Studio Projects B1

My car stereo

I have been really impressed and satisfied with the results of this really inexpensive well made mic.. I have been using it for over 2 years now on recording lead & background vocals and it has really delivered every single time. I definitely recommend this microphone

I have been recording local bands since late 1999. I have been recording a lot of different stuff but mostly hard rock and heavy metal. I record using a Presonus Firepod into my PC

The B1 is a pretty decent all-around condensor mic that will usually work on most stuff in a pinch (if you need to record 3 or 4 guys sitting in a room with acoustic guitars and have ran out of other mics, these work well).

I've had two of these mics for a few years now, and I now use them primarily to mic toms on a drum kit. Since it's a condensor, it does obviously pick up tons of bleed from the other drums and cymbals, but it captures a really good natural tom sound, and with some editing you can remove any bleed you may not want when a tom isn't being hit. It's great to use one mic between two rack toms (it doesn't have to be directly overtop of one drum to sound great), and one over a floor tom (or between two still sounds good).

I recommend this for sure if you are recording a drummer with a pretty balanced sound, though I've found a few drummers that I can't use this mic on their toms because their snare drums are so loud, it ends up louder than the toms in the tom track.

I have been playing guitar for 12 years, bass for 5 or 6. I am technically a certified engineer (for what is worth) although I have not spent nearly enough time in a studio. During my schooling, I worked with both digital and analog formats, using ADAT and Hi-8. Nice Tascam digital and Mackie analog boards, plenty of quality outboard gear. Currently, I am using a very archaic collection of gear that I have acrued over the years. Its a recording set up that most would laugh at, myself included if it weren't mine. I have a Roland Cube 30, a Johnson J-Station, a Boss DR-670 all into a Mackie 408M powered mixer for EQ, EFX, and preamps. I record on (hold on to you hats) a early to mid 90's model Tascam Porta 03 MKII, I dump down to a Technics tape deck and monitor on a set of Edifier (I've never heard of them either) computer speakers that I picked up at Radio Shack for $30. The fact that I can get any kind of quality from this rig is astounding in itself I know, but it works for me, and its actually quite effective. But, i digress, the Studio Projects B1 is awesome. Awesome. I chose the B1 based on Reviews I read on here, and they were wrong. This mic is immensely nicer than what everyone was saying.

If your reading this you probably already know, the B1 is a large-diaghram condensor mic. And a cheap on at that. I had previously been using EV 167's, which I have decided sound like garbage, and a pair of Shure PG 81's which are suprisingly decent. However, I purchased a Studio Projects B1 last Sunday, it just arrived last night, and I'm already looking forward to getting another. I plugged it in, and said "CHECK" and was immediately blown away. With no EQ it sounds fantastic. Furthermore, you can't EQ it to make is sound bad. I put it in front of my Martin D-35 with no EQ at all, and its a completely natural, usable sound. Use the EQ for a little color and your set. This mic is fantastic

I have been recording for the last few years, have used home studios all the way to 'proper' studios, and all the accompanying range of mics and gear from 'budget' like this, up to neumanns, beyerdynamics etc.

This is an addition to my home studio setup and I record mostly to cubase sx 3 and/or nuendo.

You know all the specs from previous reviews and from the internet, chances are if you're reading this then you're already clued-up on the features of the B1.

Okay - down to the main thing - the sound. I am very very impressed with this brilliant microphone - it is exceptionally clear and mix-friendly on vocals, it is great on acoustic guitars and captures plenty of detail and importantly, richness of tone. I find that it is bright without being harsh - 'contemporary' in voicing, if you will, and this makes it deliver in terms of what a good condenser mic should.

I look forward to trying it on a number of other sources, it has a 'good-all-rounder' quality to it that makes me think it is a mic for multiple uses.

This mic, and indeed a lot of SP gear, has got attention from the pro audio community, Paul White of SOS reviewed it favourably, and really, from my experience so far, I have not found a sub ??100.00 condesner to beat it. I have some mics that I am slightly nonplussed with, but this is most certainly not one of them.

If you're considering getting a B1, take the leap - I think you will be glad that you did.

Been making music for 21 years now

Recorded in big studios and have been in the home studio arena for only 7 years

My DAW is just a VS1880, with some nice instruments, amps, budget pres, and budget mics

My mixes are currently monitored with Roland DS 90A monitors

This is a no frills condenser mic. I use this mic for various applications???from vocals, to acoustic guitars, to drum overhead. As with any mic placement is crucial. However, for what this mic is (a $99 Chinese manufactured condenser) it???s not difficult to get good placement.

Look, if you have $1,000 expectations for a mic that cost less than $100 then you???re just being realistic. That being said this mic delivers way beyond its price point. It has nice proximity effect???not too much???and it???s not as over-hyped as most Chinese condensers that I???ve heard and owned. In fact, it has a relatively flat frequency response, and although it???s slightly colored it???s relatively transparent compared to every other Chinese LDC I???ve come across to date.

Bottom line: I???d recommend this mic to anyone who was looking for a good workhorse condenser. It???s versatile and sounds great. In fact, I???ve personally recommended this mic to musician buddies of mine who were on a tight budget and needed an expensive condenser mic that gets the job done. . . Let me also reiterate the fact that this mic does not sound ???cheap.??? It is inexpensive, but again for its price point it???s unsurpassed in my opinion.

I've been playing drums since I was 9 yrs old (going on 37). My first recordings are of my drumkit using headphones as mics on a old tube taperecorder with reals. My specialism is probably recording drums. If have recorded hours and hours of music (tape-cassette quality) in the 90' with a friend to get through highschool. Then came the 4-track and later the 8-track cassette recorders I used extensively. After that I joined a band and have been in and out of studio's on several occasions and observing their techniques. The first thing I knew I had to upgrade were the mics.
My standard gear is a rig build around a MOTU 828 mkII. To have more then just two mic pre-amps I hooked a behringer ADA8000 up on the Adat-opticals (i/o), a ART DPS-II on the S/PDIF inputs and to be able to work with more musicians at once I got Samson S-Phone headphone amp. I use MOTU DP 4.6 on a 1 gigHz powerbook (with a replaced hard-drive for more tracks) as my DAW. Monitoring : Alesis One (active) and Beyer Dynamics DT770 headphones.

Cardioid 1" large single diaphragm Condenser, no switable patterns.

I used it next to my C1 from the same manufacturer, a sm57 (shure) and a EV ND468 to record a guitar-cabinet. I tell you I tossed the SM & EV tracks immediately. What a GREAT mic for a tube amp & cabinet ! ! I also used it for backing vocals and again with just a little less crispness in the higher regions it sounded great. I recommended it to my guitarist and he recommending it to everybody, now. Next to the C1 it's like having two pick-ups to chose from in your mix when I use this winning duo on cabinets. For a warm, true and rich sound: B1 only, for crispy and cutting trough the mix kinda sound (solo's) go C1. For ultra-fat sound combine them both. I stopped using EQ; I just mute the channels according to the function in the mix or combine them. Sounds brilliant !!

Okay, I have not used it on anything else since I do not own one myself yet. But that's going to change one day. For around 90 euro's (even cheaper than the Behringer B1!) this is the starters-mic to have.

Been recording professionally since 1981; have produced and performed on records, CD's and film projects distributed in 10 countries. Formerly had an analog multitrack studio also running Cakewalk sequencing; have scaled down now to an Athlon 64 powered PC running Cubase and using the Lexicon Omega interface, just like Roger McGuinn. Usually mixing between vintage set of Ohm C2 speakers, Tannoy 6.5 monitors and Koss Pro 4AAA headphones.

Cardioid Condenser, used for Vocals, acoustic gutiar and resonator guitar so far. Superb quality & versatility would make ideal for almost any sound source. I've logged many hours with Neumann U47's, U87's, AKG 414's, EV RE20's, Rodes, Sennheisers, Audio-Technicas, etc....

I'm totally in awe of the SP B1. It lives up to the hype I've read on them, and then some. Very smooth response, to my ears, comparable to the AKG 414 and Audio technica AT4035 in its clarity but w/rich low end that sets it apart from the other China made condensers. Although it could probably handle it, I'd be reluctant to use it on a kick drum because of the SPL, but on any other acoustic source, not a problem.

I'm using these in a home studio, nothing high end.

Got it used on Ebay at that almost unbelievable price. I've stupidly used it on vocals quite a bit before realizing it totally doesn't work for my voice. I think the best use I've gotten from it was putting it about 2 feet in front of the bass drum at band practices, it manages to capture the whole room quite nicely. Overall its a nice mic and definitely isn't the weakest link in my chain!

Just as a FYI, I just recieved my B1 from Humbucker and it now includes in the box a very nice shockmount. I Was VERY surprised to see that the B1 is now has a 0db, 10db & 20db cut switch AND 0, 75 & 100 bass rolloff switch!!! serial is "322XX" so i asume anything a little before or after should also have these new features. oddly enough there is no info on the SP website about this? cant wait to hear this puppy later!

yes it is marked as a B1.

I'm currently in Abania working on recording projects. I just completed the first project and am very happy with the results. I brought the B1 with me because if I "lost" it in transport, it wouldn't be a huge loss. I'm using the B1 into a Presonnus Firepod into my laptop and Sonar 4 Producer. All I can say is WOW! This mic is so great sounding, I can't belive I paid $100 for it. The only thing I've not been totally pleased with is when I was recording hard stumming from my Taylor 815 acoustic guitar. The sound was just...not true. Almost sonded like it was overdriving thr mic. The levels were all good, and I tried multiple placements with the same effect. Picking and finger picking were incredible, even normal strumming was good, just the harder stuff seemed to effect it. The other issue is that the mic is particularly sensetive to moisture and cold. It developed a "wind" sound after about a month. When I put it into a warm very dry room for 24 hours, I could get about 3 hours of recording out of it before the "wind" was back. I contacted customer support adn talked with them about the problem. They were aware of the issue and said the capsule was defective and would need to be replaced. They are reparing it for me now under warranty. We will see if it happens again. Overall, I would still recommend this mic.