Neat King Bee II - Still Deserving The Crown?

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Sure the first one surprised everyone...
But is that because it looked gimmicky?
This time around...it LOOKS GOOD...but how does it sound?
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Buy the Neat Mics King Bee 2 -
US link - amzn.to/3eHoSJT
Canada Link - amzn.to/3u7IpKG
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My Twitter - @DarkCornerYT
00:00 Intro
00:12 Value Proposition
00:37 Build Quality
01:35 Specs
02:08 Off Axis Rejection
02:19 Plosive Rejection
02:28 Proximity Effect
02:40 Isovox Test
02:51 Small Body Acoustic
03:06 Big Body Acoustic
03:18 Mic Comparisons
04:50 Original vs V2
05:39 Pros and Cons
06:54 Final Thoughts
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My Gear -
Mics - RODE NT2A - amzn.to/2WWQTnn
- TZ Audio Products Stellar X2 - amzn.to/3gHTj0X
Mixer - Arturia Audiofuse Studio - amzn.to/33kSBnq
Secondary Boom Arm - amzn.to/2WBhveB
Camera - Canon T7i - amzn.to/2X3yTYi
Lenses - Canon 50mm 1.8 - amzn.to/2LxiI0k
Canon 24mm 2.8 - amzn.to/2zF96Ok

[@BangsNaughtyBits]

I liked how you continued the mic comparison into the ad read. Not wasting our time and also increasing impressions. More people should do that. !

[@DarkCornerStudios]

That is some high praise. Thank you!

[@connivingcactus539]

Excellent point.

[@CallMeTeci]

Its absolutely crazy. I just saw that this thing is available for less than 80 bucks for the past few months in and around germany. Was an instant buy for me, because i tested it 1,5 years ago already, but went with a cheaper SM57. And holy crap... im so stoked to call that thing my own again next week. :D

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I'm personally more of a fan of the original design but these mics sound really good

[@ZachariahConnor]

I just got one of these, crisp but not overwhelming top end, balanced but quite robust low end. Pop filter isn't so great, but it's nice to have. The low self noise is quite amazing though.

[@johnnymiller3684]

I do like Neat microphones, and the King Bee II and Worker Bee II both sound good. That said, the only reason I bought the original King Bee and Worker Bee microphones was because of the gaudiness and the cool packaging (and the price). To me, the new versions kind of look like everything else, which I find to be somewhat disappointing. There's nothing fun about them. Also, there's really no marketing response buzz about them, either (see what I did there? Haha).

[@dalebishop2632]

As always, excellent review. I have the old style worker bee. It does a good job for me.

[@TC_Conner]

I prefer the KB II over my RE 20, it fits my voice a lot better. Nice review. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@justyuriforever]

Same ^^

[@TC_Conner]

@@justyuriforever I’ve since decided the SM7B is best for my voice. 😎👍🏻😎

[@justyuriforever]

@@TC_Conner Uhh, honestly, I'm not a fan of the sm7b at all, but it always depends on what you use it for 😅

[@ChrisSchaffer]

At that price it really does seem like phenomenal value. Especially for the guitar it got very boomy, but a little EQ can even that out without issue. If my current mics get lonely, this will definitely be on the list of possible companions. On the weight side of things... that is hefty... But it seems like in addition to Rode the Elgato arms should also likely support it - I have a RE27N/D on a low profile arm and you really need to tighten the screws down, but once tightened down I have had no problems with slippage, so if streamers who have already bought into that ecosystem are wondering what those arms can hold... they do admirably enough to probably accommodate this beast!

[@JamesLuna11-14]

Bought mine because of your review only 95 USD

[@humongortart]

I sold my King Bee because although at first I loved the "big" sound, and loved everything about the design, (that being a Minecraft version of Charlie Brown,) ultimately, I just didn't like the over-crispy top end for my use case. For long form narration, I went with the Rode NT1 black. This version sounds a bit more balanced and refined than the original, while retaining it's big character (sonically and literally) and kind of sounds like a more interesting NT1 with a touch more body. Me likey. Gonna have to buy one, and takes me chances on getting one with the grounding issue. Hopefully, Turtle Beach will get a handle on that. Another lovely video, liking your content a lot.

[@brianfitzrealty]

I've been testing out a bunch of microphones lately and keep coming back to this Neat King Bee II. I got it for $100 through an Amazon warehouse deal and can't seem to find anything even remotely close to it's quality at that price point. I really like the look of it too. To my ear, it sounds more like a dynamic microphone than condenser - which is a huge plus for me because I use it alongside an RE20. You can check out some of my recent YT videos and hear for yourself. I'm really diggin' your channel - keep up the great work!

[@redcabinacoustic-official]

@Brian Fitzpatrick - I did check out your YT vids - hopefully I won't be moving and buying real estate soon. You sound great - I use all the EV Broadcast mics in different studios and have been voicing radio spots and tags with the NKB. What mount are you using for your black RE20? peace

[@tumelomosholi4326]

This mic is amazing to say the least..

[@danasdas6683]

I was surprised at the amount of noise the shock mount had in Bandrews video when he tapped it. Anything like that in anyone else’s experience?

[@HarvinderSingh-yy8th]

KNEAT KING BEE II is good for broadcasting and voice over. NT2a is good for vocals ( singing, broadcasting and voice over).

[@seanwebb605]

It's not the size that matters. It's how you use it.

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I'm so excited tomorrow we'll technically later on today as it's midnight for me I'm going to a music store and buying a rode podmic

[@msravioli1961]

¿What about the girl's voice? ¿Did you purchase the wrong holiday gift 🎁 and are you now receiving the silent treatment? 😄

[@DarkCornerStudios]

She was out of town and I needed to get the video up. Maybe I will do a KZbin short with her voice

[@libertyDude1775]

You triggered me! How dare you call my fear of blushing at thick cucumbers. You have no idea how difficult it is to shop for vegetables during good crop year's.

[@DarkCornerStudios]

Sir, please dont come back to the cucumber aisle...we find your behaviors inappropriate And for gods sake...put your pants back on...

[@EnglishEloquenceMoscow]

Thank you for the review! Did you have any static issues with your unit like many other youtubers did?

[@DarkCornerStudios]

No! None at all...I wonder with the delay in me getting the unit had anything to do with that. I wouldnt be surprised if they fixed that in subsequent issues of the mic

[@BGRecon]

I think it was the first batch because I had the same issue when touching the body and it buzzing super crazy. I actually didn't think it was an issue until the KZbinrs complained lol. I just thought "no touchy'

[@EnglishEloquenceMoscow]

@@DarkCornerStudios Thanks! Good to know!

[@Ursabomb]

it feels a little too dark and missing the sparkle of the others.

[@rsmith02]

Would this work well run through a Zoom h4n?

[@DarkCornerStudios]

Yes...this would work quite well

[@rsmith02]

Thanks for that!

[@hughrichardson7402]

Good video, also the discord link didn’t work for me

[@DarkCornerStudios]

Oops...I will check that out... Let me know if this works - discord.gg/Pfhu94qk

[@hughrichardson7402]

@@DarkCornerStudios it works!!!

[@mr.awesomesauce8412]

A great sounding microphone but its weight and fragility is keeping me away.

[@lawrencerasmus]

I find myself watching on my phone , see I waste my time 🤪

[@seanwebb605]

Don't think that you can make up for the loss of the live stream Friday with a six minute video. I'm still hurt and confused.

[@DarkCornerStudios]

Actually...this thing was supposed to go live at 11am. My bad

[@seanwebb605]

@@DarkCornerStudios Well I was doing laundry then so this actually worked out better for me. I don't like the microphone. It just seems horrible at rejecting plosives. And I'm a master of plosives. Plus there are no King Bees. There are queens but the males are only used for studding then they are pretty much useless to the hive. Why would you market a product with that?

[@DarkCornerStudios]

@@seanwebb605 the naming conventions are all messed up

[@libertyDude1775]

I too, in other reviews, found the KB2 to bee bad with plosive rejection. When the Dark Shadow Man ran a pre video, blind comparison test in his discord, I was shocked to discover his Rode NT2A was worse, lol.

[@DarkCornerStudios]

@@libertyDude1775 yeah the NT2A is brutal without the included pop filter. It plagues me to this day

[@luk7n]

I was always giving a credit to Blue for the ugly design of their microphones, but I god used to it, I kinda like it now. But this monstrosity, omg. Nope