Electro-Voice RE20

The RE20 has been bolted to broadcast arms and parked in front of kick drums since 1968. Nearly six decades later, it hasn't changed — because it hasn't needed to.

Here's what you need to know.

Specs

Sonic Character

The RE20 is flat. Genuinely, usefully flat. Where most dynamic microphones impose a colour — a presence hump here, a low-mid bulge there — the RE20 largely stays out of the way. The low end is warm and full-bodied without becoming boomy, the midrange sits remarkably even, and the top end rolls off gently above 15 kHz rather than falling off a cliff.

This is not a microphone that flatters. It reports. If the source sounds good, the RE20 will capture that faithfully. If the source sounds poor, you'll hear that too. It won't save you — but it won't lie to you either.

The bass extension down to 45 Hz is worth noting. On kick drums and bass cabinets, you get genuine low-end weight that many dynamics simply can't reproduce.

Variable-D: What It Is and Why It Matters

This is the RE20's party trick, and it's the single biggest reason the microphone has lasted this long.

Standard cardioid microphones exhibit proximity effect — move closer and the bass increases, move off-axis and the tone thins out. This makes consistent recording difficult, especially for vocalists who move around or for instruments where mic placement shifts during a performance.

Electro-Voice's Variable-D (Variable Distance) design uses multiple rear sound entry ports, each tuned to a different frequency range. The result is that low, mid, and high frequencies all experience roughly the same path-length difference regardless of the source's distance from the capsule. In practice, this means:

• Minimal proximity effect. You can work close without the bass ballooning.
• Consistent tone off-axis. Move a few inches left or right and the character barely shifts.
• Forgiving placement. Less fiddly than microphones that fall apart if you're two centimetres off the sweet spot.

For broadcast, where a presenter might lean in and out throughout a show, this is invaluable. For kick drums, where the mic might be positioned inside the port hole with wildly varying air pressure, it's equally critical.

Use Cases

Broadcast and podcasting. The RE20 is the American broadcast standard for good reason. The flat response and Variable-D design mean consistent, natural speech reproduction regardless of how the presenter moves. It sounds professional without sounding processed.

Kick drum. Park it just inside the resonant head port, slightly off-centre from the beater. The 45 Hz extension captures the fundamental weight, the flat midrange avoids the cardboard-box honk that plagues lesser dynamics, and the SPL handling is essentially limitless.

Bass cabinet. Similar logic to kick drum — genuine low-end extension with a balanced midrange. It captures what the cabinet is actually producing rather than imposing its own character.

Guitar amplifier. Less common than an SM58 or SM57 on a guitar cab, but the RE20's flatter response can be preferable when you want the amp's tone captured faithfully rather than coloured by the microphone.

Voiceover. The flat, full-bodied character suits narration and commercial work where the goal is a natural, authoritative sound without obvious colouration.

RE20 vs SM7B — The Eternal Comparison

These two occupy the same territory — large-diaphragm dynamics for broadcast and studio vocal work — and the internet will never tire of debating them. Here's the honest breakdown:

The RE20 is flatter. It has a more neutral frequency response with less of a presence peak. If you want a truthful capture of the source, the RE20 is the more transparent choice.

The SM7B has more presence. That gentle 5–6 kHz hump on the SM7B helps vocals cut through a mix. For sung vocals and dense productions, this can be an advantage — you're getting a bit of built-in EQ that often works in your favour.

The RE20 handles proximity better. Variable-D means you can work at varying distances without the bass response changing dramatically. The SM7B, like most cardioids, exhibits noticeable proximity effect. If your technique is inconsistent or your presenters move around, the RE20 is more forgiving.

The SM7B is lighter on a boom arm. At 765 g versus 737 g the weight difference is marginal, but the SM7B's slimmer profile and included yoke mount tend to balance better on lightweight desktop arms. The RE20's bulk can droop on cheaper stands.

Neither is better. They're different tools. The RE20 suits applications where accuracy and consistency matter most. The SM7B suits applications where a touch of character is welcome. Many studios own both.

Common Mistakes

Not enough gain. At −57.5 dBV/Pa, the RE20 is marginally hotter than the SM7B but still a low-output dynamic. Budget interfaces with 50–55 dB of gain will leave you riding the noise floor. You need at least 60 dB of clean gain. If your interface falls short, a clean gain booster like the Cloudlifter CL-1 solves the problem.

Calculate your gain chain →

Poor shock mounting. The RE20 is sensitive to mechanical vibration. The optional 309A stand adapter provides isolation, but many users skip it and mount the mic directly to a boom arm. Every bump, tap, and desk vibration transmits straight into the signal. If you're using this on a desktop, invest in proper isolation.

Ignoring the bass roll-off switch. There's a high-pass filter built into the microphone body. In untreated rooms or on sources where you don't need the full low-end extension, engage it. It's there for a reason.

Recommendations

Further Reading

• Electro-Voice RE20 Official Page
• Sound On Sound — Classic Microphones: Electro-Voice RE20
• Shure SM7B vs RE20 — TAPED Comparison