Electro-Voice RE20 Broadcast Microphone

In this week’s episode, we have a look at and a listen to the Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic broadcast microphone. This iconic broadcast microphone produces rich low frequencies along with a substantially crisper sound at higher frequencies than other similar microphones. Let’s get you some raw spoken word audio samples and run the mic through several tests so you can decide whether this may be a good addition to your podcast or recording kit.

To compare to other similar microphones for spoken word audio, here are some of my other microphone reviews:

Copyright 2022, Curtis Judd

#ElectroVoice #RE20 #Microphone

Index
00:00 Start
00:08 Summary
00:17 Introduction
00:43 Raw samples RE20, SM7B, ETHOS
01:51 Plosives and pops
02:10 Sibilance sample
02:26 Bump tests
02:48 High pass filter (low-cut)
03:30 Directionality and off-axis coloration
04:03 Rich, crisp sound
04:45 Build quality & interference test
05:23 Variable-D and plosive pops
05:46 Proximity effect (extra bass)
06:05 High pass filter is mild and effective
06:30 Practical noise sample
07:34 Versatility
07:50 US Warranty experience
08:36 Bumps are a problem — add a shock mount
09:03 Can be harsh with sibilant voices
09:23 Compared to SHURE SM7B
10:50 Compared to Earthworks ETHOS
11:41 Compared to Electro-Voice RE27 N/D
12:27 My recommendation
12:51 Links to other microphone reviews
13:28 Please buy my courses

[Podcastage]

Merry Christmas Curtis! Thank you for sharing your great videos with us.

[The-Logician]

I am convinced these microphone tests are merely a ruse for Curtis to show off with his Pickled Purple Peppers and She Sells Sea Shells linguistic mastery. Keep up the good work Curtis.

[gerardhughes]

One downside to the RE20 is that they need to be re-foamed periodically, . The internal wind/pop foams turn to sticky, crumbly muck after a varying number of years and can destroy the mic capsule. Re-foaming requires not just disassembling the mic, but also unsoldering and resoldering a number of connections to allow the lower foams to be installed. EV used to offer this service but no longer does.

Lots of people have RE20s with crumbling internal foams and don't realize it.

[CinePals]

I had this mic for a short time and very much preferred the SM7B. The overall quality of the SM7B not only sounded nicer to my (untrained) ears, but the noise rejection was far superior. And every little bump on the table would get picked up by the RE20 even with a shock mount. Most people don’t have the space or means to treat their rooms professionally (even with consideration to low budget options), so if one had to pick between these two microphones rather than an entry level mic like the SM58, I think the SM7B is the winner for most. Just to make my general preferences fully transparent, I wasn’t a big fan of Sennheiser MKH-416 and found the Sennheiser MKH 8050 and MKH 50 far more favorable. I understand their purposes are not the same, but for both in studio and in the wild, I liked the latter two more.

[MichaelWynneCAS]

Love the RE20 dynamic mic. It has been the broadcast & radio standard for years! I first used it back in the early 2000’s for internet radio shows ( pre podcast )Also great mic for high SPL sources such as guitar amps & kick drums!

[williamburkholder]

I have had the RE-20 microphone since 1980. Your review is spot-on. It has always been my first choice as a narrator of video and AV programs through the years. I first "met one" in a radio studio, where we also had Shure SM-7 (the original) and Sennheiser MD-421U mics, along with an AKG D200E. On my voice, the RE-20 was just right. The Shure and Sennheiser were wooly and boomy, and the AKG was thin and lacked warmth on my voiced. As you said, and I agree, the SM-7B is often better for sibilant voices.

I highly recommend getting the EV Model 309 suspension shock mount for the RE-20. It drastically reduces vibration noise when using a Luxo arm mounted to a table or bench. I always liked the RE-20 for micing kick drums, because it can handle a high SPL before break-up if your console has a good input pad or trim control.

[huyked]

Hi Curtis,
I'm not even shopping for a mic, but it's always great to hear how balanced your reviews are, and how honest they are (and how thorough the comparisons are). I, especially, love how you mention this is my personal opinion, and "you may not feel the same", giving it a caveat, purely subjective feel.
I just met a sound engineer, and I'm definitely going to recommend your channel to her. Heck, she may already know of it.
Anyhow, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, if you celebrate.
Cheers!

[DesignTraining]

Thanks Curtis! I have a deep voice and use the RE320. It is a bit brighter but keeps the variable D off axis effect nicely and kills a lot of background noise with ease. I use the Scarlet 2i2 and find I need a Cloudlifter to keep it at a super quiet 50 percent gain. I have to speak across the end and not into it or I have to post process the base frequency. Merry Christmas! 🎄

[scottdelaney]

I've used the RE20 since the early 90's for broadcast, and then more recently in a home studio.

It's the perfect microphone for the beginner because it is A LOT more forgiving than a condenser mic, and because it doesn't pick up sound from behind the mic it is also more forgiving of less than perfect studio space, but STILL delivers broadcast studio quality.

Spring the extra few bucks for the shock mount and pop filter and you'll never need another microphone.

[CallMeChato]

Dramatic difference between your voice using the RE20 and your cohorts. To me you sounded dramatically better with the Shure while the others I actually preferred the RE20 but that was listening on my studio headphones and concentrating. Plus I've been to about 50 rock concerts in the 70s so I can't be trusted at all. 🙂

[emcollier]

The shock mount for the RE20 is the electro-voice 309a.

[lizardkeeper]

I can honestly say your voice was the first one I ever heard that I prefered on the SM7b over the re20. In general I prefer the re20 but for some people the sm7b just sounds better.

[Tipsyfr]

i have a really deep voice with alot of bass and i was told by multiple people this mic would be really good to pick it up and accenuate it

[chriscutress]

I've used RE20's for many years in professional broadcast studios. Reliable and solid. Not the greatest sounding mic but "not" horrible in sound and texture. Solid build and can take a drop without self destructing. Works best with an aftermarket shock mount and a pop/wind screen to cut some top end harshness. Another faves are the Sennheiser 421 and 441 for certain voices but the RE20 with light EQ can sound similar to them.

[DiveInto]

Amazing, what a treat for Xmas eve! Managed to fit this in whilst packing the last presents for the kiddies big day tomorrow. Thanks Curtis, detail is superb as always

[helmanfrow]

I'll underscore the sentiment that there is no perfect mic. While I think that most broadcast mics will be good enough on a broad array voices most of the time, there are certain outlier voices which are simply incompatible with certain mics. I'm speaking from my experience with broadcast hosts I worked with regularly in a previous life.
One presenter had a particularly shrill, siblant tenor which would just about take your head off on an RE27 or RE320. The station didn't have any darker mics so I had to compensate heavily with processing in his console preset.

[Rivenworld]

Merry Christmas Curtis to you and your family, love the videos, all the best for 2023 🙂

[Enlightenment_]

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Curtis! 😀

[borjamar]

The RE-20 is one of the best microphones for live horns together with the MD-441. The RE-20 has become fashionable between sax players who use to bring their own, which is great.

[nimrod]

Thank you Curtis, it's my favourite mic for voice overs. Love it. Bumping the mic stand and the mic produced a quite good electronic like drum sound! I will definitely sample it! :D