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The venerable Electro-Voice RE-20 microphone.
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When I think of radio and broadcasting (new media or traditional), microphones come to mind as the most up-front, intimate part of the gear that gets us “on-the-air”.
Of course, there are thousands of microphones out there. …everything from the inexpensive electrets in our laptops to the classic studio standards. When talking about studio recording microphones, names like Telefunken and Neumann come to mind.
In radio, Electro-Voice, Sennheiser and Shure are the staples, with the Heil PR series making its mark as a relative newcomer. The Rode Broadcaster, also fairly new on the scene is highly regarded.
I am certain that in other geographical areas, the names would be different. As well, I can almost hear the email inbox filling with suggestions of names I have overlooked. I purposely designed this show as a small, virtual tour of my experiences in the control rooms of stations, both past and present. No doubt, there are many others, but these few mics we will demonstrate have had a profound effect on me as a broadcaster.
Radio broadcast microphones are selected for their tough-as-nails physical attributes along with their smooth response. Unlike a recording studio environment, radio broadcast mics are usually (that trend is changing) dynamics and not overly sensitive, both physically and sonically.
In no particular order, we’ll try out the:
Electro-Voice RE-20 (street price at publish time – $399)
Electro-Voice RE-27 (street price at publish time – $449)
Heil PR-40 (street price at publish time $320)
Rode Broadcaster (street price at publish time $419)
Although absent from this audio cast, the following are just as deserving of broadcast fame:
Sennheiser MD-421II (street price at publish time $379)
Shure SM-7B (street price at publish time $349)
Best,
MarkJensen
