Mid-priced, small-diaphragm condenser microphones are an essential part of the sound reinforcement industry. And with good reason, too. Housed in compact bodies, these offer wide-bandwidth, fast transient response that’s ideally suited for percussion, stringed instruments, piano and more. While these mics are available for a very wide range of budgets — from $50 to well over $1,000 — mid-priced entries, such as the Shure KSM137 and Audio-Technica’s AT4041 offer an excellent balance of price and performance — two more reasons why condensers with $300 retail tags are well-established in the live audio market.
Now, Blue Microphones enters the small-diaphragm mic fray with the Hummingbird. Also priced at $299, this mic combines a diaphragm design based on the B1 capsule used in the company’s renowned “bottle cap” mic series, and followed by all-discrete, low-noise Class-A preamp electronics within the Hummingbird body, spec’d out at an impressive 8.5 dBA (IEC-651). But what is clearly distinctive about the mic is its unique 180-plus degree pivoting head — inspired by Blue’s Dragonfly and Mouse microphones — that enables a free range of motion for fast, precise positioning.
On the Road
Once I received a pair of Hummingbirds for review, I was anxious to put them through their paces. Like its namesake, Hummingbird is not physically large, at 6.7 inches long, about an inch in diameter and it weighs in at 7.5 ounces. The mic ships with a swivel mic clip, removable foam windscreen and a zippered, nylon-covered rigid foam case that offers protection from road abuse.
Certainly one of the coolest features of the Hummingbirds’ design is the swiveling capsule, which allows the mics to function as either a side-address pickup or end address and a wide range of angle variations in between. In the case of hi-hat miking, I put Hummingbird on a straight mic stand next to the hi-hat, with the body about four inches above and parallel to the cymbals. The six-inch reach of the mic body acted as a micro-boom and by adjusting the swivel, let me home in on the sweet spot, without the clutter of a full-size boom stand. The mic response was crisp and clear and I got exactly the sound I was looking for quickly.
The Hummingbird, however is fairly susceptible to wind or breath noise and gusts from the drummer’s stage fan were audible, until I used the included foam windscreen. The latter covers the capsule well, and instantly solved the wind issue, although its use reduces the capsule’s overall rotational range to about 170 degrees. Blue Microphones states the swivel range at 180 degrees, but (without windscreen) it’s wider than that and is more in the 200-degree range — a nice touch. Another nice touch about the swivel head, is that the overall mic body is not perfectly cylindrical, so the mic will not roll and fall off a table or road case.
One thing that surprised me was the fact that the Hummingbird capsule is very well isolated against stand-borne or cable noise — two issues that are a common problem on live stage and drum risers. This feature alone will be a real plus in any sound reinforcement application.
The mics shined as stereo drum overheads, which were clean with plenty of punch and ample SPL handling capability. Here, the swivel function offers a lot of placement flexibility and turning the capsules more toward side address reduces the mic’s profile, with the cable exiting along the line of the mic stand for a clean appearance.
A few other items also became clear in this application. For one, the cardioid pattern becomes significantly tighter at higher frequencies — generally a good thing in providing more isolation, yet at the same time requiring a bit more care in making sure the mic is aimed accurately at the source.
Also, I generally roll off much of the LF on overhead mics, and the Hummingbird does not have any onboard highpass filtering. It’s far from a deal breaker — I have plenty of console EQ available for such purposes, but it is something to be aware of.
While we’re on the topic of wish lists, I wish Blue would come up with some kind of articulated stereo mount for two Hummingbirds. Combined with the swivel function, this could open up endless creative placement possibilities. Speaking of that, on grand piano, the swivel allows for fast experimentation, especially on placements with the capsules in near-coincident positionings. Here, finding just the right amount of stereo spread was fast (and even fun) and the mics’ wide bandwidth and fast transient response were spot-on in use on this occasionally difficult instrument. The results were no different on acoustic guitar, and again, the swivel function really opens up placement possibilities with fast setups.
The Bottom Line
I liked the Blue Microphones’ Hummingbird. Here is an affordable, small-diaphragm condenser mic that combines solid audio performance with a unique flexible swivel feature — all in a tough package that’s priced right and delivers what it promises. Thumbs up on this one.
At a Glance
Clean, Creative Condenser
Blue microphones adds a slick new approach to the traditional small-diaphragm condenser mic.
Blue Microphones Hummingbird
PROS
• Versatile swiveling capsule
• Solid construction
• Clean, wide-bandwidth audio
CONS
• No onboard HP filter
• Susceptible to wind/breath noise
STATS
- Polar Pattern: Cardioid
- Transducer Type: Condenser, Pressure Gradient
- Maximum SPL: 130 dB
- Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
- Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa @ 1kHz
- Output Impedance: 50 ohms
- Street Price: $299
- Manufacturer: Blue Microphones
- More Info: www.bluemic.com
