Mike 226 | Microphone Concept

[theAVator]

Very Nice! I like the styling and the lighting. Very easily could be a product shot of a real item.

It reminds me very much of the Blue Snowball Mic:  https://www.bluedesigns.com/products/snowball/
Except I like yours better - cooler design and style. They just slapped the Blue logo over the front and called it good. I feel like yours would have an easier time picking up some of the other audio patterns a mic would be programmed to use.

[Magnus Skogsfjord]

Wow, this is really cool! As usual, the lighting is incredible! I have to echo what others are saying; this looks very realistic.
I like the texturing on the plastic in the front view. And is the dial in that view illuminated?

Wooh, thanks a lot Eric! Really glad to hear that! I use a HDRI on all of these, with a little extra image pins to shed some extra light on certain areas, like the dial you mention.

Very Nice! I like the styling and the lighting. Very easily could be a product shot of a real item.

It reminds me very much of the Blue Snowball Mic:  https://www.bluedesigns.com/products/snowball/
Except I like yours better - cooler design and style. They just slapped the Blue logo over the front and called it good. I feel like yours would have an easier time picking up some of the other audio patterns a mic would be programmed to use.

Awesome. Means a lot hearing it! Thank you! And yeah, maybe I should send them a link to the project? It's funny though, as I took more inspiration from their Yeti microphone than the snowball. But of course, once it goes spherical it's more close to the snowball. It would be very interesting to see how it would pick up sound compared to the snowball. I really don't have any strong opinion on how fitting the design would be for an optimal reception to be honest.

[mattjgerard]

*raises hand*

Audio engineer here- This design would present zero challenges to picking up enough audio signal. There is plenty of exposed grill mesh to plant a transducer behind, and for its perceived intended purpose (voice mainly, at a reasonable proximity) would certainly fulfill its duties as a transducer housing.

Even more importantly in the success of actually bringing this design to market is not the audio performance that might be achieved with the design, but it is more about the visual allure of the object. Packaging sells, regardless of performance and specs.

I love the design of old generation microphones, the mechanics of how they were put together, the purpose of each component. The look was derived from its use, and the outward appearance was driven mostly by the requirements of achieving the best audio capture. Nowadays with transducer tech that can achieve great performance in small packages, a designer can house the guts in pretty much any package they want to and get acceptable performance for 90% of the users.

So, with this design, I think it would have a real opportunity at production simply from the fact that it looks good. The packaging could be made to look good. Audio performance could be made to accomodate a podcaster, webcaster, casual tutorial creator. Add a 1/4 20 screw mount underneath and you have a nice looking vocal mic that can be mounted on a stand. If you wanted to go old school, create a shock mount for studio or live use. The design is versatile and could be adapted in many ways. I do really think this has potential, more so than a lot of devices out there.

Nicely done, sir.

[Magnus Skogsfjord]

*raises hand*

Audio engineer here- This design would present zero challenges to picking up enough audio signal. There is plenty of exposed grill mesh to plant a transducer behind, and for its perceived intended purpose (voice mainly, at a reasonable proximity) would certainly fulfill its duties as a transducer housing.

Even more importantly in the success of actually bringing this design to market is not the audio performance that might be achieved with the design, but it is more about the visual allure of the object. Packaging sells, regardless of performance and specs.

I love the design of old generation microphones, the mechanics of how they were put together, the purpose of each component. The look was derived from its use, and the outward appearance was driven mostly by the requirements of achieving the best audio capture. Nowadays with transducer tech that can achieve great performance in small packages, a designer can house the guts in pretty much any package they want to and get acceptable performance for 90% of the users.

So, with this design, I think it would have a real opportunity at production simply from the fact that it looks good. The packaging could be made to look good. Audio performance could be made to accomodate a podcaster, webcaster, casual tutorial creator. Add a 1/4 20 screw mount underneath and you have a nice looking vocal mic that can be mounted on a stand. If you wanted to go old school, create a shock mount for studio or live use. The design is versatile and could be adapted in many ways. I do really think this has potential, more so than a lot of devices out there.

Woah Matt! That's such a cool read! It was actually so cool that I decided to send it to Blue. Not sure how it's going to be received, but at least I can stop wondering "what if".  I feel a bit stupid not having asked about your professional opinion earlier on that, as I remember you mentioning your background. I didn't expect to get such a clear thumbs up on it from a technical perspective.

I have two Blue Yetis myself, and i love the performance they bring while keeping an affordable price range. Not over-the-top in love with the design though, but it doesn't look bad.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to do the elaborate explanation, not to mention the never ending kind compliments! It is very much appreciated!