Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone -- Professional Recording on Linux

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Can the Blue Yeti Nano USB microphone be part of a Professional Recording or Streaming environment on Linux?

The Logitech Blue Yeti Nano USB microphone gets a bit of a bad rap on the ole' "Interwebs", with comments like "...just not worth the cost.", and "It was terrible for my use case..." just in the first few posts of one Reddit thread -- and it didn't get much better after that.

Also, Logitech's "Blue VO!CE" software isn't provided for Linux. As we will see, this isn't an issue either, as the same Reddit thread calls Blue VO!CE "...crappy bloated Logitech software."

It turns out that the Blue Yeti Nano USB microphone and other USB microphones -- even ones that are not top of the line -- can be used for recording or streaming on Linux, and with a little skill, produce very professional sounding results.

This is intended as a Quick Start Guide to Upping your Game of Recording or Streaming from Linux.

The Yeti Blue Nano on Linux

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Hardware:
-- I purchased a Blue Yeti Nano at an Estate Sale for a very reasonable price (which in itself mitigates some of the complaints), but most of what is in this guide pertains to any pro or semi-pro microphone. It assumes an input other than a simple mic connected to the PC's 3.5mm mic input, although even if that's your setup, this guide will help.
-- Mounting the mic is important. Sitting it on the same desk with a PC full of fans is far from professional. The stand included with the Blue Yeti Nano is wholly inadequate for providing any significant noise/vibration reduction. A professional boom and vibration isolator will obviously help, but even placing the basic stand on a second mouse pad or similar soft pad is a step in the right direction.
-- Set the microphone to Cardioid mode. The Blue Yeti Nano is not going to perform adequately (no single mic really is) to pick up a room full of voices. If you are hosting a symposium, get a mixer such as the Mackie DLZ creator described here, and mic each person. Don't forget that unlike a basic Cardioid Dynamic Mic, the Cardioid shape is to the side of the Blue Yeti Nano with the Mute/Volume control, not the top or back. IMHO, Omni mode for this microphone is generally unusable.
-- Lastly, buy a $100M recording studio -- Just kidding -- Room sound/sound absorption material is another important aspect of good quality sound, but is considered to be beyond the scope of this article.

Software:
For any sound processing on Linux, a few basic apps are needed. (Note: This article is based on Pulse Audio -- Linux Distributions not based on Pulse Audio, or that do not have the Pulse Audio extensions available, are not covered.)
-- Pulse Audio Volume Control (pavucontrol) gives us far more control than the desktop's basic volume slider.
When connected, the Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone pops up in the Configuration Tab without adding "drivers", etc. Select Digital Stereo (IEC958) Input. Note that a professional setup will probably not use the Blue Yeti's headphone jack, so we select it as an input device only.
Install Pulse Audio Volume Control from your distribution with:

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sudo apt install pavucontrol

-- Pulse Effects is what really turns our Linux PC into a professional audio workstation. Installing it will bring in needed libraries, as well as several Audio Plugins that we access from the Pulse Effects GUI.

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sudo apt install pulseeffects

Pulse Effects and Pulse Audio Volume Control

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This is Linux, and as such, we can't fully escape the command line. I should note that this step is optional, and only needed if you want to monitor your audio in realtime. Monitoring the input in realtime causes a potential feedback path, and the following cautions apply:
1. Audio Feedback can occur, causing a loud squeal or echo. This could potentially damage both ears and equipment.
2. Having a feedback path during a live broadcast or while recording is unprofessional. This is why the studio and sound processing equipment is generally separated into 2 sound proof rooms. (Did you buy that $100M studio?)
3. It is nearly impossible to equalize your own voice, as we will be hearing ourselves normally, and via the equipment albeit with a short delay. Your voice will not sound like it does to others. Especially if you do not have a sound engineer helper, it is best to leave loopback off, and do trial-and-error recordings.
4. If you do choose live monitoring, it should only be done with headphones, and mute all sound before removing the headphones, as they can squeal as you remove them.
5. The above considerations are why live monitor (loopback) is not included as a GUI option in either Pulse Audio Volume Control or Pulse Effects.

Given the above, if you still must use live monitoring, set your Output Device volumes down, and issue the following command from a Terminal:

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pactl load-module module-loopback

Shutting down Pulse Effects:

Note that Pulse Effects creates new virtual sound devices to implement the desired sound processing. Each of these Virtual Devices live in the proper location between our Recording or Streaming apps and the Sound Hardware to implement sound processing. These virtual audio devices will persist after Pulse Effects is terminated. To return Pulse Audio to a normal state after we are done using Pulse Effects, we need to execute the following from the command line:

If you used live loopback, stop it with:

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pactl unload-module module-loopback

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killall pulseeffects

(Terminates the Pulse Effects Sound Server)

Execute:

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pactl list modules

Look for 2 Modules (will generally be the last 2) that invoke
PulseEffects_apps
- and -
PulseEffects_mic
Note the Associate Module Numbers -- e.g. Module #26 and Module #27

Remove the 2 modules with commands such as:

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pactl unload-module 26
pactl unload-module 27

(Use your module numbers)

Next: Using Pulse Effects to improve the Sound Quality of the Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone

[admin]

Using Pulse Effects to improve the Sound Quality of the Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone

Note: This thread is about the Blue Yeti Nano (and similar USB Microphones) only. We will not be covering output sound processing (called "Apps" in Pulse Effects). We will only be using the settings under the mic Icon at the upper right.

Next to the Microphone Icon above the sound processing chain, any apps currently recording (meaning also streaming) sound are shown. Below that is a list of filters in our filter chain. Perhaps this is not as fancy looking as the hardware-looking apps on a $100K DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), but it does show us the list of tools available, and their position in the chain.

Note that the order of filters in the chain can be changed using the up and down arrows next to each filter. Note also that unchecked filters are in a transparent pass-through mode, and thus their order does not matter. Resist the urge to move any of them, as you may want to try them later, and they should remain in the proper order in the chain unless there is a specific and unique need to re-order them.

We can "Fix" the Blue Yeti Nano with only 2 or 3 filters.

It's not my intent or ability to make you a Professional Audio Engineer in one post. I will simply drop a few hints to help you get the Blue Yeti Nano sounding better:

Gate:
First -- Literally and figuratively -- We need the Gate Filter. This filter cuts background during silence. Your on-line fans don't want to hear your in-PC fans. The Gate bar graph at the bottom shows when the Gate Filter is cutting back the noise picked up by the Blue Yeti. Adjust the threshold, and then the other settings so that the background is silent, but soft words are not attenuated. Along with making sure the Blue Yeti is set to Cardioid, we've already fixed the biggest complaint with this microphone.

Equalizer:
Again, I don't suggest actually changing the order of the filters in Pulse Effects, but the Second most important filter for helping the Blue Yeti Nano sound better, in my opinion, is the Equalizer. I have set mine to 19 channels so that the entire spectrum can be seen in a reasonably sized window without scrolling, but of course more control is always better. Now there aren't any specific settings that can "fix" the Blue Yeti Nano for all voices, instruments, rooms, etc. The general complaint (and what I perceive) is that the Blue Yeti Nano seems a little tinny. This is fixed by reducing some of the highs (around 5Khz - 12Khz) slightly -- note that each equalizer channel has a large range of attenuation, so moving a given channel even a little makes a big difference, especially if the Pulse Effects window is kept narrow as shown. Note that equalizers should generally be set is a smooth wave form. Large changes in close frequencies sound unnatural, and an EQ set "all over the place" is a clear sign of an unprofessional audio engineer. Adding some gain on the low end (about 100Hz - 1KHz) will make the Blue Yeti Nano sound "Warmer" or "Deeper". Obviously a very high pitched voice will have different equalization than a deep raspy voice. I tend to have a "nasally" or "stuffy" voice. My voice can be made to sound better with a little attenuation around 1Khz - 2Khz. Again, Don't over do any changes. If you think you haven't moved the slider enough, make your change a little LESS, and it will probably be about right.

Reverberation:
A *little* *appropriate* Reverb can make your voice (or any speaker) sound stronger and more impactful. It can also help to stamp out (overpower) unpleasant room echos. Experiment with the different types of reverb, and the settings. Again, when you think you like it, cut it back in both amplitude and duration, and it will probably sound about right to your audience.

Compressor:
Compression smooths out loud and soft parts of speech. It can help to make voice more understandable. Again, experiment with settings, and each voice (person) will benefit from different settings. This setting is not specific to "fixing" the Blue Yeti Nano, but is an important part of especially speech mic'ing (as opposed to singing, or instrument mic'ing), although it is sometimes used in those cases, too.

Deesser:
You can't fix Stupid -- Well actually, that's exactly what the Deesser tries to do. Unless everyone on your podcast or livestream has had several years of vocal training, Pops, huffs and hisses are inevitable. The Deesser attempts to remove these annoying sounds. Most simply, it can be thought of as a notch filter set to the dominant frequencies of the pops and "sss" sounds. It can also be thought of as a compressor -- set to de-emphasize these unpleasant sounds. Again, this setting is not specific to "fixing" the Blue Yeti Nano, except that its general high-end "happiness" can accentuate the bad. As with the other filters, it will have to be set for each particular room and person. The spectrum shown at the top of the Pulse Effects window may help to catch an eSSS in the "act" (pun intended). If you do catch them on the spectrum display, use the frequency peak of the offending sound to help with the settings to De-ess that particular voice.

Other Settings:
It is not my intent to de-emphasize (in this case, pun is not intended) the other filters. I am attempting to provide a Quick Start to making the Blue Yeti Nano Microphone a viable voice input device for Linux-based recording or streaming, as you gain experience with the filters mentioned above, go ahead and start learning some of the others.

Once Pulse Effects is set by loopback listening, or trial-and-error recording, your production recording or streaming software should be getting the same processed sound, and your audience will notice the difference.