From its humble beginnings creating a PA system for the Notre Dame football team, Electro-Voice has grown into a major player in the world of pro audio, most notably in the arena of broadcasting and PA systems. While the Electro-Voice RE20 is classified as a broadcast microphone, it succeeds in any application where the sound source is bass-heavy, high volume, close to the mic, or all three. An internal pop filter makes this especially good for situations where vocals are delivered at close range, like voice-over work, broadcasting, or the singer that just has to get intimate with mic to sing their best.

Unflappable

What makes the RE20 exceptional is the clarity, flat response and transparency you get no matter what you throw at it. There aren't many mics that excel at kick drums or bass cabs as well female vocals, but the RE20 does justice to both. Situations that might throw off a lesser microphone - extremely high volume, impossibly deep bass, suffocatingly close position - do not corrupt the signal with RE20. To help manage bass response, the mic includes a high-pass filter, marketed as a bass tilt-down switch, that decreases the low frequency response below 400 Hz by 2.25 dB/octave.

With most asking prices landing between $300 - $500, the Electro-Voice RE20 is certainly not the cheapest utility mic on the market (see the Shure SM57 for that), it is definitely worth the investment. If you're looking for professional-level fidelity but can only splurge for one microphone, this is it.

Which mics are comparable to the RE20?

The Shure SM7B and RODE Procaster come to mind, initially. The Procaster is newer than the RE20, released in 2009, but it shares its design almost part for part. The RE20 certainly has more history to back up its performance, and some argue it is higher quality, but the Procaster makes a worthy alternative for close-vocals/kick drum/bass work. The Shure SM7B is near the same price point, also a renown broadcast and kick drum workhorse, but is more sensitive than the RE20. The SM7B is so sensitive, in fact, that it really isn't optimal for most home recording interfaces and pre-amps.