Despite being very familiar with Blue Microphones' lower-end products -- we've long recommended the company's Snowball line of mics for beginning podcasters or vocalists, and we were very impressed with Blue's Mo-Fi headphones -- we wanted to thoroughly test each component of the Blue Yeti Studio, which features a Yeti-class desk microphone bundled with software to enhance different types of recordings. It's a slightly pricier package than a basic starter mic for a first podcast, so is it worth it?

We should start by making it clear that we don't just play around with these things for a couple of days and pronounce judgement -- nearly every one of the voices you have heard on our weekly MacNN Podcast (and now our sister podcast, One More Thing) is recorded using a Blue microphone of some type. I personally have a small collection of them (now numbering three, plus the Mo-Fi headphones, which I still love).



We use and recommend Blue mics because we've tried the rest, and Blue consistently hits the mark for both strong performance matched with good value. Others generally offer either one or the other, but rarely both. The Yeti Studio package costs $150 -- about double what you'd pay for a "starter" basic Snowball mic -- but includes both the significantly-better Yeti microphone (which is normally $130 by itself) as well what we consider to be a crucial post-processing plug-in, as well as recording software best suited for musicians (but can be used for voice recording as well).

The Yeti microphone

Having used various versions of the Blue Snowball for my own podcasts for many years (I do several, and sometimes guest on other people's podcasts as well), my own approach to the Yet was this was going to to have to be substantially better to get me to switch. The short version is that it is better, in nearly every respect, except one -- it weighs quite a bit more than the Snowball, mainly due to its solid metal base.



The silver version of the Yeti included in the Studio package might at first look to new users like an award trophy given to "best podcaster," or something seen on David Letterman's desk with its retro "big mic" styling, but it is just solid metal all around -- so the Snowball might still be chosen when you're packing a bag for recording on the road and need something lighter to carry with you, though you can separate the Yet from its stand to ease the load a bit (also useful for mounting to a harness or other stand either on the side or the bottom).

The Yeti also sounds better, both because of its three-capsule condenser array, and because of useful built-in hardware controls that go well beyond the Snowball's three style settings. The Yeti offers a direct headphone plug-in for no-latency monitoring, four hard-wired recording settings (cardioid for solo voice, bi-directional for duet singing or two-person conversations, omnidirectional, and stereo (the latter two best for bands or acoustic guitar, respectively).



There's also a hardware gain control and headphone volume knob, and last but one of the most important features, a hardware mute button with a red LED that flashes when mute is active. Though the actual sound of the mute being activated or de-activated can sometimes be picked up on recordings, it can still be very useful when you need to cough while someone else is talking.

That the mute button can be heard being used, along with the fact that the padding on the bottom of the stand is too thin to block sounds on a table that the stand is sitting on, are really our only complaints about the Yeti. It is sturdy and well-built, sounds great, and offers the extra controls that move podcasters and vocalists into the next level of recording quality, all still at a nominal expense (the Yeti by itself routinely sells for the same price, but there is also a more expensive Yeti Pro available separately for those who need XLR output and 24-bit/192kHz recording rather than the 16-bit/48kHz of the regular Yeti).

PreSonus Studio One Artist software

A note about the software included in the package overall; the box includes the authorization codes to activate the software, but it is not included (it must be downloaded from the makers). In the case of Izotope's software, this was fairly straightforward (though you have to sign up for an account with iZotope); for the PreSonus Studio One Artist recording software, this was rather obnoxious. Let's talk first about the more elaborate of the two software offerings, Studio One Artist.

Though getting it installed and running was quite some bit of hassle, Studio One Artist is -- thanks to some excellent templates (including some supplied by Blue) -- very good and is reasonably easy to use. However, it is a full-blown digital audio workstation, and will be very intimidating for musical/audio novices. Musicians with long experience with DAWs will recognize much here, and get up and running quickly, though they might be confused by some strange omissions (no mastering, no third-party plug-ins, no MP3 output, some of which can be fixed through upgrade purchases). The professional version, which is a $200 upgrade, is highly recommended if you like what the Artist version offers.



For the beginner, the podcaster, or someone who just wants to do simple recording, though -- there are several better packages available, in my opinion. A novice is likely to be overwhelmed at all the options, and put off by the 247-page manual you need to understand all the terminology the program uses. The templates can help limit the obfuscation down to just what is needed for a given type of project, but this is quite clearly software aimed at pros or at least veterans of digital audio recording who are already comfortable with ProTools-like consoles. The software itself is high-quality, but way overkill for a newbie who wants to record her first podcast, or a kid in his bedroom who wants to record a cover on his guitar of his favorite song.

It should be noted that we are talking about Studio Artist 2.6 here, and not the brand-new Studio Artist 3, but one look at the company's site will confirm that Studio Artist is aimed at producers and songwriters, and that any sort of basic recording is at best an afterthought behind music production. If you're buying the Yeti Studio for musical purposes, and are already familiar with (or willing to learn) a full DAW, then Studio One Artist's inclusion in the package is incredibly generous.



It is also, in the consensus of my musician friends (who are more learned on DAWs than I am), Studio One Artist and to a much greater extent Studio One Professional is an excellent DAW with a smooth workflow that offers some serious challenge to even the mighty ProTools. Still, if you're not interested in a full DAW and want something simple, you may regret the time and trouble it takes to download, register, and install this software.

For my part, since I rarely go beyond recording vocals for a podcast or layering sound files for a radio commercial, quite frankly even the current Garageband is overkill for me, and I prefer my long-time audio companion Amadeus Pro for its ability to handle both AU and VST plug-ins (including the iZotope one included in Yeti Studio, more about that momentarily), do multiple tracks, and output to whatever format I want without any extra cost or extraneous consoles full of musician-oriented terminology.



iZotope's Nectar Elements plug-in

The other element included in the Yeti Studio bundle is a VST and AU plug-in called Nectar Elements from iZotope (normally $129 by itself). As the name implies, it is designed to "sweeten" vocals of all sorts, both spoken word and singing.

It works with any audio program that supports either format of plug-ins, and our direct use of it for podcasting has shown it to be an excellent de-esser and able to add timbre and space (when desired) without sounding so obviously "treated." Tests with singing in various styles demonstrated the wide range of abilities to take an average voice and give it style and heft without resorting to sins like Autotune.



In short, we love this plug-in and plan to use it the next time we record narration for an audiobook, or a podcast, or a radio ad -- or really nearly anything involving spoken or sung vocals. The presets are excellent, but you can of course customize them and save your own tweaks to use again. For our rather simple needs, Nectar Elements was the more versatile and useful of the two software packages. We should add that we have since bought other iZotope products and find them all to be useful plug-ins.

Since the cost of the Yeti Studio package equals just a bit more than the cost of the Yeti microphone itself, it would seem nuts not to spend the extra sawbuck to get the two software packages -- if you're doing anything more complicated than Skype chatting, you'll certainly use one or both of them, or your own preferred audio capture or editing suites. The hardware features on the Yeti make it a step up from basic USB mics for podcasting, and more than good enough for band or solo music recording in a home studio (or less formal) setup.

Anyone who needs to monitor their recording in real-time will love the built in headphone jack, gain control and headphone volume, and the unit is ideal for all types of broadcasting, both on and off its included stand. The iZotope Nectar Elements can range from giving you your best announcer voice to freaking people out with its range of effects, and the PreSonus Studio One can, with some time invested in it, take your audio work to the next level if you choose. It's both a good value and a beautifully-designed package with Blue's trademark quality materials and expertise, and a great investment for anyone wanting to get a little more serious about recording.

-- Charles Martin (@Editor_MacNN)