Since I had so much fun reviewing the King Bee II in my last go-around with NEAT microphones, I was given the opportunity to review its younger brother the Worker Bee II. So many sequels, right? Anyway, this $99 XLR microphone exceeded expectations and provides a wonderful option for new streamers, podcasters, or just voice-over folks who are dabbling in new media to take a chance without risking the bank.
Let’s dive right into this.
Not the bells and whistles as its brother, but…
There is no doubt in my mind that the King Bee II is the primo leader of the NEAT family when it comes to out-of-the-box ready XLR mic solutions. It has a durable shockmount, it is crazy-easy to set up, and the price is honestly reasonable considering the quality it delivers. Take that picture, take off the shockmount, lower the diaphragm size (from 34mm to 25mm), and you essentially get the same mic with the Worker Bee II, minus the bells and whistles. For $69 less, that might be a great compromise you want to take.
Knowing what the difference is between the mics is imperative. So, the above are the biggest differences.
How it worked with my streaming
This cardioid solid state condenser mic is outstanding. I used it for a few days streaming last week and came away impressed by the quality it delivers. Now, I will add that my mixer was overmodulating the signal well, but the quieter times I had with the delivered outstanding results (dummy me didn’t use headphones to listen to the return before I went live – rookie mistake and one that will be rectified). While this microphone is lower grade compared to its older brother, it still has the capabilities of being the first step when it comes to entering a serious world of streaming.
The best part of the Worker Bee II is how it absolutely ignores outside sounds. I streamed in my office for this test, and it should be noted that I have no sound dampening on the walls whatsoever. In fact, I have a ‘#1 Browns Fan’ noisy clock, a sad University of Kentucky degree in a glass frame, and a microwave near the mic setup. While I do have plenty of wood shelving around me that will absorb the sound of my bass-y voice, the walls could and should bounce sound off like I’m playing a game of Jai alai. This mic thankfully has a tight pick-up pattern that restricts extraneous sounds from making their back into the recording/streaming and it showed during my 2-3 hour outing with Gran Turismo 7 (great game btw). I chatted quite a bit during my session, and I had nothing coming back into the mic except my voice. That’s good quality for a $99 microphone. I have other mics that are more expensive that can’t even do that given the environment I recorded in.
Anyway, the audio during my streaming session picked up only my voice. I didn’t hear the noisy fridge in the corner, the fan kicking from my audio mixer behind me, or the clicky-clicky PlayStation 5 that sat about 12-inches away from the mic. Nothing but the sound of my overmodulated voice came through Again, the overmodulation was my mixer set wrong and my lack of headphones to catch it. I have a solution – headphones.
The mic was hanging on a Shure mic arm and it was comfortable to move around and angle as need be. It should be noted that the Worker Bee II is considerably lighter than the King Bee II, which is a blessing when you’re trying to adjust it on the arm to make it comfortable when you move around. The King Bee II was a constant and restricted arm tightening dance at times but eventually settled in. For the Worker Bee II, it was just a twist of the bolt lock by the XLR input and it allowed me to pretty much go anywhere I wanted with that microphone. Again, it was quite comfortable to move freely.
As streaming is my main gig, I can see this being a go-to mic that doesn’t have quite the commitment of the King Bee II, but still requires an audio mixer to work. As stated in the King Bee II review, you can find an inexpensive audio mixer out there for much of nothing, so the financial commitment level isn’t too steep when you’re trying to capture professional audio. And, much like the King Bee II, the Worker Bee II will deliver professional audio. I know you’ve read this more than once during this session but having professional audio at an inexpensive level is invaluable. While it might not be the last mic you purchase, and maybe you take a leap to a high-quality performance audio solution later on when you make millions, the Worker Bee II is a mic you should seriously consider.
On that note, let’s wrap this review up.
Conclusion
The Worker Bee II is a wonderful step in the right direction when you’re looking for a professional way to capture audio for your stream (I’m sure it works with musical instruments, but I have none, so I can’t say for sure). While you will need an audio mixer (and you should have one) to get this going, it’s worth the trouble for good audio. Since audio makes up 90% of any production, it’s imperative that you do it right. The Worker Bee II will certainly do it right.
