NEAT King Bee Cardioid Solid State Condenser Microphone with Pop Filter and Shockmount

The media could not be loaded.  This is a great mic at this price. It used to sell for $350 or $400, and that’s where it SHOULD be priced. I’m not sure why it’s priced at $99. (I made the video using an app on my iPhone and it introduced a couple of little clicks in the audio. It wasn't the microphone's fault.)Keep in mind that I’m giving this mic 5 stars based on its quality to price ratio. It’s not going to sound as good as a Neumann U87, or TLM 103, but it’s the BEST mic you can buy brand new for $99 in 2020.It DOES require good mic technique as it’s not a very forgiving mic. But this is common for mics with such large diaphragms.Another reviewer encouraged people to watch the YouTube video titled “Edge studio Wittham’s World Episode 75 Mega Mic Shootout.” I agree! This mic is featurd about 4 1/2 minutes into that video. You’ll hear how it is used on a great voice with solid mic technique.The mic has a nice low end but it can get a bit muddy, but not NEARLY as bad as other $99.00 mics.This mic also has good presence without sounding like a tin can. It’s not TOO sibilant.The only downside is it’s a finicky mic that requires a professional use-case. It’s a great fit for a professional in a treated room or sound booth. Not for gamers, or youtubers who don’t practice proper mic technique.Check out this mic's frequency response chart. It has a very good frequency response for most voices. And the self-noise is -6.5db, and yes, I’ve tested it and next to the Lewitt LCT 540 Subzero it has the lowest self noise I’ve seen in a mic.This is one of those mics I would buy two of...maybe three actually. For $99, why not??The genius built-in pop-filter works surprisingly well, and is designed brilliantly. You don’t even realize it’s a pop-filter. The pop-filter does change the color of the mic just slightly, but most people would never tell the difference.Finally, this is the best shock mount I’ve ever used. It’s almost impossible to get this mic to make noise when you move your mic stand around.I use this mic for professional audiobook narration, advertisements, and many other voice over projects. I don’t use this mic for louder, more animated projects, because the proximity effect is quite noticeable. You can’t move around much on this mic like you can on a dynamic (like an RE20), or even some other condensers. If you need a mic that is more forgiving in that respect you should look elsewhere in my opinion. If you’re going to podcast, and you’re very animated, you may want to get an RE20/RE320. (But those mics are also a lot more expensive.) But for everything else this mic is fantastic at $99.I think this company is brilliant for "seeding" the market with these mics for $99 - it's giving them a lot more recognition than they would have gotten otherwise. I think they are able to lower the price due to their parent company releasing their businesses as part of filing bankruptcy or something crazy like that. Anyway, the price on these has to go back up at some point. Get one now before they do.

Received this Friday and spent the first part of the weekend putting it through its paces.First of all, it's impossible to review this mic without mentioning the packaging - it's probably the most quirky, creative, and fun box I've every seen for a microphone (or anything for that matter.) There's a picture of a Bee-Keeper on the lid, a humorous "field-guide" style manual, and an actual spinning toy bee.While that's delightful, the question, of course, is "how does it sound?" For the price range the King Bee lives in, it is incredible, and far superior to other mics I've used in the "same range."Make no doubt about it - this is a pro mic. It is very sensitive, so you're going to want to use it in a sound booth or some kind of treated space (guerrilla it and you'll be fine.) It'll behave differently than closely-priced consumer mics, and that's a good thing. NOTE: if you're moving from a cheap (or even not too-cheap) USB mic to the King Bee, it will sound amazing IF you treat it like a pro mic. If you're new to higher end audio gear, check out some online videos on proper mic placement, technique, and basic sound treatment. It'll make a huge difference in your sound. Even a little DIY treatment or an inexpensive "pop-up vocal booth" will yield great results.The included shock mount was easy to put together, and works great. It's a very sturdy thick-gauge rubber. In the box you'll also find a pop filter (shaped like a honey comb, of course!) which is really effective even when not recording off-axis.Voices sound warm and natural straight out of the mic, and the right EQ pushes it to the next level. Guitar records nice, warm, wide, and natural.Overall, this mic seems to be a steal. It's amazing how far audio technology has come, and that for such a low price you can get a mic that competes with those many times more expensive.

(Edit II follows). This is my go-to mic for acoustic guitar and it works great for vocals, room, and especially bass drum when placed outside the drum (along with, for eg, an ATM25 a few inches from the head). It adds a lot of bottom end and to my ears reminds me of the sound we used to get with Neumann U47 FETs. If one of these mics appears, buy it, but be advised that the King Bee II has been announced. I don't know anybody who's used one yet but, as I predicted, the cost for the King Bee v 2.0 will exceed the King Bee V 1.0 blowout price by $100 to $200 depending on the deal Amazon gave you. I'm sick of the worn-out description "this mic is great for the money" or words to that effect. This is a great mic, end of story. It's whisper quiet (generates around 7dB), takes reasonably high SPLs, features Class A circuitry, is built to take a bullet, and, most important sounds gorgeous, smooth, on everything from upright bass to timps to a funky old acoustic guitar ( especially when combined with a Neat Worker Bee) to drum overheads or a floor tom mic to move your....plumbing. This is one for the history books. Alas, many of you didn't like the yellow/black stripe vibe. Bet you don't take NYC cabs either. The King Bee II is bound to be a winner and comes in that "stealth black" that's not gonna offend anybody. Tbw

Microfono eccellente, con diaframma larghissimo. In registrazione produce un suono preciso, definito e anche molto corposo. Da comprare decisamente al posto di AT-2020.

Great mic, had to get heavy duty stand though as too much drooping on the old one. Got the standard desk arm with hexagonal clamp (not expensive), worked well once we pointed the silver screw on the stand right down, and the black attachment piece on the bumble cage at 90 degrees up, like the letter L. This mean we could have the bumble bee mic upright.Mic comes really well packaged with all sorts of extras including a cute mascot type thing.

...ist das von NEAT auf alle Fälle, bringt es doch schon ohne Kabel, Popschutz und Spinne stolze 807 Gramm auf die Waage. Erfreulicherweise kann die zugehörige Spinne das Gewicht sehr gut halten und gerät auch nicht aus der Fassung wenn das 1 Kilo schwere XLR-Kabel der Biene diese nach unten zieht. Aber wie klingt es denn nun? Gekauft habe ich es für meinen Literaturkanal auf YouTube auf dem ich meine eigenen Hörbücher präsentiere und dem wird es nach einem ersten Test noch besser gerecht als ich gehofft habe. Das Eigenrauschen ist dank der verbauten Class A Elektronik bemerkenswert gering, offenbart dadurch aber auch deutlicher Hintergrundgeräusche wie z.B. einen Kühlschrank der gegen sommerliche Temperaturen ankühlen muß. Als sehr vorteilhaft werte ich auch, daß das Kingbee mit Zischlauten ausgesprochen gutmütig umgeht und so schon gefälliger klingt als so mancher Konkurrent derselben Preislage. Unterstützt wird dies durch ein insgesamt schönes Klangbild das an keiner Stelle übertrieben oder aufgebohrt klingt. Keine Frage, diese Qualität zu einem Preis von 149 €uro ist ein echtes Schnäppchen! Wie andere Rezensenten hier ja bereits anmerkten rangieren Schallfänger die der Kingbee das Wasser reichen können normalerweise in Preislagen zwischen 250 und bis zu 600 €uro. Vielleicht haben einige Rezensenten hier ja Recht und der günstige Preis ist auf das schon ziemlich eigenwillige Design zurückzuführen. In diesem Punkt kann ich nur von mir selbst ausgehen. Mich jedenfalls hat zunächst das Design angesprochen und die Technik später überzeugt und zum Kauf bewegt.Schön wäre ein im Design zur Biene passender Mikrofonkoffer gewesen wie ihn z.B. das Marantz MPM 2000 mitbringt, aber das ist bei diesem Mikrofon und diesem Preis nun wahrlich jammern auf allerhöchstem Niveau. Die mitgelieferte Tasche (oder besser: der Beutel) fühlt sich zwar leider etwas billig an und zumindest bei mir verströmt sie noch einen wenig heimeligen Geruch, der jedoch auch von dem Original XLR-Kabel stammen könnte das ich mitbestellt habe, erfüllt jedoch den ihm angedachten Zweck.Fazit: Wer auf der Suche nach einem hochwertigen Mikrofon ist das nichts übertreibt und schön sauber einfängt was man ihm vorsetzt kann zu einem Preis von 149 €uro bei dem "NEAT MIC-KBCSSC Kingbee Cardioid Solid State Kondensator Mikrofon" im Grunde nichts falsch machen, auch trotz oder wegen des eigenwilligen Designs nicht. Hier spreche ich gerne eine Kaufempfehlung aus!

Top ce micro, 2 exemplaires sont disponible dans mon studio de production !