Hey guys, what’s up—my name is Eric and I’m the Techy Agent, and in this video I do something a little different: a quick review of the Neat Worker Bee XLR microphone. The context here is simple—I already use a Shure SM7B for the channel, but my wife and I may do some podcasting in the future, and I didn’t want to drop another $300–$400 on a second SM7B. I did a bunch of research to find the best bargain mic possible, and the Worker Bee kept popping up because you can grab it for around $90 while still getting really solid audio quality. I walk through what you need to know before buying: this is an XLR mic, so you’ll need an audio interface, and it requires 48V phantom power. I also liked that Neat’s documentation actually gives useful placement tips for voiceover/vocals and for miking acoustic guitar or a guitar cab, which saves you a lot of trial and error. Then I run real audio samples—voiceover, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitar + vocals, and singing—so you can hear how versatile it is. My takeaway: the SM7B still wins out-of-the-box for that broadcast tone, but the Worker Bee is impressively versatile and detailed for the money. With a little EQ (like bumping the bass), you can push it closer to that “radio” sound. For under $100, I genuinely think it’s one of the best XLR mic deals, and since Neat was rumored to be liquidating stock, I’d grab it while you can.