Electro-Voice

Great Mic for kick drum and broadcast. This was the mic you hear on kick drums for the last three decades and to this day on most all broadcast radio talk shows. When you add compression to an RE 20 you will hear wonderful things from this mic. It has a bump on the low mid so it is great for kicks. Polar Pattern Cardioid is all you get from this mic as for patterns. Broadcast stations all over the world for 30 years have been using this mic for years and again it is the standard mic for broadcast in the world. I have never been to a top radio station that does not use the RE20 for broadcast voice. I love the sound of this mic but it does get a great deal of low mid sound so if you are using it on a kick drum you will have to cut about 220hz a great deal maybe even 15 db. Recently we had a few kick mics and a great deal of time to test some mics for a recent project. I was surprised that I wanted to try the RE20 as I have moved on to other mics in recent years that have caught my attention or that are well priced and that I have heard on YouTube or from recommendations from business associates in the engineering community. I will say that I really enjoyed the A and B testing we did recently. I took a D110 and had it inside the kick drum about three inches away from the beater but placed inside the kick really close. I got the drummer to do three tests one whereby he hit the drum soft the next harder and the last really hard. The D110 had tons of low end but lacked the presence that I desire in a kick drum. I turned to the RE20 and place it at the same point on the kick drum but inside the kick. I had the drummer do the exact same thing regarding the three hits on the kick drum. I was surprised at the presence of the kick drum and it reminded me of the 1980's whereby we would use this kick sound every day and the only mic we had for kick was the RE20. Back then it was the standard for kick mics, like if you listen to the first Van Halen records or Fleetwood Mac you can hear an RE20. OVERALL OPINION A must have for broadcast or kick drum or bass amp micing. Can take hot levels and sounds fantastic. Not the best for lead vocals on music though. The Electro-Voice RE20 is a dynamic cardioid microphone so it is limited and you should know that. Like I said it was created specially for recording, broadcast and sometimes live for horns and kick. It does have a bass enhanced sound so be aware of that when you buy this mic but if you want a great mic for about 400.00 Ebay. GOOD BUY.

The ElectroVoice 654 is a dynamic microphone that was originally designed for radio and broadcast purposes. ElectroVoice has a number of microphones, including the famed RE-20 that were made for broadcast and are now used for musical recording purposes as well. The 654 is amongst these microphones, although it's seen a lot less than the RE-20. The mic has a omnidirectional polar pick up pattern and will gather frequencies between 50 Hz and 16 kHz. It comes mounted on a swivel microphone clip. OVERALL OPINION My experience with the ElectroVoice 654 has generally been pretty good. I've gotten better results in certain situations over others with the 654, but more times than not I've gotten a good sound with it that I'm in the end happy with. The two main applications that I've used the 654 have been as a drum room microphone over the head of the drummer, and for recording the bottom of a snare drum. I've definitely gotten my best results with the mic when used over the drum kit, as often I'll hit it hard with a compressor and blend the signal with the rest of the drums. I've also tried the mic out on floor tom, but we ended up switching the microphone out as it didn't have a full enough sound for the application. I would definitely bet that there are other applications for the 654 that work well in the studio, as I would imagine that it sounds pretty good for certain types of voices, but I haven't tried it further than what I've discussed so I can't speak this from experience. I don't have any idea what kind price the 654 would cost you, but there definitely doesn't seem to be too many of these out there. I wouldn't say that it's worth trying to seek one of these out, but if you have one on hand in a studio, it's worth trying if you need an extra mic in the mix...

It is a dynamic cardioid mic and it is equally useful live or in the studio. It's rated at 150ohms and includes a lowcut switch, quite uncommon for a dynamic cardioid mic. OVERALL OPINION Ahhh, the old EV RE16! The thing to like most about the EV RE16 is that it is absurdly versatile and very sturdily built. The one that I own is at least 30 years old and perhaps older. I'm unaware when it went out of production or if there is a newer cousin still available. I really can't think of anything to dislike about the RE16. It has proven itself to be a solid performer on any instrument or voice that I've thrown at it. As to value vs. price, if you can find a vintage RE16 just buy it! I've not done any research into current going prices for a vintage one so all I can say is that you want one or two in your arsenal. The sound quality of the RE16 is amazing! In many ways this humble old school dynamic can hang in there with with some of the more modest condenser mics that I've used. I've used the RE16 with great success on bass cabs, kick drums, toms, flute, violin, vocals, guitar (both acc and elec), even steel drums. In the case of the steel drum, I tried every mic in my collection, starting with my condensers, and the RE16 was the immediate winner as soon as I hooked it up. It does have a relatively low output, nothing that a good board won't be able to compensate for, but if you have a nice clean mic pre that you really like use it. One other thing to make note of is this; the odd looking grille that runs down the shaft of the mic is actually a "sound tunnel" , for lack of a better term, many confuse it to be a ribbon element. I can't really explain how it works simply but what it does is accept sound coming from the rear of the mic and channels that in such a way that it throws sound from the rear out of phase with what is in front of the mic. Essentially this alters the percieved pick-up pattern of the output, and allows this mic to have a really small amount of apparent "bleed" from other instruments in the room. Of course if you are an engineer, whether novice or pro, you'll be trying out nearly any mic you come across and the old RE16 still stands proud even after all these years. Again, if you know a friend who has one try it out! If you find one for sale buy it! It's a solid investment no matter how you slice it!

The ElectroVoice RE-15 is a hand held dynamic microphone that I've used to record vocals and speech in a professional studio setting. The mic has a standard cardioid pick up pattern, and will pick up frequencies between 80 Hz and 15 kHz, so it's not picking up the full range of frequencies. The mic is definitely an older one that isn't easy to come across from what I can tell. It also has a high pass filter on it. Even though this mic is in ElectroVoice's RE series, it's nothing like the popular RE-20... OVERALL OPINION My experience with the ElectroVoice RE-15 was only for a single event. I was really just testing out the microphone with one of the engineers at the studio, as it had been sitting in the mic cabinet for a while unused. We were really just curious to see what kind of sound we could get with it for recording singing and speech vocals. We also had another microphone up there for reference, although I can't recall which mic it was. Neither of us was expecting all too much from the RE-15 since it hadn't been used in a very long time, but of course knew the quality of microphones that ElectroVoice makes. We were running the mic without any compression or effects through a Neve 8108 console, just to give you an idea of what kind of chain we had going. I should also mention that I was the one singing and speaking into the microphone, and I have a tenor singing voice. To our surprise, the mic actually did a very adequate job of picking up my voice. While it wasn't the most incredible sound in the world, it definitely sounded full enough and clear enough. I'd be eager to try it out for some other applications, but I think it will probably sound best for vocals anyway. I don't know where you would be able to get your hands on an RE-15, as it is quite old and I don't think that there are too many of them out there anymore. This having been said, if you come across one like myself I'd encourage you to try it out for yourself to see if it might be useful for you.

The Electrovoice 635A is a unique dynamic microphone. I have only used the mic in the recording studio rather than for live sound, but I would think that it would be useful in both situations. The mic has an omnidirectional polar pick up pattern and is hand held, which is what makes me think it would be suitable for live shows. OVERALL OPINION I first used the Electrovoice 635A about two years ago and right off the bat I was a fan of it. While it isn't anything too special in terms of sound quality, it is a sturdy, well built microphone that I think it suitable for a variety of applications. I only used it on two instruments in the studio - snare drum and electric guitar, but I think that it would make a good vocal mic in a live situation. The sound quality is super clean, but is very respectable for a dynamic mic and is also reasonable in price. While it doesn't beat the value of a Shure SM57, it is in the same price range and does have a similar type of sound. Electrovoice is known for making some very sturdy microphones, and I think that this is one of the best features concerning the 635A. While I don't think it would be my first choice in terms of a dynamic mic in the studio, it is still a very good choice and is one that should be explored by those interested in a mic like this. While I do think it would be a great vocal mic for a live show, I would try it out in this application first as I don't have any experience with it in this setting, it just seems like this mic is catered for this type of use as well as use in the studio. All in all, the Electrovoice 635A is a very strong microphone that falls right in line with the high quality that Electrovoice has become known for.

The Doors - Jim Morrison Stage Microphone EV-676 An Electro Voice EV-676 chrome, one of five used by Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek during live shows, rehearsals and TV show appearances by The Doors. Jim Morrison can be seen using an EV-676 chrome microphone in several video performances and many pictures. The silver EV-676s were then used by Ray Manzarek and also as drum microphones. They were used until January 1972 in Palm Springs, and officially retired from the band’s gear list in March 1972. When Treanor became the band’s equipment chief in January 1968, he replaced the Shure microphones previously used by the band and for a short time Morrison used a chrome EV-676, but soon changed for a golden model, which would become his primary microphone for stage purpose. Many pictures show that Morrison continued to use the chrome EV 676 occasionally during rehearsals (recording mics being too delicate to hold), TV shows and occasionally live shows. It’s probable that each of the chroms EVs that Treanor bought was used by Morrison and Manzarek at a certain moment as vocal microphone. Treanor was hires as a consultant for Oliver Stone’s movie "The Doors", and he lent some microphones and stands which had actually been used by the Doors for the shooting. He has lived in South-Eastern Asia for many years, but the gear was kept in Los Angeles. When it all was subsequently moved, the chrome EV-676 microphones were among his other possessions and sold at Recordmecca. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ-I21R9Cjc

The Electro Voice N/D 967 is a fantastically shaped little microphone that will certainly turn heads at a concert. This is a good thing. Because when they turn their heads their ears will turn with them and they will hear absolutely fantastic audio quality! What is quite brilliant about these particular mics are their odd amenities. For example. All microphones need handles. All mics used for live situations have handles. Only Electro Voice microphones have warm grip handles that not only reduce handling noise but just plainly make them more comfy to sing into. This particular mic is a live vocal mic with a unique pop shield, and a flat top to allow getting closer to the microphone. It only has a frequency response that starts down at 50 Hz and it only goes up to 13,000 Hz, so it is not that impressive on a piece of paper, but when you look at how it is oddly enough more expensive than the other ones, you really have to think, do you not? It is a dynamic microphone and has a super cardioid polar pattern. It has a very intense cut to the sound, meaning that it is great in rooms with terrible acoustics, and on top of heavier bands playing. OVERALL OPINION In use, this microphone is very bright. What makes it particularly special is that cut, allowing high frequency information from the voice to shine through. Despite its rather severely limited frequency response range, it never has a single prob at all delivering a cutting powerful, high gain sound to the speakers or interface. This mic is certainly something to really behold and I suggest that everyone give this little thing at least a little bit of a try before dismissing it, because there is some mojo to these Electro Voice NYD mics that paper cannot quite describe. Give it a shot.

In keeping with my particular obsession with cheap audio gear, I would naturally come around to reviewing more and more cheap microphones to the extremely budget minded. This round brings me to the Electro Voice Cobalt Co7, a microphone that is designed specifically for "female and male jazz and rock vocals." I am not quite sure why Electro Voice would pigeon hole this microphone into those two simultaneously specific and vague realms, but hey, I am not working for their marketing department, am I? Electro Voice claims that these are made to the same high and meticulous standards at the NYD microphones that all have those yellow accents. (You know which types I am speaking of here, right?) So is it really as good as those microphones that I or anyone else cannot seem to get quite enough of? Let us see! The Co7 has a frequency response that starts down at an entirely typical 50 Hz, but instead of stopping at the "required" 15,000 Hz, it runs all the way up to a whopping 18,000 Hz? Why do I say whopping? Because this microphone is so gosh darn cheap! It is typically cardioid, although that is not a typical thing for Electro Voice to do as a company now, considering the fact that most of their microphones are now made super or hyper cardioid. And, of course, it is a dynamic. To be perfectly honest, I cannot decide whether the body looks professional or toylike. I think that boils down to personal preference. OVERALL OPINION I have found these mics to be stubbornly directional! This is actually quite a welcome change to those accidentally loose patterns that budget mics always seem to tend having. This mic also seems to have a quite pronounced proximity effect, although it is not terrible. Another terrible thing is that like the other Cobalt mics, handling noise is bad, so careful. Otherwise, it has a clear tone that you would like to try to sure, just because you want to prove me wrong and say that it is not clear for this cheap! Give it a shot!

ElectroVoice's RE1000 is a large diaphragm condenser designed to be using in recording studios. My experience with the RE1000 is only in the studio, and judging by this use I don't think that I'd recommend using it elsewhere. The mic has a super cardioid pick up pattern and has a frequency pick up range of 70 Hz to 18 kHz, which is fine considering the applications that it works best for. It also has a low cut filter at 130 Hz. The mic obviously looks like an AKG C 414... OVERALL OPINION I haven't used the ElectroVoice RE1000 more than a couple of times, but I'm definitely glad that I had a chance to check it out as I think it's a very cool sounding microphone. It will undoubtedly draw comparisons to the AKG C 414 mic, as it has the same look and I wouldn't be surprised if it was somewhat modeled after the ever popular C 414. As far as sound quality is concerned, the RE1000 worked very well for the applications that I got a chance to use it for. I tried the RE1000 on an acoustic guitar for one session and for a higher frequency vocal on another. It definitely seems like it does a great job of picking up these higher end sounds, but I would say that I thought it worked much better as an acoustic guitar mic, as I thought that the vocal sound was lacking some fullness since it doesn't seem to have a great low end or mid low end response. I'm unsure what kind of price the RE1000 commands on the used market, but I wouldn't think that they'd be too expensive. I wouldn't recommend the ElectroVoice RE1000 as an all purpose microphone in any studio, but rather as a complimentary one. While it's a cool sounding mic, it's definitley not a replacement for an AKG C 414...

The ElectroVoice PL-20 is a dynamic microphone, called an instrument microphone but suitable for all sorts of uses. The PL-20 is actually the exact same mic as the RE-20, but for some reason was repackaged and given a different name and advertised as an instrument rather than a vocal mic. I guess they figured that if people were going to be using the RE-20s as instrument mics anyway, they might as well endorse themselves and try to make it as if there would be a need to have a PL-20 in addition to a RE-20. Whatever the reason might be, in every way the PL-20 is the same as the RE-20, consisting of a cardioid pick up pattern, 45 Hz to 18 kHz frequency response, and a bass roll off. OVERALL OPINION If you know about the RE-20, you of course know what the ElectroVoice PL-20 can do, which is a ton of great things. The mic is great for use on a variety of applications, including for the human voice, kick drum, bass guitar amp, and anything else where you would want a good amount of low to mid low end clarity. Even though they call it an instrument mic, I would say that it is best for spoken word, closely followed by bass guitar and kick drum. It is pretty hard to find the PL-20 models, as they didn't make them for very long. However, it really doesn't matter either way if you're looking for this mic, as you can just get the RE-20, which is probably a better idea anyway as I wouldn't be surprised if the PL-20s went for more considering they are somewhat of a rarity. Either way you go, the PL-20s and the RE-20s are top quality mics that are a staple of most professional recording studios, and should definitely be considered for anyone's microphone cabinet.

(Originally written by jp974/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Hello, I've been using it for six years and it's a very good product. You can buy ElectroVoice products with closed eyes. I bought it secondhand and I never had any problem except with the on/off switch I had to change two years ago. High output power (2 x 600 watts / 4 ohms) and the sound is perfect. The amp is not too heavy (my Phonic is much heavier) and it doesn't have any weaknesses. It was my first PA amp. Even if it gets broken in the future I will keep it as a souvenir! Regarding the price, ElectroVoice products are not cheap and I probably couldn't buy one new!! ElectroVoice rules!

Ahh. The Electro Voie N/D mics. A great feat of mic engineering that has not yet been properly figured out on paper by those not with the company of Electro Voice itself. What is interesting about the entire series is that it grounds itself right in the middle of the meat of the prices of typical microphones. These mics typically between $100 and $200 are the ones I am talking about, because this is where the price of the industry standard microphones are. And yet, these microphones kill every thing else inside of their respective price ranges and market segments. The Electro Voice N/D 367s is no different. Electro voice says that it is a women's mic, and to that I would have to agree. It is absolutely great on women's voices, but I also find that they sound better on the male voice than most other mics from other companies sound on the male voice. The 367 has a frequency response smoothy between 30 Hz, very low for a dynamic, and all the way up to a quite impressively high 17,000 Hz. It has a slight bump in the low mids between 1 kHz and 2 kHz, and with its supercardioid pattern, Electro Voice's favorite addition, rejects bleed and feedback almost completely and entirely. Add in a multistage shock mount that all but eliminates the noise you get from holding and shifting the microphone, part of which is the handle, which is rubberized to make the mic not only quieter, but warmer in your hands, and a more comprehensive pop multi stage filter than most other microphones that compete, and you have some piece of magic that not many other things can touch. OVERALL OPINION In the end, I found the 367 to be one of those magical microphones that is much more articulate in every way and yet more cutting and smooth and just generally more nuanced and faithful than the Shure SM58. There is not much more of a reason to get the SM58 over this except if the engineer is too much of an idiot to work anything but a 58.