How to make blue yeti sound best

[wmackay79]

Hi, I have a blue yeti mic and I cannot tell you how long I've tried to get this thing to sound like how I hear it on famous youtubers channels... I want to use it for commentarys and streaming and things like that. What are the best setting for it (gain, Windows levels, obs level, obs mic boost) to get this thing to sound it's best. The mic is about 1.5 to 2 feet from my mouth it isn't very close but it's right in between my monitors that I play on. Also whenever I try to record there's a noticaeaboe buzzing sound coming in through the mic how can I fix this? Any replies are VERY appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[ssddx]

most pro youtubers will have the mic very close to their mouth on a boom with shock mount and pop filter. this is the ideal position and equipment for best audio pickup. having the mic too far away will mean low volume and cranking up the gain to compensate can greatly decrease audio quality. i would suggest experimenting with the mic much closer to you (this is why boom arms are used).

as for the buzzing, if you reduce all your gain settings (as it could be gain related) to managable levels and you still have buzzing it could be electrical noise on the usb bus or ground loop. you could try using a different usb port or using a powered usb hub (mainly for the ground). it could also be hum picked up from the pc case sitting on the desk, fans or other vibration (why booms and shock mounts are used)

generally the microphone should be closest to th source of audio you want to record. that is your mouth. ideal placement is generally 4-8" from your mouth and often slightly to the one side to avoid breath. depending on if it is side address or top address the position might change slightly.

the blue yeti is pretty large so if it is placed proper it might be hard to see around. one of the drawbacks to the yeti despite its good sound. another thing to note is that some mics sound better with different vocal frequencies. some sound stellar with baritone while other sound better for tenor.

also, some youtubers might post process the audio

i'm not a youtuber nor recorder so can not answer some of your recording setting questions.. but the above are some basic facts about mic placement and setup you might want to try out and heed.

tldr: try a sample recording with the mic close to your mouth and isolated from vibration with gain turned down and see if you get any better performance.

 

[mjordan.nexogen]

After coming across this thread to see if maybe it offered up some good advice on this particular mic; I stopped everything to correct some bad information.

Anyone interested in getting best quality sound out of this particular mic (Blue YETI) should disregard the "best answer" and no disrespect to the one who responded with an answer. Anyone who tries to help another out gets my respect regardless.

First off, many just starting out seem to confuse some of the same things.

If I go out and get the same mic, I will get the same quality! Similar misunderstandings include, this mic has all great reviews so it's going to just sound great!

Reality is... The mic is just one tool and it takes much more than a quality microphone to get quality results.

A proper pre-amp with phantom power is always necessary with traditional condenser mics yet USB condenser mics like the blue yeti convert analog to digital w/built-in power supply. USB mics are simple and easy but XLR mics will always have an advantage as a good dedicated audio interface increases the quality and allows for more control.

That being said, they are coming out with a kind of interface for USB mics although the technology is still new and has nothing to do with converting signals; just improves quality.

Now if you own a USB mic and want the best quality possible...

Location: Choose an area with the dryest possible feedback... A room with carpet over a wood or hard surface. High ceilings are not good either. If possible, a room with uneven walls and obstacles is best. The best possible place to prevent audio waves from returning to the source.

Best to use a boomstand with shockmount and pop-filter even if they claim to have a built in pop filter, get an external one anyways.

Mic presence: Many blogs, articles, including the only answer here give advice to record close to the mic. This is bad advice and very bad practice. The pop filter should be around 4-6" from mic and you should record vocals at least 12-18" away. Turn the gain as low as possible on the mic.
Depending on the DAW and internal sound card, the input gain should be set at a low db level as well. When mixing and mastering you can increase the vocal tracks volume and you will notice white noise is at a minimum.

Next is your DAW and CPU. I use Logic Pro X as my main production suite and Adobe audition for in-depth audio adjustments and sound correction/enhancements.

Technical knowledge is going to give you a better outcome.

I own a Blue Yeti and a Rode NT1-A... I have a decent presonus audiobox audio interface for my RODE which adds to the rich sound quality. For the Blue Yeti, I use the many EQ options and plug-ins within my DAW, Logic Pro X has some excellent virtual racks that will do the job well.

Follow this advice and understand the mic just captures and some better than others but none will do the job alone.

Remember... Don't eat the mic! Stay back! Keep the gain low! Record at low volume! Wear headphones while recording! Dry out the recording area (no echo or natural reverb) Boom stand, Shock mount, pop filter!...

P.s. If you are doing podcasts... The best virtual pre-amp is tube-amp. Record in Mono! Learn automation! Sound bytes should be in stereo and panned slightly.