RE20 Distortion Problem

[theodd]

Hey guys,

I just bought this mic from a friend and I'm running into problems with it. I've only had it a few weeks and most of the time I used it for vocals and it sounded great. The other day I wanted to throw it in a bass cab and when I did I was very surprised that it was distorting at the mic even with the bass cab at very low levels. I tried moving the mic, different levels of the cab, I made sure I wasn't clipping anywhere else in the chain. Then I picked the mic up and I noticed when you gently shake the mic there is something rattling around inside of it. I've never owned this mic before so I don't know if that's normal, but none of my other mics have anything rattling in them so I thought I would check here before I went back to my friend and asked if that was normal.

Do any of you own this mic? Is there an easy way to open it up and see what's rattling? Should I send it in for repair?

Thanks!!!!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I have this mic - there should definitely NOT be anything rattling around inside...... I would send it off to get checked, if it's under warranty.....

 

[theodd]

Sh*t, I thought that would be the answer. Dammit. I've had the mic two weeks now and it's impossible to tell weather it was happening before I got it. I can't really go back to my friend. I guess I'm just going to have to send it away to be repaired. Does anyone know a place that will do this for me?

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Yeah the RE20 should not rattle. IMHO it is one of the top dynamic mics out there. I use it for guitar, kick, snare, vocals... tons of stuff. Great mic, often underrated.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Sh*t, I thought that would be the answer. Dammit. I've had the mic two weeks now and it's impossible to tell weather it was happening before I got it. I can't really go back to my friend. I guess I'm just going to have to send it away to be repaired. Does anyone know a place that will do this for me?

You send it directly to EV for repairs; they're very good, fast, and pretty inexpensive.

 

[theodd]

Man, I just got off the phone with them and they said it was $50 for the labor and $150 for the repair that they most likely think it is. I just paid $265 for this mic and another $200 seems crazy. And like I said, i think it's too long to go back to the guy I bought it from.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Man, I just got off the phone with them and they said it was $50 for the labor and $150 for the repair that they most likely think it is. I just paid $265 for this mic and another $200 seems crazy. And like I said, i think it's too long to go back to the guy I bought it from.

Okay, time for some DIY work. The problem and fix is pretty simple. There is a cover over the actual diaphragm that has come off. You have to disassemble the mic and glue the cover back in place. The big charges are for replacing the whole element (if the loose cover damaged the diapragm).

Inspect the diaphragm when the mic is opened up. Sometimes you can pop out creases with a little piece of Scotch tape, but be careful; this is not a "rush" operation. Use Crazy Glue or contact cement to replace the cover.

Working under a large, lighted magnifier makes things much easier.

 

[theodd]

Yeah, that's exactly what the tech said the problem was. I think I'm going to open it up and take a look. If it looks too complicated then I'll just bite the bullet and have it sent away.

Thanks so much for the suggestion. Hopefully I can take care of it. I'll let you know how it turned out.

Thanks!!!

 

[slobbermonster]

man that hurts since full compass is selling them for under $400, Hope the DIY works for you man.