Thoughts on the Electro-Voice RE20 for voice over?

S

SInstitute

New member
Hi guys,

I'm strongly considering to get this mic. I know it's popular with many radio stations and I am hoping to get a clean radio/broadcast type sound.

I use my mic for Youtube and want to open up a second channel for discussion/mini podcasting type videos. I currently use a Rode Broadcaster and I know I have very bad microphone technique and diction but I have received great feedback here before and will look to address these things in my future videos. Example of my content:

Example of my mic

I aim to get the EV RE20 with a fethead to plug into my focusrite solo. I've seen many many reviews on this mic on Youtube and people seem to swear by it, especially people in radio. Like this gentleman:



I don't know how he achieves such a clean solid sound. Obviously my voice isn't as a good as his, but his setup seems quite appealing.

Thank you,

S Institute
 
If you walk into any radio station in the US, you're probably going to see either an RE20 or an SM7B in about 90% of them. They are two staples for the radio broadcast industry. However, please be aware that gear will only get you so far.
 
…..and the RE20 and SM7B are also the two most visible mics. People in radio choose them for the sound. YouTube folk choose them because they’re cool. Like every mic, they’re a tool you can use properly, or badly. I hated my SM7B sound on me for years, until I discovered I did like it further away. Mics in vision are now set dressing. Even radio stations now put cameras in the studio, and the mics now look chosen for their appearance. For YouTube, the rule is big mic, close in, hide the face, give people something to look at, compress it, make it loud and shout a lot!
 
RE20 is a great mic. I use mine weekly for a group chat.
The main difference you're going to notice between, say, a 7b and an re20 is that at close proximity the 7b is going to sound much bassier.
The Re20 is designed to reduce that proximity effect so, to me, it's a fair bit more natural sounding.

Your video sounds fine to me, although maybe a little bit bassy.
I'd just eq the low end down a little and keep on going but if you're adamant about switching mics then the re20 would be a good choice, in my opinion, for that reason.
 
Go sing in the park bench..with your guitar...yeah....sounds nothing like the radio does it.


GEAR IS THE FUCKING SOUND IDIOTS!
 
Sorry Beaky, if you sound like James Earl Jones, almost any mic will make you sound like James Earl Jones. If you sound like Daffy Duck, no mic is going to make you sound like James Earl Jones. Most gear these days sounds reasonably decent these days, especially in the mics and recording gear. (speakers and headphones vary a ton!) Learning how to use the gear is the other half of the equation.

As for radio, mine sounds like crap, with that little 2" speaker. Who would want that for sound?
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I went and purchased the RE20, I found a good deal.

I fired it up into my focusrite with a fethead. My initial thoughts are I like it. My previous microphone, the Rode Broadcaster, which I linked my sample at the top of this post required me to speak very close to the mic to get that fuller sound. But I found with the RE20 I could speak a few cm away from the mic and turn the gain up a couple of decimals and get a better sound. It's dynamic, so not as sensitive so isn't picking up every single detail to give a smoother sounding sound I'd say.

A forum member here did advise me that I was speaking too close to the mic.

I'll have to mess about the equaliser and compression a bit more to get a better sound.
 
Better? Swap that word for different, more appropriate, suiting the voice, nice sounding, but not better. EQ and compression are pretty much effects used in this sense. If you want to sound like Good Morning Vietnam, chop off the top and bottom with EQ and turn up the compression. Boost the HF, turn off the compressor and you sound clean and modern, like the continuity people between news programmes on TV. I think the word different sounds comes to the fore, not better.
 
rob aylestone said:
Better? Swap that word for different, more appropriate, suiting the voice, nice sounding, but not better. EQ and compression are pretty much effects used in this sense. If you want to sound like Good Morning Vietnam, chop off the top and bottom with EQ and turn up the compression. Boost the HF, turn off the compressor and you sound clean and modern, like the continuity people between news programmes on TV. I think the word different sounds comes to the fore, not better.
Click to expand...
Thanks Rob, some useful tips.
 
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