2nd Generation Mikey Unveiled

[Michael Essany]

Blue Microphones is rolling out the red carpet in the UK market for its new and improved 2nd generation Mikey microphone for the iPod touch. As many of us know from the 1st generation model of this particular product, the Mikey arrived last year as an impressive stereo mic created for the iPod.



Meet Mikey 2.0 (which is compatible with the iPod 5G; iPod Classic, iPod Nano 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, iPod touch 1G, 2G, 3G.) For about $99, you will get the revamped model which now features a 230-degree range of adjustability with several different potential positions for "perfect positioning." In addition to the new design, there's also an improvement to the actual quality of sound captured (something we would kind of expect from a next-gen device of this nature). The new Mikey features an improved acoustic circuit that allows for higher quality recordings of high-volume events, such as concerts or sporting events. There's also a sweet line in jack for recording external sources.

This time around, however, Blue is also rolling out Blue FiRe - a free, "high-fidelity field recording app" for both the iPhone and iPod touch. Developed in partnership with Audiofile Engineering, the manufacturer says that the Blue FiRe App is optimized for the Mikey, "enabling users to have a complete, high-quality mobile recording experience."

Certainly a nice "toy" for those of us iDevice modders who like to use our iPods as high frequency boom microphones.

BlueMic

[Turb02]

Interesting but a bit bulky. Dont think I would ever use this because its so FUGLY

[whereswaldo]

This looks ugly and ridiculous, you don't need a mic in the classic or nano and for $99 you my aswell use it towards a new touch


Sent from my iPhone using ModMyi

[Zokunei]

Edit: Oh, people do pay more than $100 for a microphone... I guess this thing's pretty cool for some people then.

[mallenass]

more apple news!!! yaaaaay!!!!!

if i was a reporter or something iŽd be mad psyched about this.

thanks for the effort messany! greatly appreciated!

[knowledge561]

Did anyone notice that the screen is upside down?!?! Great marketing skills!

[greek.guy]

why wouldnt it be compatible with ipod touch 4g?
i think it could be a huge benefit to facetime if you didnt mind a huge add on

[mvhurlburt]

What the hell does everyone have against messany? I mean why the hell do you even bother reading the post and replying if you hate this guys posts so much? I for one would never spend $100 on this thing. That said it could be of interest to people looking for high quality live recording on their iDevice. I am curious to the actual quality of sound that this gizmo produces. Anyway I wouldn't refuse it if someone gave it to me and chances are that if I wanted to record something spur of the moment I wouldn't have the damn thing with me...

[apw100]

This looks ugly and ridiculous, you don't need a mic in the classic or nano and for $99 you my aswell use it towards a new touch


Sent from my iPhone using ModMyi

No offense, but you obviously have no experience with audio engineering if you are complaining that a good quality mic/interface is $99. This mic is designed by Blue, a high end and well respected microphone company, and is intended for high quality stereo field recording, something that a built-in or cheap mic is simply not capable of doing(cheap circuitry and miniscule diaphrams).

Considering that stand-alone field recorders of lesser quality start at $200+, this seems like a pretty good deal at $99. The only downside is that it is limited to 16-bit/44khz recording. To be fair, this may be a limitation of the iPhone/iPod hardware and not the microphone.

[kadinh]

Did anyone notice that the screen is upside down?!?! Great marketing skills!

its probably supposed to be like that. i would prefer it that way if i was using a mic. the apparatus on top so you could have full access to the screen.

[LSZ33]

I believe this is meant for professional recording artists. Most artists are on the road alot and might not have access to a studio when those "inspiring moments" hit them. It is ugly but im sure it's convenient for some.

[NetMage]

Like many things iPad or iPhone, it is actually a bargain if you already own the iDevice, compared to buying a stand alone substitute.

And there sure are a lot of people that shouldn't be allowed near a keyboard posting today.

[jose060789]

Sent from my iPhone using ModMyi

[Raketemensch]

I use my Blue Mikey all the time, in fact right now I'm listening to a recording of my band's rehearsal last night. Personally, it's my favorite add-on for my phone, and that's saying a lot.

To whomever was saying you should just use the built-in mic, there's no way to adjust the gain on a iDevice. If you try to record a live band, your recording is going to be peaking constantly, resulting in nothing but unlistenable noise. With this mic you can set the gain (via a switch right on the mic), so you can record louder stuff. Even on medium (which is already reduced from the default), a live band is too loud, you have to drop it to the lowest setting, which is very easy to do.

They didn't resolve my main issue, though. The mic needs to be able to swivel so that it's facing the BACK of the phone. Why? So you can record video with good audio. Seems like a no-brainer, but here's version 2.0 (which took a very long time to get out), and it's still not possible without using a dock extension cable.

I also wish there was some way to still power the device -- the mic uses the phone's battery, so it'd be ideal to be able to charge while recording.

I picked mine (1st gen, not this new one) on eBay for $49. These will probably drop in price shortly as well.

[EskimoRuler]

Looks very useful if you need it. But don't have an iPod just iPhone so Im good. I think it looks clean, yea bulky but high quality, and inoutnfor external source would he very helpful

[zeroskater61]

Did anyone notice that the screen is upside down?!?! Great marketing skills!

Yes we did but it is suppose to give you the microphone feature on your iPod so I don't think any one would want to hold an iPod upside down. :-/

Also if you were to hold the iPod up normally with all your hand movement or any type of moment I think the microphone would just slip off and fall so holding the iPod upside down is also a good way to keep the device in it's place.

[rajsukul]

This is really nice..

I would like to be able to get some ideas down on my iPhone rather than being in home studio.

I might get this or a Rode NT1A.. not really sure :L

[CMOSlabs]

I like it. But then Im a audio junkie. Its nice to be able to record in stereo and have a little control over the levels. Better than taking my 5000.00 recording unit out in the wild. But then my hidef video camera records in 5.1 with 5 mics built in. As the other dude said, wait a while and get one on ebay for 45 bucks

[ansky8712]

Imagine how amazing you'll sound on the I am tpain app! Well worth the $99!!! Gotta hit the studio asap lol

[MindGem]

$99 for an big and clumsy mic? No thanks.