Why is the Electro-Voice RE20 so popular?
 

I see it all over the place, on TV and movies.

Good question, I worked in radio for years and that's what every staion had. They don't sound that great. I guess because they are bullet proof and relativly inexpensive. I would always carry my AKG 414 to do my producton work with from my home studio.

Well, I was wondering if they sounded so great or
what? (I've never worked with one myself but
I've seen them on Howard Stern and lots of other
TV shows.)

You can pound 16 penny nails with it, it doubles as a night stick in case of trouble, if you forget your house keys it can be used as a battering ram to break down the down, it looks cool, you can use it to play fetch with your dog while you wait for the most important interview of your career and it'll still work even after Cujo bites thru it, its not expensive an finally, did I mention it looks cool.
Just a few reasons everyone loves the RE20.

Another mic that falls into that catagory although it looks a bit less robust is the Shure SM61/63-don't let the looks fool you. Its tough as nails although Cujo might be able to bite thru it because its a slimmer design.
O O
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Don B

I use the RE20 mic for recording voice-over narration in post production. It responds well to compression, delay and other audio processing effects for narration. It has good proximity effect and isn't so sensitive that it records a lot of background noise. Maybe also a plus is that most of the people doing narration are used to this mic and feel comfortable with it. I have also used the Shure KSM32 as a narration mic especially with a strong female voice-over.

ok slightly off-topic, but defnitely related, is i'm intending to do a 'directors' commentary voice-over in post for a DVD i'm going to do. Question is what mic do you guys recommend i use for that.
I have a Rode Videomic at the moment and think it's great at what it does.
Could i use the Videomic for post voice-overs as long as i don't get too close to it and get moving-air popping noise? Say about 18inches away ?

Or would you recommend i get a dynamic mic instead and use that? i'm not going to be TOO critical or anything, just interested in whether a fairly hot condenser mic like Videomic would work well in a post voice-over situation (even though i know that's not it's intended purpose).

thanks in advance

You're right, Don, it does look cool. Think that's
why it stands out to me when I see it on TV.

I've been doing some vocal recording lately and have have settled on my Oktava MK012 cardiod, but with some EQ on the base and high end. OTOH, my Shure SM58 also sounds very good for this purpose, and it sounds familiar, being such a ubiquitous mic. For about $100, I think the SM58 would be a repsectible choice for your application.

OK I'm biased to my AKG 414, but at 1K i understand that it's not the mic for everyone it just sounds really good on my voice. I have a Rhode NT2 also that sounds great at about a 3rd the price (or less). Mics are like wine. Know what the best wine in the world is?????? The one you like the best! Figure out what sounds best for you. I have my favorites and you should too. Then find out what processor works best for you. Focusright???? not for me, wasted 1K on that junk. DBX Projecet One is the best for me. For you ?? don't know play with them and find out what works for you. Usually Guitar center will have a room full of mics from 3K to 100 bucks that you can run through any procesor they have all day long. Take the time and spend your money well. For the record I have never been dissapointed in ANY Sure SM 58 or 57 for the money. 100 bucks all day long or less.

Dan and Jerry - thank you both very much for your helpful advice.

rgds

Mics don't become industry standards because of their looks....

They're well tuned to voice and heavy use, also excellent internal pop filter.

Stu, Jerry mentioned the SM57. I believe that's the mic
The President uses when he addresses the nation -- has
been for many years now -- and that one sounds
pretty good, so the SM57 may be something to consider.

Yes, a pop filter being internal is nice to have,
rather than having to use an external one.
I bet if you looked inside the RE20 you'd see that
the capsule itself is set back some from the grille,
to help keep down plosives.

I use an re27 in the booth.. but VO talent or clients are always welcome to supply their own mic. Most are pleased with the ev re27, the internal blast/wind filter cover reduces P-popping, breath sounds and excessive sibilance.

I just saw a cable TV talk show called Imus In The Morning
and they had 3 RE20s and an RE27.
When I think about it, the built-in pop filter
works nice for TV because you don't need to
use a 6" external pop filter, which might obscure our
view of the talent.
The assitants and guests used RE20 and the
main guy used the 27, which seems pretty
chromed out as compared to the 20, which
seems to have a matte finish.