I felt the need to add an USB microphone to my gear, because the direct line recordings of my arch-top Godin 5th Avenue were not capturing the acoustic element of the sound, leaving the tracks "dead" and flat.
I found the best solution by recording together the direct input from the pickups (through an Apogee Jam), and through an USB mic positioned near the f-hole of my guitar, then mixing and blending the 2 signals together.
Reading the raving reviews on the net, I initially opted for the Blue Yeti mic, which scores very high in the list of top mics for podcasters and musicians wanting to record voice or instruments.
I was surprised to see how big (and Heavy!) was the mic when it arrived, and the options that offers in terms of recording modes: cardioid, omnidirectional, bidirectional, stereo. I went with the usual cardioid mode, most suited if you want to record a single acoustic guitar.
If you just need to record well an acoustic guitar, I think the other modes are overkill.
I wasn't stunned by the recording quality that I achieved, also experimenting with the position of the mic relative to the the guitar. I felt in some instances it sounded a bit too thin and noisy.
I therefore returned my purchase through Amazon, and bought the Apogee MiC, having had already very positive results with their Jam and One.
The dimension of the MiC are completely opposite from the Yeti: the Apogee MiC is very small and light, and it comes with a nice little adjustable tripod.
The Apogee MiC has only one mode, Cardioid, but that's all I needed to record my guitar.
The Blue Yeti had the option of direct monitoring the recording through an headphone output jack, while the Apogee MiC doesn't offer this option.
But the major thing that made me happy with the purchase of the Apogee product was the recording quality: I could immediately notice a better and fuller sound captured by the MiC, more organic and full.
The price of the Apogee MiC is far way higher than the Blue Yeti: $229 vs $129, but in my opinion it's worth the $100 dollars more, both in terms of portability and sound quality.
It would be good to make a comparison vs the more expensive brother of the Blue Yeti: the Blue Yeti Pro ($250) but I haven't had the chance yet to try it.
Therefore my recommendation, if you want a solid USB mic with a good sound quality, go for the Apogee MiC, and you will be satisfied. It might not reach completely the sound achievable with a professional Microphone coupled with a Preamp and A/D converter, but for such a compact and easy solution, it goes really close.
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