Studio Projects B1 Reviews

Lasonia Dozier
from Sherrill, AR
May 6, 2011Music Background:
singer, songwriter, and pianist

Too Good To Be True!!

I just decided to use the SP B1 on a gospel song after having it for 3 years. I have been using my more expensive because I was skeptical about the quality of sound from a cheap condenser. But when I fired this thing up and set my reverb the B1 was amazingly clear and breathtaking. It sound as good as some of my more expensive microphone condensers. Normally the saying goes you get what you pay for, but with this B1the saying is far from the truth. The B1 is an exception and is very impressive for the buck.

PSY-PHI
from Okinawa, Japan
September 9, 2010Music Background:
Hobbyist

Way More Than What I Expected

Man, at first i was just getting this mic just to have something temporary before getting the Mojave Ma-200. I was thinking this mic i probly going to suck but who cares I just need something to record my ideas, but D*** I was so wrong, I've had previous mic and this one tops all. The vocals are so clear, and for my rappers, yes you can scream to the top of lungs and depending on your setup, no distortion. This mic is the ish, but I'm still getting my Mojave Ma-200. This mic is worth every penny, and oh yeah i use VS-100 also, and Sonar 8.5 Studio Edition!

Jeremy Dahl
from Vancouver
October 25, 2009Music Background:
Professional Composer, Gigging Guitarist

The Home Recordist's Dream!!

It's insane how well these super-affordable mics hold up against big-name pro studio fare! I was able to get an excellent (underline, underline) vocal sound in my modestly-treated home studio. Frankly, I'm not sure if I would spend any more money on a brand name mic; not with the B1 around! I can't recommend this enough. Forget everything else and buy this now!

Jack Loganbill
from chicago, il, usa
December 29, 2008Music Background:
extreme hobbyist

Finally -- A Quality MIC for Home Studios

I have several low cost mics (AT2020/2021, CAD GXL 2400/GXL 1200, etc)and they do a good job. But the SP B1 is sensational for the current price. I have been testing and comparing mics back and forth trying to find the ideal acoustic guitar and vocal mic, and the B1 appears to be it. Actually, combining the B1 with the CAD GXL 1200 has proven to be the best combo, with the B1 facing the bass side of the upper bout of the guitar and the CAD pointing to the bridge.

The B1 includes the pad and bass cut switches seen on higher-priced models.

My only complaint is the shock mount. The outer ring is fine, but the inner part that the mic fits into is a strange, plastic design.

Regardless, the B1 is worth every penny of $100 and in my book, a lot more. I liked it so much, I ordered a second.

Robert
from (hot most of the time) Florida
August 4, 2007Music Background:
Audio theater post production engineer (new to it)

Great mic for the price

The B1 mic is fantasitic for its price, crisp and clear. We use it for voice recordings in an audio theater setup. We record voices and do post prduction.
I cant see that a more expesive mic would do a lot better than this one. We were so impressed we ordered two more.

Jeremiah Lewis
from New Orleans, LA
January 28, 2007Music Background:
Rap Artist

MIC FOR VOCALS

THIS MIC IS TOO GOOD FOR IT'S PRICE, IF YOU ARE A RAPPER WANTING THAT SOUND AND COLOR GET THE B1 TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS MIC CATCHES ANY THING YOU THROW AT IT NO LIE THIS MIC BLOWS YOUR MIND !

Mike
from Lincoln Park
October 6, 2010Music Background:
Musician, Recording Engineer

Surprising Competition

I recall a mic shootout from when I attended Audio Engineering school, that stacked up this mic against competitors of very highly regarded brands, checking their unaffected signals through Neve 88rs console pres, while monitoring on a pair of 824's and Genelec Far Fields, shockingly enough this guy came in third place in overall application, not too shabby for the price eh?

canadian recording engineer
from vancouver, bc, canada
April 14, 2007Music Background:
professional recording engineer, started recording in 1980s.

in a properly treated recording room with good placement = great vocal mic

I've read some valid comments here but had to post my own findings. I'm thinking that it's partly due to the fact that I'm a professional recording engineer using this in a properly treated session tracking room in my home project studio, and I have a lot of experience recording vocalists. This mic has a very similar recording sound to that of a neumann U87ai. It is missing a speck of the mojo of the original u87, but then the modern u87ai is also missing a speck of that mojo. I suspect that the transformer isn't great in it, with a mod it might be amazing.

Great vocal mic though anyway. not a terrific tom mic, not great on guitar cabs in my opinion, but really great on vocals, especially female.

from Charlotte
July 19, 2011Music Background:
Voiceover professional

Studio Projects B1

To be honest, for the price, this mic is fantastic. It does a wonderful job and it's worth every penny and many more. My room would need to be quieter for me to use it more. If my voiceover was done in a whisper room, this would be great for narrations.

Troy Robinson
from New Haven,Ct
November 10, 2008Music Background:
Hip-Hop Producer

Excellent for Vocals

For the price, its the best vocal mic of its kind. Clear crisp vocals is what your gonna get. Not so great for miking instruments though.

Sam
from Salem, OR
April 9, 2011Music Background:
Musician, hobyist

Not bad for the $$

I bought two of these about a year ago, they are a nice clean sounding mic. I've used them to record choirs, rock bands and rappers. They do lack the "warmth" that i prefer and compared to other microphones, the b-1 sounds a little harsh. Overall a decent mic, i'd recommend it for some one else's mic locker.

Aaron W.
from Oklahoma
November 11, 2010Music Background:
"all the below"

Great Mic

I bought this mic years ago, before they even had the 'new' updated graphics design on it. I bought it hoping it would be multipurpose. I was right. It works for nearly everything. Odd thing is I still use it even though I have much more expensive, 'better' sounding mics. I use it along side 57's on amps to an extra mic on acoustics. Sometimes it doesn't give me the sound I want but that's to be expected with any microphone. Great value, especially if this is your first mic and you're new to recording.

Dave T.
from Parkersburg, WV
February 12, 2009Music Background:
Composer

Studio Projects B1 Mic Review

Very nice sounding mic for the bucks... clean, crisp and not overly sibilant like the Audio Technicas. Much better than the MXL mics in my opinion. In comparison with my AKG 414, I notice a slightly less open midrange, and a necessity to stay closer to this mic. At 6 to 8 inches back from this mic, I notice much more of the ambient room sound than my 414. Very low noise and worth the bucks...

frank r
from richmond, ca
August 8, 2006Music Background:
recording/mix engineer

excellent value and good sounding

this very inexpensive mic sounds very natural and clean. it's a nice affordable addition to my modest mic collection. i would use it to record vocals, guitars, bass, drums(toms, oh's, room) in the future.

Wave Junky
from Seattle, WA
January 4, 2011Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Musician

I finally found a use for this mic!

I probably would've given this mic a one or two star rating a few months ago. I've owned it for years and found it fairly useless on most sound sources and would describe the sound as dull and lifeless. I thought the thing was a total loss until I was thinking about how to solve a problem with a "harsh" sounding hi-hat. This mic added presence of the hat in the mix but mellowed the thing out. To use this thing on vocals or an acoustic guitar, however, would NOT provide great results in my opinion. At least I found a use for this thing!

B. Calderwood
from Chicago
October 15, 2006Music Background:
Studio Engineer and Guitar Player

Decent mic for the price

I use this for toms and it's pretty decent. I have used it for guitar cabs as well but you should use it in cunjuction with another mic for guitar. On toms, it'll bring out a nice mid range quality with enough airiness for a sense of depth. It handles the attack pretty well but sometimes the mid range does get a little boomy on the lower toms although still manageable with some creative eq. the decay was very nice as long as your toms are tuned correctly. By far not the best mic to use for guitars but with an sm57 or another suitable standard mic for the top end clarity, this mic will deliver the mid range to low end punch. Use another mic for the low end bottem on the guitar as this mic will seem boxy at times in that spectrum. But this is more then I had expected for a mic in this price range and I would suggest it's use for toms if you don't have the funds for the higher end mics since you will need as many as you will need for tom mics. Over all, better then average although not a very versatile mic.

Dennis Wasnich
from Montpelier, Ohio
March 1, 2005

Mixed results

I got the B-1 mainly to record acoustic guitars and hopefully to record vocals as well. For acoustic guitars previously I had been using an EV ND267 dynamic with very good success. The B-1 sounded very similar, and I used it on many songs, feeling it had a nice clean response. But the final recording seemed to lack something I'd call "presence" compared to previous recordings on all the same equipment except the mic. On vocals, I tried and tried and gave up using it for my vocals because it just didn't match my voicing, so I went back to my trusty SM57 for vocals. On another person's vocals, I used the B-1, and was always impressed with the clean sound but never thought it was giving me more "life" to the vocals than previous mics. So in the end, I do think it's a good mic, but I have trouble saying it's a great mic.

Erik Lamberth
from Harleysville, PA
January 1, 2005

B1

Excellent mic for the money. I use it on vocals, and it's a step up from the Oktava MK219 I was using. Also a significant step up from the Sure SM57 for guitar amp mic'ing. It is very sensitive, and not colored - what you put into this for the most part is what gets recorded. I have found that giving a slight increase via EQ in the 2-4K region with the B1 sounds quite nice.

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