Behringer B2 Pro

I am making music since about 1992.
I've been using PC DAW and Roland vs2000cd for recording, listening through either Yamahas NSP3 monitors or Sony MDR-7509 headphones.
This is however my first large diaphragm condencer mic, i've used various Sennheiser dynamic mics and some small diaphragm condencer mic in the past.

I've been trying to record vocal and acoustic guitar thruogh this mic.
Unfortunatly the preamps on my roland are crap and i am very unhappy with the results, so this is more of a preamp issue, BUT a friend brought SP C1 and it did sound a little better with same preamps.
In deffence of Rocco and others(see previous review) i want to say that my experience proved that it is often a matter of luck with gear in general, two of the same model mixers can have different noise levels, gains, etc. and from what i heard each Behringer item is like no other of the same model(almost like hand-crafted carpets).
I am yet to try B-2 Pro with a better preamp.

I've been recording in my home studio for almost 15 years and had worked with musicians and producers of variate musical styles in studio, in my home studio and live.
I use DAW workstations since 1996.
I've used a lot of mics during my life including: Shure Beta 58, SM 57, SM 58 and other dynamics, Rode NT-2A, AKG C-1000, C-3000, C-3000B, Solidtube, C414BULS, AudioTechnica 4040, Neumann U-89, U-87 i, U-87 Ai, Behringer B-2 PRO and some others which I can't remember.

The B-2 Pro is a high-performance dual-diaphragm studio condenser microphone FET transformerless electronics with a 10 dB attenuator, a low cut filter (6dB/octave at 150Hz), selectable cardioid, omnidirectional or figure-8 directivity pattern. The mic has a robust metal body and chassis with an equally tough grille protecting the capsule. All exterior surfaces are finished in what appears to be satin chrome, and the locking ring at the bottom of the body allows the circuitry to be exposed after slipping off the outer cover, though there are no user-serviceable parts inside. All three switches are recessed toggle types.

I used the mic with a pop shield on a studio session with a male singer and got good results with minimal EQ and compression. The sound came over assertive, solid, but with a little extra edge due to the high-frequency presence peak. Being over-critical, I don't think the top end sounded as smooth as you'd expect from a big-name, big-budget mic, but on the other hand it could help a singer with a slightly soft voice to cut through a mix (my Solidtube sounds smooth in male-voice recording but every mic has got its aim and sound). For female voices is simply perfect! It also adds presence and detail to stringed instruments, such as violins, acoustic guitar etc.
I've also directly compared this mic in a guitar cabinet recording-session with Shure SM-57, AKG Solidtube and AKG C-414 and... surprise the B-2 Pro was the most clear, detailed, and well sounding. I can't belive my ears... this low budget gear was in some points superior than acclaimed and established-reference mics!!!

I agree with Ned's assertionig "There is NO OTHER microphone on the market that provides the features and quality of this mic at anything near TWICE the price" but, on the other hand, I can't belive that some reviewes like Rocco Flores Oneto, for example, has REALLY TESTED this mic or got A REAL CHANCE to this gear... maybe the one he tested was broken, maybe the day he tested it he has got a bad headache or maybe Rocco's ears are broken! Rocco said "Once again you get what you paid for" - I say buy an amplifon for your ears so you'll really listen what you paid for! ;)

I was so well impressed by this mic that I've got another one to make a pair.

Maybe the correct rating for this mic is 9 but... hey... it's so cheap considering the performance (and also has got a decent shockmount and camera case), it's so versatile and well sounding that a 10 for its fantastic value it's obvious!

This mic really confirm Behringer motto "half the price, twice the features"!

I've been recording in my project studio for almost 9 years and had worked with musicians and producers of variate musical styles. I began with 2 ADATS machines and a Mackie console and moved to DAW 5 years ago. I've tried and tested several mics including: Rode NT5,NT2, Shure KSM32, SM81, SM94 and other dynamics, AKG C451EB,C1000,C3000,C3000B, C414EB, C414BULS, GrooveTubes GT66, AudioTechnica4033, Neumann U-89, KM-184, Marshall MXL 2001, V67, 603, Nady SCM900, CAD M37, Behringer B-2 PRO and maybe some others I can't remember. So even not an expert i have enough experience to determine whether a mic is at least useful or not.

This mic feels immediately cheaper than a Rode NT2 (of which it's a clone). Case, Foam Windshield and Shockmount come free with the B-2PRO which make it a bargain. For this price you get amazing fuctionality too. Soundwise it's a dissappointment. Bright, thin, harsh are some adjectives that might describe it's sound. Still i found it useful for some female voices and thought it was at least better than some other chinese mics i tried (NadySCM900, CADM37, MXL V-67). Once again you get what you paid for. I'd skip this kind of mics and go straight to something like a AT4033 or a KSM32 but hey... if you have only a few bucks to spend there's nothing technically wrong about this mic. It's just that when you've spend thousands of hours listening to great recordings you immediately realize that you're not going to achieve any serious sound with a mic like this. You like FAT, WARM, AIRY sound? then here's the enemy.

I've been playing guitar for 33 years, bass and drums almost as long, started recording early on. We used to record bass and drums on a mono reel-to-reel and play it back through a guitar amp while we played guitar and sang into a cassette deck.

I'm recording to a Roland VS-1680, which has the phantom power required by this mic. Monitoring over a pair of Alesis Point 7 nearfields.

It' a Chinese Neumann U87, really. Three polar patterns, bass cut and a pad.

This mic has revolutionized my acoustic guitar recordings. It's also nice on vocals, male and female. I had to record cowbell and guiro for a latin jazz project I'm doing, and it sounded better than a Shure SM57 (which probably means my mic pre's suck. I just ordered a Behringer tube mic preamp, and anticipate great things to come.) You'd pay more than I paid for this just to get a Neumann shock mount! If you need a studio condenser or two, the only reason I can think of not to buy one or two of these is if you're rich enough to buy 414's, U47's, etc.

Been playing professionally for over 20 years, sound engineering for not much less.

Current set-up. PC (puropose built for audio and very quiet, measures under 28dB from a yard away). M-Audio Delta 44 card. Mixer/preamps either Mackie or Behringer (MIC100). Recording a mix of acoustic and electric stuff plus MIDI.

The B2 is a 1" dia. dual-diaphragm side-facing large condensor mic, with cardoid and amni settings plus a low-frequency filter (to cut down on any subsonics picked up) and a dB reducing pad.

Other mics I'm using are AKG C1000S, AKG Solid-Tube, SM57s and 58s.

I got this mic as I wanted a second large-diaphragm mic, I'd heard stuff recorded using one that sounded good and it's cheap.

THe mic does sound good, and it's quite detailed and clear. Set to a cardoid pattern there's a noticible upper-mid/treble boost (paticularly when recording free-reeds) that's not too bad on vocals but I usually tweak a little to warm it up otherwise. Set to omnidirectional the mic has a much flatter response (or so my ears tell me) requiring much less e.q. I usually use it set to omni in a room with a decent achoustic characteristic and pretty close to the computer (as I said, you can make a P4 3Ghz run quietly). The Solid Tube sometimes picks up a slight hint of the PC and the B2 never does. The B2's output is a little lower than the tube mic as well.

It ain't a high-end mic, but it does a very good job indeed and stands comparison with the Solid Tube very well. It's certainly a better recording mic than dynamic types that cost much more. You also get an OK case and a cats-cradle type shock-mount (that works well) thrown in plus a foam popshield which colours the sound a bit, but I use a "proper" gauze one (hint - NEVER even breath into a large diaphragm mic without a popshield unless you don't mund wrecking it. They're delicate things).

Superb value for money, but you still need to buy a good popshield for the best results.

Semi pro musician, been doing self recording for a few years. I use a Zoom 16 track hard disk recorder, 16 channel Behringer mixer, etc. I own a number of mics, mostly used for live sound and recording. I play acoustic and electric guitar, sing, and play with a blues band.

I give this a solid 10. Large dowble diaphragm condensor mic. Switchable from cardioid to figure 8 to omni. 10db pad. Low freq roll-off. Needs phantom power.

I use this mic for live vocals, recording acoustic guitar, and recording vocals. It's also great for cabinet miking of my tube amp. Side address on cardioid.

This mic gives the rich open sounds that you can only get with a large diaphragm studio condensor. The cardioid pattern helps a lot in live situations.

This mic is versatile. It is very well made, very solid. It comes with an excellent spider mount, but the body is extremely well protected from noise -- you can handhold this mic without generating noise.

There is NO OTHER microphone on the market that provides the features and quality of this mic at anything near TWICE the price.

Home recording on cheap gear, software, etc for about two years. Another guy with a guitar writing songs and mixing at home. I put the B2 through an ART tube mp preamp, a Zoom505 for stereo and fx, and a breakout soundblaster soundcard into an old PIII 500 desktop or PIII 850 vaio. Using old pirated NTrack software with miscellaneous wav editors and plugins. Using various cheap consumer grade headphones and speakers.

Got this for my birthday last year. Before that I was using a really bad karaoke mic that had this strange nasal midrange bump. The B2 sounds very clear and open. I really like the proximity effect on it using cardioid setting, lots of details gets picked up. I don't use any of the high pass, dB padding, etc, but they work just fine - I just don't have any use for them recording just vocals and an occassional acoustic guitar track. The omni setting works well, but I haven't gotten into recording with it yet. Overall I really like this on vocals. Have gotten very lush sounding vocals, multitracking my vocals. Very very pleased with it on my DAW recordings.

I've been recording pretty much from the day I started playing guitar. I am a professional audio engineer, with thousands of hours of recording. I'm recording in a Mac environment with Deck.

The mention earlier of distorted highs is somewhat distorted itself. Any chance you've got your high eq cranked and your gain set incorrectly. If not that, then return the mic, it sounds like it's damaged.

B2 Pro - Great mic, great price, good times

Amateur recording for 25 years, all types of stuff.

Recording to PC

I bought this mic because it was the only Fig 8 pattern mic I could afford at the time.

I use it with an M/S paired with a Rode NT1 for acoustic guitar and other applications. It performs this function quite well.

It is a very good mic for acoustic guitar in any configuration.
The lack top end sparkle makes it unsuitable for vocals. It also misses the mark on brass instruments.

It does what I ask of it and was well priced. It seems to be well built and I am happy enough with it.

First sorry for my english (i'm from argentina) been makin music from over 15 years, i've started recording to pc 2 years ago.- i'have a sure 57, a shure 58, samsom 01, akg c 1000, and now i have the b2, i use a behringer mic 100 that goes to a waveterminal 192 x

it is the best mic i have, finally i reach a good and realistic mic at a very good price, i agree with the person that said "I like the bump that it has in the range for vocals. Save's time later when EQ'ing for presence" (i would say a lot of time) the low cut it has is very useful , Its a condensor you'll need 48+ phantom, I'm very very happy with this mic, since i'bought it i don't use the others any more, only use the shure 57 to record electric guitar very loud.-