Recording - February 2014 - 22

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Blue Bottle Rocket Stage One
A choice of capsules gives this mic amazing versatility
Blue's first mic, the Bottle, was released in 1996
and based upon the 1928 Neumann CMV3, also
nicknamed "The Bottle". Aside from its large
imposing size, what made the original unique was
its system of removable M-series capsules that
could be swapped out for different applications, a
system used on Blue's Bottle as well. Note that both
Blue's line of Bottle Caps and the original
Neumann capsules can be used on either mic.
Eventually, after World War II the East
German division of Neumann, what we now
call Microtech Gefell, refined the idea further
by shrinking the body into the CMV-563.
Many years later, in 2005, Blue did the same
thing when it released the Red Type A through
the company's Vintage Microphones division.
When the Red line was discontinued in
2008, the Type A was rebranded into the Blue
Bottle Rocket Stage Two, reviewed by Justin
Peacock in our March 2010 issue. Compared
to the $6000 Bottle, the $2500 Stage Two
was a much more affordable option for entering the world of Blue's Bottle Caps.
Concurrent with the original tube-based Red
Type A was the Solid State Red Type B, which
also earned a new Blue designation in 2008
as the Blue Bottle Rocket Stage One and now
sells for $1000 street. We'd missed reviewing
it the first time around, but felt it was worth a
hard listen now, especially since many of these
capsules excel on vocals, this issue's focus.
The Bottle Rocket Stage One
The Stage One has a similar body to the
Bluebird and of course the Stage Two. Unlike the
Stage Two's glossy dark-blue exterior the Stage
One features a rough texture. It is a bayonet-style
mic, which means it has a large post on its top
side where the lollipop-style Bottle Caps attach
with a spring-loaded push and twist. A great feature of this mic is that-as on the Stage Two-the
capsules are hot-swappable. They can be
changed and auditioned while the mic is
plugged in, even with phantom power engaged.
The Stage One comes with a foam-lined,
slide-top hardwood box and a screw-on shock
mount. This is an upgrade to earlier Bottle
Rocket mounts, which used a vintage-style compression-clamp mount.
A few relevant specs: frequency response
20 Hz-20 kHz, sensitivity 27 mV/Pa (±10 mV
depending on capsule) at 1 kHz (1 Pa = 94 dB
22

RECORDING February 2014

SPL), noise level not more than 7.5 to 14 dBV
depending on capsule, dynamic range 130
dB, and max SPL 138 dB.
Cap it!
None of the Bottle-style microphones offer
pattern switching; when you desire a different
polar pattern, swap a Cap. Currently there are
9 capsules in the series, each sold in its own
hardwood foam-lined box. They are:
B0: a cardioid large-diaphragm capsule with
a solid low end, a slight mid dip and a significant 8 kHz rise. Blue calls this "ultimate big
vocal sound".
B1: a cardioid small-diaphragm capsule with
a gentle low-end rolloff below 50 Hz, a flat, even
mid section and slight peaking at 5 kHz and 10
kHz. This is Blue's "accuracy plus" capsule.
B2: a large-diaphragm figure-8 capsule with deemphasized lows and low mids, with a smooth
sloping peak up to 8 kHz and then a smooth highend roll off; Blue calls it the "vintage" capsule.
B3: a mid-size diaphragm cardioid capsule
that Blue calls the most neutral of the bunch.
This capsule is smooth in the lows and low
mids with a slight 2 kHz rise followed by the
most subdued high end of any of the capsules.
B4: a Perspex Sphere small-diaphragm pressure omni. This capsule is based on the Neumann
M50. This will find its most use on room miking
and orchestral work, thanks to its smooth even
sound. It is a favorite of classical engineers, and
seemed to be reviewer Justin Peacock's favorite of
the bunch in his Stage Two review.
B5: this is a large-diaphragm omni that Blue
calls the "presence omni". Unlike the B4, this
omni is big and bold, with a nice low-end
bump and the most open top end of the entire
Bottle Cap family.
B6: a dual-backplate large-diaphragm cardioid capsule with a very nicely weighted
smooth frequency response, with some slight
midrange presence around 2-3 kHz followed
by a forward 12 kHz peak. The company calls
this "The Blue Standard", and this is the capsule
that is recommended and usually ships with the
full-size Bottle. This one is one of my favorites!
B7: a single-backplate large-diaphragm cardioid capsule that Blue calls the "vintage vocal"
sound. This one is the most mid-forward around
3-4 kHz with a subdued low end and equally
subdued highs. Essentially this is the capsule
Recording - February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - February 2014
