There are lots of great microphones out there for podcasting, but what about for podcasting on the road? ????
One could bring their usual podcasting mic on a trip, but if it’s one like Blue’s Yeti, it’s not the most portable thing. You may have to separate the mount from the microphone in order for it to fit in your bookbag, and it’s kinda heavy to be toting around.
Up until recently, I was one of those people bringing my Yeti with me when I traveled. I broke it into two pieces and would pack it in my carry on suitcase, surrounded by soft clothing to keep it safe. One issue with traveling with it was that the TSA was always suspicious of it when it went through a carry on scanner. They don’t see large pill-shaped microphones as frequently as they do iPads, so you can bet they wanted to do some additional inspections.
I used to get ahead of them by putting the microphone inside its own screening tray, but it’s a hassle. In fact, bringing that whole mic on the road with me was a hassle in general.
So I decided to look around for a good portable microphone that I could just keep in my book bag. I decided to look at Blue’s website first, because I hadn’t been on their site for a while and love their products.
Would they have anything new? Would they have exactly what I was looking for?
“Whaaaaaat,” I screamed upon loading their products page. Turns out they released a microphone for traveling just last year called the Raspberry. This thing is tiny, stands on its own, and allegedly sounds very good.
Like all Blue Microphones, it’s a bit pricey: $200 retail ($160 on Amazon). But for the convenience and quality, I knew I had to have it.
Blue Raspberry mic review
Blue’s Raspberry does not disappoint! I took it with me on a recent trip to Florida. Not only is it small enough for a book bag, but it’s also small enough to fit in a small pocket of the book bag. How small? Here’s the cutie standing next to an iPad Mini:
Blue didn’t take shortcuts with this microphone. It has a headphone jack output just like my Yeti, so you can hear yourself as you speak (something I need to make sure I sound okay). It also has mic and headphone level knobs for easy control. Pressing the mic button lets you mute it, too (though I recommend using this software for muting).
As for the sound quality: Yep, it sounds just as good as a full-sized Blue Microphone. Perfection!
Furthermore, it can record directly to your iPhone. Blue includes a cable with the Raspberry that lets you directly connect the microphone to your iPhone via the Lightning port. This means you don’t need a laptop when you travel — all you need is your iPhone, the Raspberry, and the included cable!
Thanks to the iPhone capability, this might be a great solution for those of you who are recording multiple people in one room. In theory, you could buy one of these mics for each podcaster, hook them up to your respective iPhones, and all hit record in your Voice Memos apps at the same time. Then you could export the recordings to one computer to edit them together.
If you travel frequently and need to keep up with your podcast responsibilities while you do so, I highly recommend this microphone. Purchase it from Amazon for $160.
Update (September 1, 2018): With the Yeti and new Yeti Nano now both priced less than the Raspberry, it’s hard for me to recommend the smallest one. Spend less money on one of the Yeti’s and get better sound quality!
