the mix. The Kiwi also distinguishes itself by offering NINE, count ’em, nine pickup patterns. While it is usually the low end that differentiates mic preamps, it is always the high end that marks out a supreme microphone. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. Perched on the top of the bottle is a substantial capsule enclosure 60mm in diameter, extending the overall length of the mic to a huge 285mm. PreSonus StudioLive 32SC Series III Mixing Console. Last night I recorded the Blue Kiwi in an omni setting for vocals and acoustic- upright piano. The handbook provides a lot of very practical advice on positioning the microphone for recording voices, acoustic guitars, piano, woodwind, brass, drums, and percussion. The Mic Pre that I'm running the Mic's thru is basically a Soundcraft Ghost 24 LE Mixer (stock) into Analog 8-Track (Tascam TSR-8). 5.0 out of 5 stars Best studio investment we've ever made. First Look: Pro Tools | Carbon. The blue Kiwi is a great and high quality condensor mic. The Kiwi comes packaged in a beautiful wooden case and also includes an elastic, spider-type shock mount at no extra cost. The polar pattern of the Kiwi is controlled by a rotary switch on the rear of the microphone. I tried it on a variety of sources, but mainly voices and a saxophone — and it was never less than sublime. Whereas many mics have substantial presence peaks, the Kiwi's HF lift is very subtle and, as a result, I found the mic worked equally well on both male and female voices, combining a beautiful warmth with a clear airy top end, and lots of clarity in diction. Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2018. One Synth Challenge V - The Filter Strikes Back! The Kiwi is Blue’s top of the line solid-state mic. The Kiwi capsule is a multi-pattern variation of their B6 Bottle microphone capsule. There are also three intermediate positions between the cardioid and each end, so there is a high degree of precision and variation available here, with three subcardioid and three hypercardioid patterns in addition to the primary trio. Conceptually similar to the AKG C414, the Kiwi mates Blue’s dual-diaphragm B6 capsule, designed to evoke the sound of the CK12, to a solid-state amplifier circuit.