EV RE-15 stories

[Paj]

A bandmate was just given a pristine EV RE-15, in the original case. My experience with this mic was brief and took place decades ago.

Would anyone like to share any experiences, war stories, likes, dislikes, "go-to"s, etc., concerning this mic?

Thanks,
Paj
8^)

 

[mixsit]

I've been simply gagga with the qualities of the 20 so I bought the re16 in my never ending search for a fave' live vocal mic (..now on to EV767'
We'll it's not quite the small ver of the '20 I'd hoped, but anyway, it does like the whole RE line probably, make a fine accoustic mic (live guitar for example) that you can work up close with out getting boomy.
The '15 may actually be less hyped in the top than the 16(?) That woul'd be nice acually.

 

[wretchasketch]

A bandmate was just given a pristine EV RE-15

Congratulations to your bandmate. I bought two of these beauties from a guy on Ebay who had several for sale. I paid $135 each for them, which is more than I ought to have. Since then, I've seen an RE15 and 16 used at Sam Ash for $150 each...and the mics looked like they had been fished from a gator's belly.
When I got them in, both looked pretty nice, but one was really super clean. I decided to send them off to Bosch/EV just to be cleaned and refoamed. While filling out the paperwork, I noticed they had consecutive serial numbers. How cool is that? The service tech that did the work was Ben McEntarffer, who has his own business restoring these wonderful mics. Only one mic needed any service, but he went ahead and refoamed both. After the work was done, they got lost for a few days in the system. I emailed Ben. He found the bottleneck and got the mics sent back to me free of charge. They arrived with two brand new EV canvas bags and a frequency response test result for each microphone. I love music from yesteryear, and these mics are a part of that history...plus they sound nice. I record bluegrass type stuff in my little recording space, and these mics will pretty much work for any application with a good preamp and careful placement.

 

[RRuskin]

RE-15's are great on guitar cabinets/amps. Their pattern is so tight that I've been able to have 2 amps face each other while being mic'd with them. Separation was near perfect & the sound was just right.

 

[wretchasketch]

Here's a recent recording where I used the RE15 on vocal, banjo and mandolin

 

[Paj]

Thanks for the replies. I'll pass the info on.

Thanks again
Paj
8^)

 

[Commodore]

Hi
A lot of users run across old RE-15's and don't realize what they've got. It's actually one of the best dynamic microphones ever made; in my opinion better than the RE-20. And I LOVE the RE-20. It was the crown jewel in EV's Variable-D series of mics. They were used in every professional studio throughout the late '60s and '70s, and also extensively as a broadcast mic. Watch 1970's installments of the Lawrence Welk show and you'll see RE-15s across the front of the bandstand. RCA used it as a studio vocal mic for Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton. The Beach Boys used it for acoustic guitars when recording "Pet Sounds." There's a famous live video of Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim: both mic'ed with RE-15s. The list price of the RE-15 in 1967 was $180. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $1200 in today's money. I think the best description of the sound I've heard is that it's a very "honest" mic. There isn't any high/low peak boost like on the RE-20 and most modern condensers, which causes a lot of newbies to listen to it and dismiss it as an old junk mic. But they should listen again. One thing that fools people is that they try to use is as a hand-held mic, and cover the comb-filter holes. This messes up the sound and the polar pattern. It's best used on a stand, and is great for just about any use. Try two instead of condensers for drum overheads: you'll get a very pleasant surprise.

 

[Paj]

Thanks again! I'll pass the additional info on.

Paj
8^)

 

[witzendoz]

They look very much like an AKG D19.

Alan.