Brand new blue snowball mic input level is very low. using mac (snow leopard) and garage band, and all input levels are set to max (system sound input and garage band inputs). i see there is a firmware upgrade for older models, but this model is too new so firmware upgrade won't work
Audio Players & Recorders - Blue - Microphones Snowball Professional Microphone
Answers & Comments
Question: are there pre-amps available for USB mics such as the Snowball?
Since you have a Mac running Snow Leopard, I recommend this plugin:
Voxengo Tube Amp 2.1
It should already be there in along this pathway:
Library>Audio>Plugins>Components
If you wish, you can download the Voxengo plugin (freeware) which will just ask you if you want to replace it. As long as you don't have GarageBand open, that should be no problem. I also recommend that you make sure that your record settings on your track are adjusted for volume.
You can click on the "automatic level control" box if you simply want the mic to adjust the sound to a proper level, but I recommend that you just set it to your preference.
Try use a dedicated pre-amplif on your mic, and connect to your normal set.