
Refurbishing a classic microphone – the Electro-Voice RE20 - geerlingguy
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2017/refurbishing-classic-microphone-electro-voice-re20
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eropple
This is _rad_. I've long wanted RE20s for my podcast studio, but they're
approximately all of the money--and I'd need four, to standardize, so dropping
$2,000 on microphones isn't in the budget. Now I'm wondering if I might know
anybody with some older/beat up ones to part with...

Right now I'm using GLS Audio ES-58s, which are knockoffs of the Shure SM-58
but around $39 rather than $100 (and, to my ears, have an audio quality closer
to the Shure SM-58 Beta, itself more like $160). And they're basically
indestructible, which is nice.

~~~
jdietrich
The RØDE Procaster is a popular (and much cheaper) alternative to the EV RE20.
It doesn't sound exactly like the RE20, but it has the same characteristic
low-mid presence.

Bear in mind that big dynamic mics like the RE20 need a colossal amount of
clean gain. Unless you're using an excellent interface or mixer, you'll need
to budget for some better preamps.

[http://www.rode.com/microphones/procaster](http://www.rode.com/microphones/procaster)

~~~
hammock
Any recos for mic pres? I'm looking at sm7b's also

~~~
jdietrich
If you need a USB interface with one or two pres, look at the Audient
ID4/ID14. If you need more, I suggest the larger Focusrite Scarlett
interfaces. If you already have an interface you're happy with and need a bit
more clean gain, try a Cloudlifter.

~~~
eon1
No way do Scarlett pres have the amount of clean gain we're talking for SM7B
or RE20 territory. Unless you really get an excellent interface/mixer I would
go for external pres.

~~~
jdietrich
The larger, non-bus-powered Scarlett interfaces provide perfectly good results
with the SM7B.

[http://recordinghacks.com/2012/06/18/sm7b-audio-interface-
sh...](http://recordinghacks.com/2012/06/18/sm7b-audio-interface-shootout/)

~~~
eropple
Even their 8i6 only boosts about 60dB, though. You _can_ work with that, but
that's a little low. I shoot for -14dB to -10dB for spoken stuff, and at that
point you'd basically be eating the mic.

The article you linked was using a Cloudlifter with the SM7B, which is a
preamp on its own.

~~~
hammock
I'm looking at the scarlet 18i8, I want four mic pres and will try with the
4-channel cloudlifter. 25db from the CL and another 25 from the interface
ought to sound alright

~~~
eropple
Yeah, that should be completely fine. Presonus has a 8-channel preamp that's
about the same price as the 4-channel Cloudlifter, too, btw.

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radiowave
It probably wasn't something I'd ever consciously thought about, but I just
realized that RE20s grills aren't _supposed_ to have a dent in them. Mine is
somewhat lived-in, as I'm sure a great many of them are.

For me it's one of the all-time great moving coil mics, along with the
Sennheiser MD-441 (about which I think I already knew that the grill wasn't
supposed to be dented.)

~~~
geerlingguy
Yeah, I think about half the RE20's I've ever seen have that trademark dent.
Just like about half the SM58's in the world have a mangled ball that's not
perfectly round anymore. Some mics are just made to be abused I guess!

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analog31
Nice! I have a couple of old EV mics with rotted foam, but never thought that
I could just buy spares. I'll have to check out the supplier.

