All user reviews for the Electro-Voice RE20

The Electrovoice RE20 is a dynamic microphone that I have used both in the recording studio and the live setting. They are famous for being used in radio booths as a vocal mic, but will work great for a number of different applications including as a vocal microphone for singers, on kick drum (inside or out) or a bass guitar amp. The most useful of these applications has to be for any sort of vocal, as they are designed for use with the human voice. They are great at blocking outside noise when a person sings or talks right up on the grill of the microphone. It also has a roll off switch which can prove to be quite helpful in certain situations.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using RE20s for about three years and they not only sound great but are incredibly sturdy and well built. This guy is strong and well protected and I don't think they could be broken very easily, even if it was dropped. With every mic it depends on what you are looking to achieve with it, but the RE20 will provide any recording engineer with a number of effective uses for it. The best part about the RE20 is the price, as it would be hard to find a better bang for your buck in terms of microphones. The only other dynamic mic in the price range that I would rather have is a Shure SM7, but the RE20 is a fine selection. I would only choose the SM7 over the RE20 because of how good it sounds on male vocals, while the RE20 is probably better for all around vocals and speech. If you're looking for crisp vocals in a live or recording setting where you need to block out noise, the RE20 is the way to go.

This microphone is a classic dynamic cardiod microphone. It is used for a lot of recording applications. I have seen studios that use it for almost every kind of drum, for guitar cabinets, for vocals (though rarely), and even for other things like maracas. It is also an extremely common microphone that people use for broadcasting. If you have ever watched a televised radio show, there's a very good chance that this is what they are talking into.

OVERALL OPINION

I have seen this mic around and have used it various places for many years. It is not a new mic, but it has definitely stood the test of time because it is still in heavy use today after all these years. I like that it's got a very distinct sound. It's a dynamic mic so it isn't too trebly. It rolls off the low end so it is good for combatting proximity effect. That is probably a reason it is so common in broadcast where people are talking right up to the grill of it and there are a lot of plosives in their speech. It handles transients very well so people like to use it on drums a lot of the time. Even though it rolls off low end, it still manages to make kick drums sound nice and bassy. My guitarist likes to use this in combination with a condenser mic in the studio to record his guitar amp. A couple of negative things is that they have a fixed polar pattern, so that limits your options. Also this is not a very bright sounding microphone, so it is not that well suited to a lot of things that have a lot of high pitched sound. I have seen a lot of microphones, and this one is a classic. Most studios I have been to had at least one, it seems like it's a staple. They are not very expensive relatively, so they are definitely a good value.