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Electro-Voice RE20
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Electro-Voice RE20

Dynamic Microphone from Electro-Voice belonging to the RE series

mooseherman mooseherman
Published on 06/07/09 at 22:03
This is a dynamic microphone that can be used in both live and studio settings, though I admittedly have only used it myself in a studio. I have however, played shows where the sound guys have used it on bass amps, and as far as I could tell it worked great. They are pretty versatile but they are best known as vocal mics. Radio stations have used them for years. I don't know much about that world, but I do know that they are designed for vocal use. They also work well on kick drums, bass amps, and other applications.

OVERALL OPINION

I guess the best quality of this microphone is it's reliability. While it's rarely the best choice in a studio for vocals, it will suffice in most situations. I tend to prefer large diaphragm condenser mics when recording vocals, but I have heard from colleagues that this mic has worked wonders for them. Hearing the results that they achieved, I'd have to agree. I guess I simply didn't have the kind of sessions that they did. I personally prefer what it can do with drums and bass. The mic is great for bass amps, and was my go-to mic for quite a while, until I expanded my collection and started working at a studio where they had more mics. Kick drums also sound pretty great with this, especially when used in tandem with an AKG D112. I once tried it as an overhead mic just for fun, and surprisingly, it worked rather well. It gave the drums a fatter, thicker sound that made them sound sort of vintage. This might not be what you're looking for most of the time, but it's still pretty cool.

Something I particularly like about this mic is it's ability to reduce noise and bleed. I once recorded drums and electric guitar in the same room, and this mic was hands down the best at reducing bleed from the guitar (I used it on kick drum). I've also had good luck with it not picking up extraneous sounds in vocal booths (some mics pick up annoying clicks and people moving in the booth, this is usually not the issue with this microphone). It's very durable, too, as many people have said, although I would still be careful with it, simply because it could potentially never break on you, unlike most gear in general.

Given how inexpensive it is, any beginning engineer or anyone with a low budget should make this one of their first investments. The usefulness and quality of sound belie it's cheap price. I would highly recommend it to anybody who doesn't already have it.