BLUE Microphones Spark

Great Sound Plus Focus Control in a Budget-Priced Condenser Mic

$299 MSRP, $199 street

By Jon Chappell

Fig. 1. The Spark, by Blue Microphones, is an inexpensive studio-quality condenser mic. (Click images to englarge.)

BLUE microphones has established itself as a producer of quality microphones packaged in unique and strikingly stylish housings that make them unmistakably recognizable in studios and on stage (see Fig. 1). Their Bottle, Baby Bottle, Kiwi, and Dragonfly models have already gained acceptance among recording aficionados, and sit comfortably alongside classic models decades older and bearing revered German names.

With Spark, Blue continues its twin traditions of providing excellent sound in a polished package, but this time venturing into the lower-priced tier of the mic-shoppers’ market—which is great news for recordists on a budget. Like other Blue models, the Spark’s capsule is segregated from the rest of the housing, following the company’s signature design flair. But the Spark is not just a looker. It boasts great sound and includes a new twist in its circuitry: a Focus Control, which can be selectively activated via a switch to produce a more focused sound. Included in the purchase price (under $200) are both a custom-designed shock mount and a pop filter. Completing the package is a classy wooden storage case. Let’s see what’s under the hood of this lowest-priced recording mic from Blue.

Overview

The Spark is a cardioid condenser microphone, so it’s quite versatile and appropriate for almost any studio application. The diaphragm size is not specified, but it looks to be a little under 1", placing it in the mid-size category, and striking a nice utilitarian position between large and small diaphragm mics (see Fig. 2). It features Class A discrete electronics, which makes it a viable contender for guitars, drums, vocals, pianos, and horns.

Fig. 2. The diaphragm is just under 1", making the Spark a medium-diaphragm condenser, sporting Class A discrete electronics.

When you lift the mic from its case and hold it in your hand, you’re immediately aware of the mic’s excellent build quality. Physically, the Spark is smaller than the larger, full-size Bottle mics in Blue’s line, with a diameter about the size of a Red Bull can, but weighty and solidly constructed. The canister is a matte-finished red with a recessed part at each end (in matte orange) connecting the capsule and stand mount.

At either ends of the canister are the base—a thick, glossy-chrome-finished cup that surrounds the canister and holds the mic to its mount—and the capsule mount, a dome that bookends the cup and creates a nice element of symmetry. The silhouette formed by the mic, from capsule to canister to base, creates an interesting contour, and keeps the body from looking too cylindrical. If Hammacher Schlemmer sold mics, the Blue Spark would be on their catalog’s cover, based on solely its industrial design.

The capsule follows Blue’s signature “doll’s head” look with a circular mesh enclosing the pickup element. The mesh is a bright, glossy gold finish, and I found I could easily see the mic’s orientation from a good distance away, based solely on the mesh’s reflective quality—even when viewing it through the pop screen. Inside the mesh, you can see the diaphragm in a three-point suspension mount, with a generous cavity inside the mesh surrounding the suspended element. Positioning the mic is easy, partly because the mic is so easily handled in one hand, and because the mount allows you to move the mic itself to be quite close to the source, if necessary. This came in handy when I recorded a soprano ukulele that had a lovely, sweet tone, but not great projection abilities.

Fig. 3. The Spark includes a specially designed pop screen and shockmount, and comes in a handsome storage box.

Must. Maintain. Focus.

New to the Spark is Blue’s propriety technology called Focus Control—which, when engaged, reduces any overly prominent low-end frequencies and tightens up the overall sound. The effect is activated by a pushbutton on the mic’s housing, so it’s easy to A/B any sound source quickly to see if the Focus Control improves the sound or not. I found Focus helpful in a situation with a male R&B singer with considerable natural vocal gifts but less than perfect mic technique. The Focus Control seemed to smooth out the singer’s irregular distances to the mic and reduce the intensity of the proximity effect common to all cardioids. More than just a bass roll-off switch (though it had a distinct impact here), the overall effect it produced was a more, well, focused sound, as the feature’s name implies. I found the Focus Control somewhat less significant on an airy soprano with a soft voice and consistent delivery, but I was grateful to have the option. It really does provide a choice of two distinct sonic signatures, each one unique and musically useful.

In Situ

I used the Spark for several different types of sessions, including the aforementioned uke recording, and vocal work with both a male R&B stylist and female children’s singer/songwriter. The first thing you notice when working with the Spark is just how good it feels in your hands and how nicely scaled it is when put up to the mouth of a singer or aimed at the 12th fret of an acoustic guitar. It’s a well-designed and balanced mic, from the physical perspective, and, as mentioned, its mount allows the head to be placed quite near the source, unimpeded by its own hardware.

The Focus Control can be discreetly engaged, and I was pleased that it employed silent switching so that my assistant could press the switch and not have it create an audible click in the headphones of the talent. The sound was uncolored and faithful—another nice surprise in so inexpensive a microphone. It was a reliable conveyer of varied sources, instrumental and vocal, producing a clear, finely detailed sound that was full and quite transparent in the mid and upper mid registers. I really liked that it was not overly-bright, produced no perceptible midrange bump.

Conclusion

The Spark is typical for Blue, which is to say that it boasts impeccable build quality, stylish aesthetics, and a wholly professional presentation—complete with custom built shock mount, pop screen, and wooden storage box. Attaching the mic to its mount and pop screen is a very satisfying motor-mechanical experience, and shows the attention to construction in all its component parts. The sound is transparent and faithful, and its versatility makes it appropriate for so many applications. When you consider that you can own a Blue mic of this caliber for under $200, it’s an amazingly sweet deal.

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