Old RE-20's and MD-421's

G

Garak

New member
My boss has a few old MD-421's and an old RE-20 that he bought from an old studio that closed in around 1980. They have been used for live audio over the past 20 years and have a fair bit of ware and tear. I'm borrowing them this weekend to give them a try to see if there is any life left to them. What do you guys think, should I make an offer to buy them? how much are they worth in being that old and in ruff physial shape?

Do dynamics ware out over time? Do they change much in sound? Would it be worth it to get them referbished or something? How much would that cost?
 
I have had a good deal of experience with the old MD-421's and have never seen one out of order.I have seen them get beat all to hell and still sound good.I don't know about getting them rebuilt though,because I have never seen one that needed it.I have a pair around here that I have had feor several years and they have been used to record everything from kick drums to trombones to guitar amps and voiceovers.Truly versatile mics.
 
chessrock said:
How much do you want for the 20? I could use a good kick mic.
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no, you don't want this mic. They are too hot in the lower midrange on kick.

Try an actual kick drum mic like D112 or Beta52. These are designed for kick and you will obtain max results.

In my opinion, RE20 is only good on the batter side of kick w/ phase reversed. The RE20 is decent (sometimes) on guitar amps.
 
I can't really say how much I would trust gear from pre-1980. I mean I was born in 1980, so to me that seems pretty old. Unless you are getting a damn good deal on this stuff, you might consider that it is not really that expensive anyway. The MD421 goes for about $299. I have seen RE20's for like 399 - 450. Just remember that if you buy it new, you have a warranty. If you buy it from this guy, even though he is your friend, he is most likely NOT going to give you the money back, pay to get it fixed, or rush a new one to you in a couple days. But if you bought it new, I think EV or Sennheiser would.

Beezoboy
 
fenix,

Say what? The RE-20 is a damn fine choice for kick. It also is a very good mic for many, many other apps.
 
He isn't intrested in selling the mic's anyway :(

Even though they are old they still sound fine. A little beaten up physically but they sound great.

I can hear that low mid problem with the RE-20 on kick that fenix is talking about, a little cut around 250 seems to fix that up.

Anyway I'm still keeping an eye out for a used pair or 3 MD-421's these mic's are great on toms but even at $299 they are quite expensive for me right now. $299 is like $600 canadian, thats like 4 times the cost of a SM-57.

Anyone know of any cheeper MD-421 Clones? What about the RE-20? I'm looking for something that's good for voice overs and misc stuff along with drums.
 
fenix said:


no, you don't want this mic. They are too hot in the lower midrange on kick.

Try an actual kick drum mic like D112 or Beta52. These are designed for kick and you will obtain max results.

In my opinion, RE20 is only good on the batter side of kick w/ phase reversed. The RE20 is decent (sometimes) on guitar amps.
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Fenix, good laugh. Thanks.
 
Hahaha the Re20 isn't good for kick hahahaha, here's another one........the other a band came recording in my studio and when entering one of these young guys gave me a 421 in my hands while saying...if you don't mind I would like to use this mic for recording. Ok, I said, no problem, I will mic it up next to my own preferred mics (RE-20 for kick inside and B52 for kick ambience). Guess what...after setting it up inside the kick this dude turned out to be the singer and wanted to sing to thru this mic. He was told it was a very good vocal mic.

no offence to the 421, I would buy a couple for toms every day, but it cannot compare to a good old GrooveTubes or alike.

BTW buy the mikes. You won't regret.
 
mics

From what I hear the 421 is good on nasal singers..and sometimes a dynamic works on a vocal track for a style or voice when a condenser won't..as far as buying OLDER 421's, from what I've read, the 421 has received upgrades through the years..like the AKG C414, and the Neumann U87..so I would say buy the old 421's if they work, as they are probably ''vintage'' versions and might go for a decent amount of money to someone wanting an older revision of that mic..

--Sal
 
I had a conversation with an NPR tech in D.C. that said he had personally seen the 421 used as a hammer and it worked without a hitch. Buy'em if you can. And re-20's are good on lots of things.
 
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