Welcome to the world of Blue Microphones. Founded in 1995 by Skipper Wise and Martins Saulespurens, Blue has grown from a desire to create a few hand-built mics for fellow musicians into a unique, multi-faceted audio company with a prestigious line of award-winning microphones and accessories. Headquartered in Westlake Village, California and with engineering and manufacturing facilities in Latvia, Blue Microphones continues to grow and lead the way with cutting-edge design and technological innovation in the field of recording. Current projects include the building of a state-of-the-art recording and training facility and capsule testing area located at company headquarters in Southern California.

For a more detailed history of the people and ideas behind Blue, read the interview below with Skipper and Martins. For contact information, please visit our customer support page. Thanks for stopping by!

Interview with Skipper Wise and Martins Saulespurins

The following interview was conducted by Phil Ward, independent audio journalist, in the February, 2003 issue of Sound On Sound.

Phil Ward (PW) "I understand you have more of a musical background than technical..."

Skipper Wise (SW) "I've made quite a few records, including a pop hit in Europe. And I don't mean home-made CD-Rs, but from the good old days when record labels put out records! In the States I did jazz: that's how I met Martins. I was in Europe on a TV show called Countdown in Amsterdam, and I'd purchased some U-47s because we were on a label - called Cypress a division of A&M Records - that insisted that the records be of a certain quality. Everyone in contemporary jazz in those days was interested in the audiophile world of vinyl. Martins was watching Countdown; I was introduced to him as someone who was technical and I told him I was looking to buy some vintage valve microphones. I said, "do you have any suggestions about what I should look for?,' and it started from there." Continued

The People Behind The Mic

Skipper Wise, President

Los Angeles native Skipper Wise was directly involved in over twenty-five major label releases as an internationally recognized recording artist, studio owner, and producer. He enjoys the distinction of having three number one albums on the American contemporary jazz charts along with two top-ten singles on the European pop charts. As a studio owner, Skipper oversaw the making of over one hundred albums from every conceivable genre. Known for his audiophile-quality recordings, it was only a logical progression that he founded and is now President of Blue Microphones, an internationally recognized industry leader in microphone design, manufacturing, and technology.

Martins Saulespurins, Director of Research and Development

For thirty years, Martins Saulespurens worked as Chief Sound and Technical Engineer at Music Academy in Riga, Latvia. During that time, he was well known for his excellent technical work, particularly in repairing and restoring vintage microphones. He met Skipper Wise in Amsterdam when Skipper was performing on the Dutch television show Countdown! The pair quickly recognized their mutual love for jazz and audiophile recordings. Martins traveled to Los Angeles to observe the recording process in the US and Blue was born when both he and Skipper recognized the need for affordable, high quality, user-friendly microphones. Martins holds a degree in electrical engineering from Rigas Politehniskais Instituts.