Studio Projects B1 Condensor Microphone

As my budget studio grew, I required a cheap but robust condenser microphone to record spoken word, vocals, various instruments, and other sound sources. After reading many positive online reviews I chose to purchase the Studio Projects B1 microphone, which cost about 119$ CAD at the time (which included a shock absorbing mount, leather zip up holder, and foam pop filter). I picked up a cheap stand and XLR cable and I was ready to begin recording.

Aesthetically the mic is quite attractive, with a bright silver finish. To the untrained eye, the B1 may even appear to be expensive and fancy; many of my friends were shocked to find out the actual low cost of it. I can say from experience though that this microphone is more than a pretty object to decorate your home or apartment, it actually sounds quite nice too. It really is low-cost though, the shock mounts of more expensive mics alone can easily cost more than the entire B1 package!

It should be understood that when reviewing a microphone in this class certain considerations must be taken into account. You cannot expect a 100$ mic to sound anything like a high end condenser costing 10-20x as much, but the mic should be usable and be able to capture sound sources effectively. Overall my results with the B1 have been quite good. Spoken word vocals are clear and full, with a flat response with some high end sparkle. Vocals generally sound quite flat and realistic, albeit somewhat thin (which can be expected for a mic in this class). The B1 can handle loud sound sources quite well, so it is a good choice if you are into primal scream therapy or other loud styles, and the foam filter that comes with it is quite effective at blocking air pops. I’ve tested it with acoustic guitar, metallic percussion, and a xylophone with flat and realistic results. Although Studio Projects advertises the B1 as being an effective microphone to use with a guitar amp, I would recommend against this. My results with a small peavey practice amp as well as a Marshall twin lacked presence and were too harsh sounding overall. For the budget recording studio, I’d stick to the cheap and trustworthy SM57 (or your favorite dynamic microphone) for guitar amps. Not to say this mic is in any way weakly constructed though, from my experience it can take quite a beating for a condenser mic. It has survived a few falls and some “air time” (I’d rather not explain what happened, but in a freak accident I inadvertently tested out both the build quality of this mic and my laptop, both of which survived).

In conclusion, I would not hesitate to recommend the B1 to anyone who needs a good all-round mic for most kinds of vocal or instrument work, and a pair of them would probably make good overheads. For the musician on a budget, you really can’t go wrong with the B1. If you can spare a few more dollars though, the slightly more expensive Studio Projects mics with pattern selection might be a more versatile choice, since the B1 is cardioid only.

Here is an example of speech being recorded into the microphone at close range. The B1 is an excellent microphone for recording speech for podcasts.

What’s good: Very affordable, sturdy construction, good overall sound

What’s not good: Lack of pattern selector controls (cardioid only), somewhat thin sound compared to more expensive mics.

Who needs it: Anyone who needs an affordable versatile condenser mic

More information available at: http://www.studioprojectsusa.com/