Yes, it will work.
Yes, it will have a clearer, more 'open' sound than singing into an SM58 or similar stage-mic.
No, it will not sound as good as a 'pro' mic.
No, it won't be as easy to fit into the final mix.

There are a lot of LDC's in the $100-$200 price range these days... try a few of 'em before buying...

The B1 is pretty brittle and not buyable IMO. Look into a Studio Projects B1 (no relation), a Kel Audio HM-1 (havent tried on yet, but many around here seem to like them), or spend a bit more and get an Audio Technica 4040 or 4033 series.

Hi.. from http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?cat=3813&ob=p19&ps=20&p=2
The prices of those LDCs are roughly similiar. And whats the difference between behringer's B1 and Studio Project's B1 soundwise?

To start with Behringer's quality control is atrocious, so it's a bit of a lottery. I have a B2 Pro that I bought to perform some experiments on. I've been trying to think of a term to describe the sound, and I think brittle -as David points out- is pretty accurate.

The background noise is not pleasant. On a good mic, the noise tends to co-exist with the desired signal, but on these mics it gets in the way.

The Behringer and Studio Projects mics are made by the same company (797 Audio) in China. You will notice that you will find many similarities in important components such as the capsule in a lot of Chinese mics, but the overall design of these mics by companies other than Behringer seems to be better.

I think the Studio Projects B1 is a very over-rated mic, but that's only because of outlandish claims made by many users. It won't sound the same as something costing twenty times as much (but that's just my opinion), but that doesn't stop the SP line from being extremely good. The SP mics don't scream CHEAP when you listen to them.

If low cost is very important, you might also look at the Audio Technica AT2020 as well.

Luckily, the time has come when well chosen 'entry level' condensers are good enough that the engineer's experience and hard work can make up for not having a locker full of ultra expensive supermics.

Good luck with whatever you choose to buy 8-)

John Stafford

Wow, thanks for the tip. And wow, behringer is THAT bad after all.. haha