Electro-Voice, a Broadcast Beat Radio Station sponsor, has just sent three (3) RE320 Microphones for our broadcast studio! But, as with most things, there’s something you should know. It’s especially meaningful to us here, at Broadcast Beat, that we have and use THE BEST equipment we can, as we’re the cutting edge of news! And who, in the business, hasn’t heard of Electro-Voice??? So, when assembling our studio, we just had to have, what has become, the industry standard – mics from EV. I can’t tell you how excited I am – I don’t believe my gauge has a setting that high! (However, we are still building our studio, and we are, not yet, using the RE320's on the Radio Station - but SOON!) Hear us NOW at: www.broadcastbeat.com/radio
Electro-Voice has been a cutting edge innovator in audio since its inception. Al Kahn (L) and Lou Burroughs (R) founded the
Radio Engineering Company in 1927 and, although the great depression knocked them for a loop, they came back fighting - they retooled and refocused strictly on audio products. During this period of transition, the duo got a contract from Notre Dame’s famous football coaching icon Knute "The Gipper" Rockne. Knute referred to the portable PA system they designed for him as “my electric voice.” Al and Lou liked the sound of that so much that they incorporated July 1st 1930 under the name of Electro-Voice. Like the Phoenix, the two rose from the ashes of the depression and flew forward into their place in audio history.
By 1960, the company had garnered numerous awards and 27 patents, a rate of almost 1 patent a year. Lou liked to demonstrate the durability of their microphones by occasionally using one to hammer a nail into a board, and then power it up and give a short speech. Still growing and still picking up speed, these two audiophiles eventually hit on just the right design that became the template for the industry standard and managed to hold that spot for decades. We are speaking, of course, about the grandparent (grandspeaker?) of today’s Electro-Voice RE20.
For your consideration, the RE20 Broadcast Announcer Microphone w/ Variable-D! A product so great even the competition loves it (bad policy to admit it though…). Voice professionals love the warm, smooth, and clean sound. The RE20 produces. Try this: recite the “Peter Piper” nursery rhyme into this Announcer’s Microphone, annunciate every P and, in a word, try to make it pop. Guess what? No dice! It still sounds nice and toasty! Ahh… sounds so smooth. From the broadcast studio, to the home studio, to the garage. Say goodbye to sibilance and proximity problems, and crush reverb. From a stately and majestic voice over to a 
garage metal band’s screaming vocals - the RE20 is a powerful weapon in any sound engineer’s arsenal.
Electro-Voice has always been a big fan of durability (as shown by Lou’s nail stunt). It’s redundant to say this about an Electro-Voice microphone, but I will anyway - it’s durable and practical. I’m still going to use my Craftsman Hammer to pound in nails, though; I don’t have a place for a microphone on my tool belt. And, speaking of tools, it has some accessories available: Suspension shock mount 309A, Stand adapter 320, Replacement rubber suspension cords 78297, Microphone stand adapter SAPL-2, and foam windscreen WSPL-2.
The EV-exclusive Variable-D technology is what quells the Proximity Effect for the RE20. You could even mount it inside a bass drum and still thumb your nose at bad sound. Seriously, you can use this puppy anywhere. As a true cardioid microphone, its pattern control is so steady that off-axis coloration is nearly eliminated! Blast and wind filters are integral to every acoustic opening on the RE20 (it helps UNpop the P-pops…) and part of these filters also serve to shock mount the microphones innards.
The RE20 achieves its exemplary sound due in part to a sizeable “Acoustalloy Diaphragm” combined with a voice coil comprised of very low-mass aluminum. Extremely high sound (and thence, pressure) levels are duplicated with no worry of distortion or threat of overwhelming the equiptment. Things that would degrade lesser microphones, like high temperatures or high humidity, do not deter the flawless function of this marvelous microphone. (I’d use an example here of a long-running radio show in the Amazon rainforest, but I’m drawing a blank.) An ultra-sturdy steel housing contributes to the RE20's resistance to magnetically induced hum and noise by effectively diverting that energy to the housing itself. Superior quality, durability, and EM as well as noise rejection Insure that this product will last years in the studio as well as the marketplace. For these reasons and more the RE20 will be the benchmark against which all microphones are measured. It’s a shame that Al and Lou, the ultimate ancestors, aren’t here to hear and enjoy the RE20’s time in the sun, but I’m sure there’s an RE20 pointed downward, listening!
About Electro-Voice
Recognized the world over as a leader in audio technology, EV is ubiquitous in performing arts centers, sports facilities, houses of worship, cinemas, dancehalls and virtually every entertainment and broadcasting venue around! The audio expertise is now part of The Bosch division Security Systems, a leading global supplier of security, safety, and communications products, solutions and services. Roughly 12,000 associates generated sales of 1.5 billion euros in fiscal 2013. Protecting lives, buildings and assets is our aim. The product portfolio includes video surveillance, intrusion detection, fire detection and voice evacuation systems as well as access control and management systems. Professional audio and conference systems for communication of voice, sound and music complete the range. Bosch Security Systems develops and manufactures in its own plants across the world. Bosch Security is a component of The Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services. In 2013, its roughly 281,000 associates generated sales of 46.1 billion euros. (NB: Due to a change in accounting policies, the 2013 figures can only be compared to a limited extent with the 2012 figures). Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Automotive Technology, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 360 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 50 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. In 2013, the Bosch Group invested some 4.5 billion euros in research and development and applied for some 5,000 patents. This is an average of 20 patents per day. The Bosch Group’s products and services are designed to fascinate, and to improve the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial. In this way, the company offers technology worldwide that is “Invented for life.” For more information, see www.electrovoice.com.