Electro-Voice RE27 - My broadcast microphone of choice.

A MOMENT OF TRUTH:

I have written about several condenser microphones but never have I put pen to paper on a simple dynamic microphone. One of the reasons for buying one is to reduce the outside noise. When I was back at my old studio in Michigan I didn’t have any type of outside noise at all. A isolation booth was simply out of question because I was renting the places where I stayed. Here in Colorado I have a lot of road noise seeping into my studio area. So, what is one to do? Well, buying a dynamic microphone is the first step. You see, utilizing proximity capability of a dynamic mic helps reduce unwanted noise. It is not perfect, but it is better than working with a very sensitive condenser microphone.

So, a solution was to buy a dynamic mic that picks up sounds in a crisp and clean manner. These types of mics are fairly cheap, relative to their condenser cousins, and are usually not as good to pick up sound and reproduce the sounds faithfully. However, since I had about a $500 budget, I researched several contenders and the one that vividly registered in my mind was the Electro-Voice RE27 mic. It ran about $450, but considering what it was bought for, it is bargain. For the first time in my life I was not dependent on condenser mics, but a dynamic microphone. It was a moment of truth when I recorded a few things and on playback the files sounded true to life.


DESCRIPTION:

There is no doubt that this product is a multi-purpose piece of equipment. With a cardioid pattern to reduce outside noise, this microphone delivers studio-quality results from a self-generating dynamic transducer. No need for an external pop filter because this mic sports internal shock, pop, and wind protection. Also, this mic has three filters. It has one high frequency switch, and two low frequency filters to help control exactly what sound you want to record. At a hefty 1 pounds 9 ounces and length of 8 1/2 inches, it will be completely obvious that this mic is being used from miles away. With a recording range from 45 hertz to 20,000 hertz you will be able to faithfully capture the intended live sound. This mic’s excellent transient response, sensitivity, and low noise help ensure an outstanding signal-to-noise ratio.

I don’t recommend using these mics near exploding volcanoes or on Mars. They might get ruined permanently, if you know what I mean!


MY APPLICATIONS:

My main applications for this microphone are pod casting, rapping, and some sampling. It is particularly good for online broadcasting. I get a lot of stares and comments about the quality of sound that is being heard over the internet. There is no doubt that people understand why I pod cast using only this microphone. Obviously, since I’m resurrecting my studio, and because of the road noise, this is a perfect microphone for vocals and rapping. It helps reduce outside noise considerably. A trick of the trade is to point the microphone away from the outside sources. This will help reduce that noise because of the cardioid pattern. Finally, I use this microphone for some sampling. The main problem with sampling from this mic is that you must turn the gain up all the way to pick up those subtle sounds, thus opening up the sound field to background noise. Another trick of the trade is to sample late at night or very early in the morning to reduce road noise from the sound field.


CONCLUSION:

If you are serious about pod casting, recording vocals, and recording raps, there is no doubt that this microphone helps in many situations that condenser mics are too sensitive for. It is heavily priced at $450.00, but it will become a workhorse in the right circumstances. It doesn’t matter if you’re an professional or amateur this microphone will do the job other mics cannot. If you live in a high noise area, other than an airport ridden space, then this microphone is for you. This is not the best microphone in the world for all applications, but it is for broadcasting on any level. You will not go wrong with this purchase.