The Bottle Caps are Blue's innovative system of nine
interchangeable capsules, each offering the recordist a different tonal
characteristic and pickup pattern. From airy highs to larger-than-life
lows, the Bottle Caps capture anything from vocals to bass, wind
instruments to horns — and everything in between with a level of detail
and clarity found in only the most expensive and rare vintage classics.
The Bottle Caps work with Blue's Bottle, Bottle Rocket Stage Two, and
Bottle Rocket Stage One mics, or any microphone with a foundation for
interchangable capsules. Each capsule in the series is numbered from B0
to B8, and each has their own unique sound. You can explore any of them
by clicking on the numbered capsule links above.
Technology
The Bottle Caps are our innovative system of eight
interchangeable capsules, each offering the recordist a different tonal
characteristic and pickup pattern. From airy highs to larger-than-life lows,
the Bottle Caps capture anything from vocal to bass, wind instruments to
horns — and everything in between with a level of detail and clarity found
in only the most expensive and rare vintage classics. Below is a summary of
each capsule with suggested recording applications.
B0 Cardioid Large Diameter
* Superior bright, silky, and intimate presence
* Suggested Applications: Background and lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, percussion; any source where extended top end is featured.
B1 Cardioid Small Diameter
* Sonic accuracy with extended high frequency response
* Suggested Applications: Nylon or steel-string acoustic guitar, accordion, drum, overheads, metal percussion, hi-hat, small pitched percussion such as toy piano or marimba, room or ambient miking, foley and sound effect recording, strings and orchestral recording.
B2 Figure of 8 Large Diameter
* Big, warm sound of vintage ribbon mic
* Suggested Applications: Emulation of vintage saxophone, brass, guitar, or vocal sounds, jazz ensembles and horn sections, muted trumpet, flugelhorn and other low brass instruments, clarinet, overly bright or “edgy” instruments, room miking, acoustic bass, cello and other bowed string instruments, electric bass, clean or distorted electric guitar, pedal steel and slide guitar, whistling, organ.
B3 Cardioid Mid Diameter
* Very transparent, neutral sound
* Suggested Applications: Female vocals, distant miking of orchestral groups and instruments, banjo, mandolin, resonator guitar, jazz guitar, distorted electric guitar, electric bass, a natural or “folky” tone on nylon and steel-string acoustic guitar, oboe, bassoon and other double reeds, organ.
B4 Sphere Omni Small Diameter
* Sweet highs, robust lows, unique design and sound perfect for ambient recording
* Suggested Applications: Orchestral sounds, classical instrumentation, background vocals, organ, accordion, distant miking of any source, particularly bowed strings, and drums.
B5 Omni Large Diameter
* Very unique compressed quality, extremely accentuated low and high frequency response
* Suggested Applications: Acoustic guitar, percussion, any highly transient sources, any acoustic sources that need very close miking or extra presence boosting to cut through a dense mix.
.
B7 Cardioid Large Diameter Single Backplate
* Classic vintage detailed mids with airy presence
* Suggested Applications: Lead vocals, background vocals, saxophone, flugelhorn, clean or distorted electric guitar, pedal steel and slide guitar, organ, conventional jazz recording.
