X-treme eSSB Audio FORUM

This is my next mic. Google the electro-voice RE320 and check out the reviews and audio clips on this BLACK beauty. And only $300 brand new!

Hi sad to say for me i bought this mic and tried it it sounded ok but my re-27 still blows it out of the water to me i ran both mics thru my rack equipment,for a good test the 27 just sounded alot smother and nice lows,anyway just my opinon i relisted the 320 on ebay and got all my money back so no loss but as of now i use a lauten audio lt-381 dual tube mic so the re-27 is the back up any take care jon.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

We was a wunderin 'bout that microphonium.

Of course, the mic is a very important part of great eSSB audio. No doubt about it.
However, I feel there is a point of 'diminishing returns' though - when shelling out the cash for one. Does a $2000 mic sound better than a $200 one? Yes; but the difference is narrowing rapidly when you get to the $300 to $400 range.

Radio doesn't exactly have the same standards of a recording studio. The dynamics of the airwaves can and will degrade sound performance.

The radio itself has built-in limitations in the TX filters. Everything above 5kc's is virtually lost because of the filters, and the fact that many receiving stations cannot receive that much bandwidth.

Some cheap mics can do very well after it has gone through the EQ processor. Cheaper mics just aren't as smooth as the ones that are built for studio recordings; and EQing them becomes a laborious job before they are acceptable. What we need are mics that excel in the range of 50-5000kc's. But even mics that are $400 or less can be quite amazing and do everything that one can glean from them, as far as eSSB radio is concerned.

If you have a EV RE-20, Heil PR-40, or any one of a dozen or so condenser and dynamic mics - you can already attain what you need. More focus on EQing and compressor signal processing will yield the rest. So will a hot tube mic preamp.

$2000 for a studio mic is really great to have and use; but isn't necessary for great eSSB. What distinguishes one mic from another is just how it performs for one particular individual. Recording studios have many different makes and models of mics to accommodate any person/voice that has come into the studio for a recording session. Everyone has a distinct CHARACTER in their voice; it is up to the engineer to determine what mics would best be applied to any one voice to extract the maximum tonal qualities to put to tape/disk.

One can spend a LOT of money before they find a mic that fits them like a glove. That is; if they buy and trial-and-error the process of discovery. Mics that are built for broadcast applications differ slightly from those who are singing or doing a voice-over for a commercial. These would be the Sure SM-7, EV RE-20/27, and even the Heil PR-40. Other dynamic mics would be the Shure SM-58 if on a strict budget.

Studio condenser mics are chosen for their presence, clarity, "air", punch, and lack of coloration. Choosing a mic is an art in itself which sets the best engineers as a highly paid professional. As well as his skills in making tracks for each layer of the process as flawless as possible. Tube or FET powered, as well as transformer or transformer-less makes choices even more complicated yet. There are literally THOUSANDS of possible mics to use. A simple broadcast-quality mic is enough


I sure am glad that a mic for a radio needs to be of a high quality; but not so high as to be unobtanium.

Too much info?

Well buying an expensive microphone for ESSB is like living in the city and buying a Lamborghini (expensive mic) because it's cool to have, stocks performance and all the other guys will look at you with their mouth open catching fly's. On the other hand the highway will only let you go 55mph (the airways).
Restrictions, Restrictions, Restrictions,
What might be good for the recording industry might just not be the same for ESSB.

Microphones are a touchy subject with lots of different views and opinions for sure.

Ours...

It depends on the application that the mic is used for.

For voice, our view is to pick the mic that matches the voice the best. That is, the less Equalization you have to use to "correct" the Sonic Image from the microphone the better/cleaner the final mix will be. In other words, You can EQ just about any mic to sound good, but the "best" final result will come from a mic that you don't have to EQ as much.

We've tried many mics over the years, and when it comes down to the "nut cuttin", there is always one that will match your voice better then another. The secret is to match the mic to the voice. Pick the mic that presents the natural resonance and sonic signature that you like the best without any other pieces of equipment in line to change the sonic signature of it. This gives you a solid foundation upon which to shape. This is key, you want to "shape" the sonics, not "change" them.

Generally, the more expensive mics tend to do this better then the cheaper ones.

Take Care,