Behringer DUAL DIAPHRAGM CONDENSER MICROPHONE B-2 PRO Manual - Page 3

3 DUAL DIAPHRAGM CONDENSER MICROPHONE B-2 PRO User Manual 1. Power Supply Your condenser mic B-2 PRO needs a +48 V phantom power supply. Behringer assumes no liability for any damage caused by a defective phantom power supply. Always mute the sound reinforcement system before you switch on the phantom power supply. After power-up, the B-2 PRO needs about 6 seconds to stabilize. 2. Directivity With the switch on the front, you can set your B-2 PRO to provide a cardioid, omnidirectional or figure eight directivity pattern. If the microphone is used to pick up both the signal source and ambient signals, we recommend to use an omnidirectional directivity (switch position: left). However, to pick up specific instruments or voices, please set the switch to the cardioid position (right). The figure eight directivity pattern (center) is recommended, for example, for choir miking. Thanks to the figure eight directivity pattern, your B-2 PRO picks up more ambient signals than when it is set to the omnidirectional directivity. 6. Level Setting/Adjusting the Basic Sound Adjust the gain control in the microphone channel of your mixing console so that the peak LED lights up only occasionally or never at all. The EQ controls in the microphone channel should be set to mid-travel position to start with; low-cut filter and level attenuator should be off. Try to achieve the desired sound by experimenting with the microphone position. Use the omnidirectional, cardioid and figure eight directivity patterns (see chapter 3). Often, it will be useful to set up acoustic barriers ("gobos") at various angles towards the signal source. Only when the desired basic sound has been achieved, should you start to use equalizers and signal processors, if any at all (Remember: less is often more!) The B-2 PRO provides a level peak around 12 kHz producing some kind of "presence" in this range; so, there is no need for high-frequency EQing which could deteriorate the signal and raise the overall noise floor. On the contrary, the B-2 PRO provides that much-desired transparency which often gets lost during recording and mixing. 3. Low-Cut Filter and Level Attenuation The low-cut filter can be activated with the left switch on the rear, in order to filter low-frequency interference such as pop sounds, etc. With the low-cut filter on, the B-2 PRO provides an almost linear frequency response with signals picked up at close proximity to the source. The built-in shielding minimizes the microphone's sensitivity to high-frequency interference. Use the right switch on the rear to activate the -10 dB level attenuator, which should be used with "pulse-type" signal sources producing high sound pressure levels (e.g. kick drum). 4. Mounting Microphone and Elastic Suspension Attach the enclosed elastic suspension to the microphone stand. Fasten the screw, once the suspension has been positioned properly. Open the elastic suspension by pressing the two circular levers, then insert the B-2 PRO from above. 5. Audio Connection Use a balanced XLR microphone cable with the following pin assignment: pin 1 = shielding; pin 2 = +; pin 3 = -. Since your B-2 PRO features gold-plated contact points throughout, we recommend that you use only microphone cables with gold-plated connectors. 330° 300° 270° 240° 250 Hz 210° 500 Hz 1000 Hz 2000 Hz Polar pattern (cardioid) dB 20.0 10.0 0.0 -10.0 Low cut -20.0 50.0 100.0 Frequency response (cardioid) 0° 0 dB -5 dB -10 dB -15 dB -20 dB -25dB -30 dB 180° 1000.0 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 4000 Hz 8000 Hz 16000 Hz 10k 15k 20k Hz