Thanks for stopping by! Here's the chapters: 0:00 Does the Neat bee microphone buzz? 0:11 What is wrong with this condenser microphone making a buzzing noise? 0:25 Microphone buzzes when I touch it 0:35 Try to return your mic if it has a loud hum 1:00 Neat microphone overview and pop filter removal 1:35 Bee microphone disassembly teardown 1:48 Neat Large Diaphragm condenser capsule review 1:58 Do I need to repair the circuit board in my microphone? 2:20 I don't know how to say WIMA but it's a brand of capacitor 2:58 Wiring for XLR cable connector inside my microphones 3:15 This microphone was ruined because of the paint 3:31 Whats wrong with my microphone 4:15 How to actually fix a studio xlr microphone
a bad ground refresher course, never skip these types of videos, they can save your sanity at times. thanks for the reminder! my King Bee II (purchased a few months ago) looks like #1 and #3, capacitor-wise, same board date (07-10-2022). the only overspray was on the central body's bottom edges, very little but enough to prevent the rest of the exposed metal from making contact. sanded lightly with what i had on hand (P320 grit) and proper ground was restored, no more buzz and no need for a soldering iron. similarly years ago i bought one of those clean boost pedals (The Piledriver) from MOD Electronics and it had the same nasty 60 Hz buzz from bad ground whenever you'd touch the metal volume/gain knob. this was due to the instructions omitting a ground connection between the input and output jacks. i ran and soldered ground from each jack to the ground on the switch and it went away as it should then too.
You're the best! Thanks to you, I just ordered one of these as a backup to my Rode (which is going in for warranty repair) as I need to keep working. I wasn't sure what to do, because if I received a buzzing one, I wouldn't have time for the back and forth of sending it back, getting a replacement, then if that one had the problem, etc... Thanks for the peace of mind!
@@SparkY0 Getting to this late, but letting you know I had no issues with the new mic. Surprisingly, in my booth, on my voice, this thing kills the NT1. The Rode is now my backup. I mean, the King is crazy heavy and the pop filter is worthless (as I believe any close attached pop screen is) but with a proper pop filter, this thing sounds great, can't explain it... sounds more "premium" than the Rode. So, now I'm ordering another (119 bucks on Amazon right now) to gut it and put the guts in a different mic body, just for fun. Again, your video is the reason I took a chance on this mic and so glad I did. Thanks again!
I have a mod to make the KB2 pop filter work a lot better by adding some gutter-guard foam. I might be able to get a how to video together for it over the holiday break
Turned out the KB2 circuit board is too large to fit any mic body I have. It really is a pain in my set as configured, it's on the shelf for now@@milesian1
I really enjoyed this video! I especially appreciated the look at the internals of the microphone (I studied Electrical and Computer Engineering, though I'm more on the Computer Engineering side). I have a strong feeling that Neat would have picked up on this issue by now. I ordered the King Bee 2 a few days ago, waiting on it to arrive now.
Hi! thanks for the tutorial it´s really helpful!! I got a buzzing KBII however it´s kinda hard to unscrew. Did you use any special tool to do it? Or do you have any specific method to unscrew it?
It's hard the first time, and a lot easier after. No special trick, it's just stuck. Iirc, I used a piece of grippy material and really had at it by hand. If that doesn't work, there should be a couple little indents on the bottom where you could use something like a lens spanner wrench.
Cool video. :) Do you think the same principles apply to a Blue Baby Bottle microphone that buzzes when touched anywhere? Weirdly, the buzzing can be stopped for a session by randomly touching it enough. Touching it again will bring the buzz back.
That sounds like it could be a similar intermittent grounding problem. It sounds like some kind of loose ground connection that randomly falls into a working position if you move it in just the right way. A mispainted body like on the KB2 wouldn't usually be my first guess though - especially if the microphone worked at first and then stopped working later. Then I would start by checking the cord and then making sure the peices of the body are all tight. It could also be the XLR connector. See if touching it everywhere causes a buzz, or if it's certain sections of the body. If it's everywhere, then it's probably not caused by a badly painted body. The basic idea is to follow the path of the ground and to make sure it can get to everywhere on the body. I haven't had a Blue Baby Bottle apart to see if they've done anything tricky. If it's new, then check the warranty before doing anything too irreversable. Let me know if you figure it out. Be safe and good luck :)
@@SparkY0 Thank you for taking the time to reply. :) I will look into everything here. Hoping to save this mic, cause I love its warm and vintage sound.
Sealing in what way? Like gluing the threads? Do you have any pictures? It can be pretty hard to unscrew the first time without a tool like a lens wrench, but I didn't have too much trouble.
I haven't removed any comments in over a year. UA-cam will randomly hide whatever it feels like, including from accounts I've specifically marked as "Approved Users". The "Held for review" section of my comment management page has never had a comment in it, and I've never found another way to try viewing the removed/hidden comments. So I can't really help you with that one. Maybe a channel needs to be bigger before that stuff starts working. I can see this comment I replied to on the video page. If you've made other comments, then I don't know about them. Sorry. I get frustrated with this system too. A lens wrench is an adjustable spanner wrench meant for removing retainer rings, specifically from camera lenses but it should work here too. The wrench will have sets of two pegs or pins that should fit into two indentations in the retaining ring. I didn't need to use one for mine, and other tools could do the job. Here's a (non affiliate) example from amazon: www.amazon.com/Professional-Spanner-Wrench-Maintanance-10-100mm/dp/B07RJSG7CC/ You could also try using something grippy to help you hold the microphone and ring when you try twisting it, like a silicone hot pad or some rubber gloves.
If the serial numbers go in order, then #2 would be the newest of the 3 that I have. This model of microphone hasn't been out very long, and is a niche product. I have no way of knowing for sure if #2 is a newer batch, or if it was made somewhere else.... But I take it as a sign that Neat found the problem and fixed their manufacturing processes.
I had this problem today with the slate digital M1A at first I thought it was the Shitty fedex driver but it wasn't the bottom of the mic was loose so then I tighten it and the problem went away
I'm annoyed by this microphone because I LOVE the sound profile, but I have so many issues with its physical design. The included shock mount is not very good, but the mic itself is so needlessly heavy that I can't find a third-party shock mount able to support it. Has anyone tried taking out the guts and putting them in a more reasonable body?
The circuit board isn't the most compact, which probably helps with its self-noise. But you could make one flatter, and absolutely lighter. The thickness/weight of the case is pushing deep into "completely unnecessary" territory. It would be interesting to see even this exact design in unibody aluminum.
Thanks for stopping by!
Here's the chapters:
0:00 Does the Neat bee microphone buzz?
0:11 What is wrong with this condenser microphone making a buzzing noise?
0:25 Microphone buzzes when I touch it
0:35 Try to return your mic if it has a loud hum
1:00 Neat microphone overview and pop filter removal
1:35 Bee microphone disassembly teardown
1:48 Neat Large Diaphragm condenser capsule review
1:58 Do I need to repair the circuit board in my microphone?
2:20 I don't know how to say WIMA but it's a brand of capacitor
2:58 Wiring for XLR cable connector inside my microphones
3:15 This microphone was ruined because of the paint
3:31 Whats wrong with my microphone
4:15 How to actually fix a studio xlr microphone
a bad ground refresher course, never skip these types of videos, they can save your sanity at times. thanks for the reminder!
my King Bee II (purchased a few months ago) looks like #1 and #3, capacitor-wise, same board date (07-10-2022). the only overspray was on the central body's bottom edges, very little but enough to prevent the rest of the exposed metal from making contact. sanded lightly with what i had on hand (P320 grit) and proper ground was restored, no more buzz and no need for a soldering iron.
similarly years ago i bought one of those clean boost pedals (The Piledriver) from MOD Electronics and it had the same nasty 60 Hz buzz from bad ground whenever you'd touch the metal volume/gain knob. this was due to the instructions omitting a ground connection between the input and output jacks. i ran and soldered ground from each jack to the ground on the switch and it went away as it should then too.
Wow. Such simple, fixable issue that could have been prevented with a little quality control.
WOW! I had this problem with an old (but still good) mic and the same concept fixed the problem. Thank you for making this video
I'm glad I could help!
Not sure if mine will have this problem yet but I'm glad the fix is so simple! Thanks for this!
As far as I know, this was a launch problem and the new ones should be ok. If not, you can break out the sandpaper! 😁
@@SparkY0 Mine was ok! :)
Awesome! 😁
You're the best! Thanks to you, I just ordered one of these as a backup to my Rode (which is going in for warranty repair) as I need to keep working. I wasn't sure what to do, because if I received a buzzing one, I wouldn't have time for the back and forth of sending it back, getting a replacement, then if that one had the problem, etc... Thanks for the peace of mind!
I'm glad I could help! I'm interested to know whether or not your new microphone has any issues.
@@SparkY0 Getting to this late, but letting you know I had no issues with the new mic. Surprisingly, in my booth, on my voice, this thing kills the NT1. The Rode is now my backup. I mean, the King is crazy heavy and the pop filter is worthless (as I believe any close attached pop screen is) but with a proper pop filter, this thing sounds great, can't explain it... sounds more "premium" than the Rode. So, now I'm ordering another (119 bucks on Amazon right now) to gut it and put the guts in a different mic body, just for fun. Again, your video is the reason I took a chance on this mic and so glad I did. Thanks again!
@@badmiddensHow did your donor project work out? What mic body did you put the King Bee II guts into?
I have a mod to make the KB2 pop filter work a lot better by adding some gutter-guard foam. I might be able to get a how to video together for it over the holiday break
Turned out the KB2 circuit board is too large to fit any mic body I have. It really is a pain in my set as configured, it's on the shelf for now@@milesian1
I really enjoyed this video! I especially appreciated the look at the internals of the microphone (I studied Electrical and Computer Engineering, though I'm more on the Computer Engineering side). I have a strong feeling that Neat would have picked up on this issue by now. I ordered the King Bee 2 a few days ago, waiting on it to arrive now.
I'm glad you liked the video! I saw manufacturing improvements in the microphones I have, so hopefully you get a good one!
Hi! thanks for the tutorial it´s really helpful!! I got a buzzing KBII however it´s kinda hard to unscrew. Did you use any special tool to do it? Or do you have any specific method to unscrew it?
It's hard the first time, and a lot easier after. No special trick, it's just stuck. Iirc, I used a piece of grippy material and really had at it by hand.
If that doesn't work, there should be a couple little indents on the bottom where you could use something like a lens spanner wrench.
Great!!! I have the same problem. Resolved!!! thank you very very much!!!!!!!!😃
Glad I could help!
Cool video. :) Do you think the same principles apply to a Blue Baby Bottle microphone that buzzes when touched anywhere? Weirdly, the buzzing can be stopped for a session by randomly touching it enough. Touching it again will bring the buzz back.
That sounds like it could be a similar intermittent grounding problem. It sounds like some kind of loose ground connection that randomly falls into a working position if you move it in just the right way.
A mispainted body like on the KB2 wouldn't usually be my first guess though - especially if the microphone worked at first and then stopped working later.
Then I would start by checking the cord and then making sure the peices of the body are all tight. It could also be the XLR connector. See if touching it everywhere causes a buzz, or if it's certain sections of the body. If it's everywhere, then it's probably not caused by a badly painted body.
The basic idea is to follow the path of the ground and to make sure it can get to everywhere on the body.
I haven't had a Blue Baby Bottle apart to see if they've done anything tricky. If it's new, then check the warranty before doing anything too irreversable. Let me know if you figure it out. Be safe and good luck :)
@@SparkY0 Thank you for taking the time to reply. :) I will look into everything here. Hoping to save this mic, cause I love its warm and vintage sound.
Hi, do you think you could do a followup? They seem to have started sealing new microphones now, you cant unscrew the bottom.
Sealing in what way? Like gluing the threads?
Do you have any pictures?
It can be pretty hard to unscrew the first time without a tool like a lens wrench, but I didn't have too much trouble.
@@SparkY0 Could you link me a lens wrench like you described? Also, I dont appreciate my comments being removed :c
I haven't removed any comments in over a year. UA-cam will randomly hide whatever it feels like, including from accounts I've specifically marked as "Approved Users". The "Held for review" section of my comment management page has never had a comment in it, and I've never found another way to try viewing the removed/hidden comments. So I can't really help you with that one. Maybe a channel needs to be bigger before that stuff starts working. I can see this comment I replied to on the video page. If you've made other comments, then I don't know about them. Sorry. I get frustrated with this system too.
A lens wrench is an adjustable spanner wrench meant for removing retainer rings, specifically from camera lenses but it should work here too. The wrench will have sets of two pegs or pins that should fit into two indentations in the retaining ring. I didn't need to use one for mine, and other tools could do the job.
Here's a (non affiliate) example from amazon: www.amazon.com/Professional-Spanner-Wrench-Maintanance-10-100mm/dp/B07RJSG7CC/
You could also try using something grippy to help you hold the microphone and ring when you try twisting it, like a silicone hot pad or some rubber gloves.
This was great and helpful. I wish I understood electronic for my mic problems. Do you recommend a Neat King Bee 2 ( the non-buzzing type)?
The mic you need depends on how you're going to use it. KB2 sounds pretty good but picks up all the little noises and reflections in the room.
I am surprised that #2 was so different. Is it a newer edition?
If the serial numbers go in order, then #2 would be the newest of the 3 that I have. This model of microphone hasn't been out very long, and is a niche product. I have no way of knowing for sure if #2 is a newer batch, or if it was made somewhere else.... But I take it as a sign that Neat found the problem and fixed their manufacturing processes.
I had this problem today with the slate digital M1A at first I thought it was the Shitty fedex driver but it wasn't the bottom of the mic was loose so then I tighten it and the problem went away
I'm glad you were able to get that worked out without the hassle of a return!
I'm annoyed by this microphone because I LOVE the sound profile, but I have so many issues with its physical design.
The included shock mount is not very good, but the mic itself is so needlessly heavy that I can't find a third-party shock mount able to support it.
Has anyone tried taking out the guts and putting them in a more reasonable body?
The circuit board isn't the most compact, which probably helps with its self-noise. But you could make one flatter, and absolutely lighter.
The thickness/weight of the case is pushing deep into "completely unnecessary" territory.
It would be interesting to see even this exact design in unibody aluminum.
@@SparkY0 *Cut to me spending hundreds machining a custom aluminum case instead of just spending the same amount of money on a better microphone*