The irresistibly 'cute' Snowball microphone is designed for desktop recording studio applications, Pod casting or Internet telephony. The mic's universal driver and plug & play USB 2.0 compatibility make recording into your MAC or PC laptop or DAW's computer quick and easy. More than just a simple pickup mic, this is a dual-capsule design with switchable cardioid and omnidirectional patterns each with different frequency responses. The cardioid has a neutral sound great for all uses especially vocals while the omnidirectional pattern has a brighter sound good for recording instruments. A three-position switch switches patterns and also a -10dB attenuator on the cardioid pattern for loud or super close sound sources.

I immediately put the Snowball to work as my Skype/iChat mic on a G5 Quadcore Pro Tools computer. The G5's Cinema Display does not come with a built-in mic but the Snowball shows up in the Sound Preference panel as soon as I plugged it in. I like the bright red LED on the mic to let me know right where the mic is and that it is working--even in a darken room. I also like the sound--clear and present with enough background noise rejection (in cardioid) to cancel out other sounds coming from around the house and outside.

With an accessory pack that includes a thick USB cable and mic stand; the Snowball sells for $159 MSRP. Optional accessories include The Ringer, a custom shock mount that works on all Blue Ball mics. Visit www.bluemic.com for more information.