As Good As The OG? Neat Worker Bee II Review

There's a been a lot of hype about the King Bee II since Turtle Beach acquire Neat Microphones but the Worker Bee II hasn't received much of that hype. The mystery that fans of the original Worker Bee are looking to solve is... Is the Worker Bee II worth hyping?
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Neat Microphones did send me the Worker Bee II in exchange for a fair and honest review. I keep to keep it following this review and Neat Microphones has had no input in this video nor have they seen it prior to release.
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[@v_shkafu]

3:10 correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems there a typo in Worker Bee's 1.0 specs. EIN 9 dB + s/n 79 isn't equal to 94 (If I understand everything correctly, 94 is a constant for all other mic specs) 4:00 yep, that buzz sound really was in first batches of WorkerBee's and KingBee's on the market (and seems still there is in new ones). Heard it in some videos of other reviewers before. Thanks for review!

[@SoundSpeeds]

You are correct about the S/N and I did mean to saw that in the video. If memory serves I did say it in my Worker Bee I video though. I was thrown off when I heard the buzz and skipped that.

[@v_shkafu]

​@@SoundSpeeds Hah, I understand that feel :D Over 1 year passed since start of sales, it's sad that Neat didn't solve this problem yet.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Very surprising if it's still going on. Sad too. Maybe that's why the WB OG is still being sold.

[@whitebrim1]

bought the first worker bee years ago and I'm still very happy with it sad to see they took the character away from the mic.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Me too.

[@milesian1]

I have the King Bee II and Worker Bee II and I’m quite happy with both of them. I especially love the richness of the KB2 for my voice, but it picks up more noise so the Worker Bee 2 actually makes more sense in my mostly untreated space. The KB2 picks up more mouth noise, and I haven’t had the noise issues that came up in this video because I don’t play bongos on my microphones, haha. Currently at $59 on Amazon the price is great.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Yeah it is! Geez that's a great price.

[@ChiefNonsense]

Allen, your review of the Worker Bee 1 sold me. Ended up buying 3 of them and they get regular use for everything from long form podcast interview setups to live color commentator mics. They look awesome on camera and I get frequent compliments from clients on how great they sound. I’m considering buying another couple to sock away in storage for the day my existing ones fail from regular use.

[@SoundSpeeds]

I love the WBI still. I'd buy those over the II personally. Great deal!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

I bought 2 of the v1 for stereo and for the money what you get is crazy.

[@DynamixWarePro]

This is great through review. Going by the sound alone based on your voice and listening through M-Audio BX5 monitor speakers and Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, the Worker Bee 1 picks up more sibilants in your voice while the 2 doesn't and the 2 sounds like it has a more bass and has a bit of a warmer sound.

[@SoundSpeeds]

That's the detail coming out in the 1. They are both really good especially for under $80.

[@larrymarso4492]

Looks like the OG is gone at the great price. You snooze you lose. (Me among them). The big self kick is that I missed the KB 1. Nice to see your broadcast during the holidays Alan.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Thanks for dropping in Larry. It's been a while.

[@djtoman6875]

I just started a podcast and have been using an SM57 for me and Worker Bee II with pop filter for my guests since they aren’t mindful of mic technique. I love the WB II, and feel like I got such a great deal on it that I paid a bit of a premium for the OG (new in box) on eBay. They sound about the same, and the included shock mount made it worthwhile to me. So now I’ll be on the OG and my guests will remain on the WB2.

[@SoundSpeeds]

👍

[@danasdas6683]

Did not know about the lack of shock mount & pop filter on the WB2. Bought the WB1 off Amazon based on your suggestion weeks(months?) ago and have no regrets! Great review!

[@SoundSpeeds]

Thank you. I still love the WB.

[@djtoman6875]

I just started a podcast and have been using an SM57 for me and Worker Bee II with pop filter for my guests since they aren’t mindful of mic technique. I love the WB II, and feel like I got such a great deal on it that I paid a bit of a premium for the OG (new in box) on eBay. They sound about the same, and the included shock mount made it worthwhile to me. So now I’ll be on the OG and my guests will remain on the WB2.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Very good. :-)

[@ChiefNonsense]

Yeah that’s a solid setup. Bet it sounds great. Link?

[@SoundSpeeds]

To the podcast or mic setup?

[@ChiefNonsense]

Was hoping to listen to the podcast final product with that setup.

[@StephenCarterStressExpert]

This is an excellent comparison review. Usable guidance and insights. Thanks for posting this.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Sure thing. Thank you for watching.

[@JoshuaHarrover]

Hey sir, huge fan of your work, I have been watching Sound Speeds videos quite some time now. Thank you for taking the time to do this review; I'm a Stagehand for live events and a freelance Voice Actor so I greatly appreciate the information. I think the reason the worker bee two is so boring is because the company tried to make it look sleek and black, sort of like their own AT-2020, they tried to recreate the minimalist design of the AT-2020 in a Neat model microphone.

[@SoundSpeeds]

I've brainstormed this mic (and the Worker) and can only speculate but I'm guessing parts availability and Turtle Beach's acquisition may have contributed to different parts being used and therefore a different sound and design. Check out my review of the Worker Bee II.

[@daunted2322]

I got the king bee 1 origionally. It was a killer deal at £119.99. It even came with a little bee statue thing.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Yes! I bought mine a few years back and still love the sound.

[@daunted2322]

Never have I seen a more organic review :D

[@SoundSpeeds]

I hope that's a good thing.

[@daunted2322]

@@SoundSpeeds absolutly :D

[@SoundSpeeds]

😎

[@SparkY0]

Did the Worker Bee 2 come with a manual or frequency response graph? I can't find one anywhere online. Also, I believe the "24 mm" on the WB 1 spec sheet could also be a typo. Elsewhere on the page they say it's 25 mm. As for the WB2 being an intermittently buzzy bee, it could be the same overpainting issue as the King Bee 2. I have a newer sample of the King Bee 2 (maybe also alternate factory), where the paint was perfect, and the issue seemed to have been caught and solved. There's likely excess paint in a place that needs good metal to metal contact. You can usually fix it with some light sanding or scraping. I've also recently had similar issues with a sE V7 and a SM57 picking up a slight 60Hz buzz because the body of the microphone had a bad ground path to the cable, due to the paint job. The sE V7 problem was particularly noticeable when using XLR cables which also had a painted connector. The shiny new black XLR connectors on my cable looked nice, but they force the ground path for the shielding to go through the XLR pins - Which also had bad continuity to the mic body. The ground path went through paint on both the mic body and the painted screw. Not a good design choice. Interestingly, this means the more expensive Chrome sE V7 sounds noticeably better than the painted ones, because chrome plating is conductive. No paint = no buzz.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Great info. Thank you.

[@Hugmir]

It would be so nice to open them up and compare the insides...

[@SoundSpeeds]

It totally would. I might have to look for pictures online.

[@TrueShayari]

Sir, Is this mic best for Poetry recording? I want to record my poetry professional. Plz Suggest me good audio Interface and microphone

[@SoundSpeeds]

There is no best mic. If you like the way it sounds on your voice, it's a win.

[@JoshuaHarrover]

Quick question, sir, would it be possible to take the pop filter from a King Bee 2 and put it on the Worker Bee 2? Or is the King Bee 2 too large for that to be doable? Thank you for your time.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Yes you can

[@blackjohnny0]

Is there anything interresting at pricepoint of King Bee II? Similar quality?

[@SoundSpeeds]

I'm not vastly knowledgeable about consumer audio products. Send an email to Bandrew Scott's Bandrew Says Podcast: bandrewsays.com/askbandrew

[@uioverhaul]

Hey there! Nice video. Wondering, what is your opinion on Samson CO2 mic? I plan to use it to record head talking videos on KZbin.

[@SoundSpeeds]

I've never used them but I know that as far as discount mics are concerned, they have a very good reputation.

[@Gabriel_Music]

[@SoundSpeeds]

:-)