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Blue Ball Microphone – John Baccigaluppi’s Tape Op Review

TapeOp Issue #38/November, 2003 | by


When I heard this mic was coming out, I was really eager to try it out on kick drum. The AKG D 112 works great, but there’s gotta be something else that gets that solid, rock kick drum sound. The idea of a phantom-powered dynamic was intriguing.

We mic’ed up a kit with the D 112 and got a sound. Then we swapped it out with the Ball. The top end was right in there with the D 112’s, but the bottom end of the Ball blew away the D 112’s. It was super tight and focused. Then we turned on the subwoofer, which was crossed over at 45 Hz. The D 112 was huge down there, but the Ball had nothing. Depending on your application this could be good or bad.

The Ball definitely moved more air and had a better bottom end on my main monitors than the D 112, and most people don’t have systems that go much below 40 Hz anyway. Apparently, this mic was designed for live sound applications, but it’s so reasonably priced that I think it’s a great alternative to yet another SM57.(BLUE; $200)

This is one of three short reviews:

Read more about the Blue Ball microphone.

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