These are not necessarily old or obsolete (some are still in production) but they are way overlooked in today's world where project studio enthusiasts seem to obsess about the latest sub $200 Chinese mic.

EV 635a

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The 635a is an omni dynamic mic. It's called a stick mic in the TV trade. It's sort of indestructible as mics go. These are still made by EV. Try it on anything. You never know where it might give you the color you're wanting.

EV Variable D mics: RE10, RE11, RE15, RE16, RE20

Brad Lunde of Trans Audio Group said:

The whole EV Variable D line was always kind of a secret, and deserved much more attention than it got. EV owned the patents on it, which is why no one else did it. I see little talk of Variable D around here, and the technology was something that EV focused on because it was basically a cardioid without proximity effect. It also had an amazingly consistent off axis response for a cadioid, so it was always very good in situations where the user just couldn't manage to stay on axis (like VO broadcast). All these advantages made it very useful in a lot of recording situations.

Variable D experiments were present in earlier EV mics (don't remember these numbers), but really got settled in with RE10/RE11 (RE11 was a RE10 with a pop screen), RE15/16 (16 had the pop screen) and the RE20. The RE15/16 passed a higher level of QC but I did weasel out of EV production guys that the capsules where the same as the RE10/11. So that means you might find very good RE10/11s out there that are almost the same as the 15/16. RE20s were pretty popular in recording at one point, I remember that EV was always very proud that Stevie Wonder used RE20s for years (Innervision days?). Some of those records had amazingly consistent and smooth vocal sounds, not quite the "hi-fi" of modern condenser mics like a Brauner, but very good nonetheless. Stevie was not exactly a stand still kind of guy so the Variable D thing worked magic for him, the off axis reponse consistency paid off big. RE20s continue to pay dividends in VO broadcast, where an announcer can move his head all over the place and it sounds the same.

Motown legend Bob Ohlsonn said:

The RE15 is one of the best sounding vocal mics ever.

Interesting facts about EV mics:

My understanding is that the PL series sort of stemmed from a relaunch of the RE series to the studio market. The PL20 is the same mic as the RE20. The PL11 is the same as the RE11. And, then, the 635a was thrown in for good measure as the PL5. The PL10 looks like a small RE20. But, the PL10 is a different mic than the RE10 and it's not just a mini RE20. Are you confused? Don't worry. Take a deep breath and let it soak in.

Bear's Gone Fission said:

EV PL-5 - same mic as the 635a, but you can often find them cheaper. (635a is still in production, as is the RE-50 - a 635a with shockmounting, maybe a bit more bass.)

EV PL-10. These can run pretty damned expensive - enough people know about them, and know that they are good, so they'll run over $200 quite often. They are not a "baby RE-20" as so many assert - it's a colored sounding mic, warm and wooly in tonality, but variable D so it minimizes proximity build-up. Fattens up thin sounding guitars and voices, a more manageable and workable mic than most ribbons. I'd count one a deal at $150 or under.

Quick caution regarding off-axis response: the RE-16 (still in production), which is essentially an RE-15 with a presence boost, is rather less forgiving. The presence frequencies are more directional, so on one level, it's a bit more useful in that you can use the off-axis response in a controlled way to alter timbre, but you don't quite have the same forgiving mobility.

Another tip: a frequently suggested mod for the RE-15 is to remove the foam material around the capsule of the mic. Opens up the sound for instrumental use. For vocal use, use one of the over-the-head foam windscreens - I'm told it's less intrusive than the internal foam.

(Oh, and don't try that sort of thing with an omni dynamic ever. The stuff packed in there is often crucial to the tuning - best to leave it alone.)

I have an EV 664 that we use here for Harmonica. It seems to work real well for that.

Interesting info on the EV 664:

http://www.coutant.org/ev664/index.html

That was a cool link Oz.

EV make some of the best mic's I have ever used. The first one I bought was around 1986 (forget the name as it was a recommended mic for a vocalist I knew). I think it was when they first started using Unydynium (sp) as they magnet material. Whipped the pants of the 58's we were using at the time.

EV is a great company. We just copied some of their SX300 PA heads. They sound great!!


Rimmer

I still love my E/V ND468 hypercardioid mics. Great when you need absolutely no bleed, a tight focused sound or when you gotta get in close. The mic is very proximity dependent so it can be "worked" for the low end...great on toms, cabs, hell I threw it up on a ride one day and it was actually pretty good on there.

The RE20 is just awesome as well. I've got a friend with some of those PL series Steve.

War

Moon Unit Sound pointed out on another board that we've somehow managed to overlook the EV 666 mic.

I'll start by saying that EV no longer produces the capsules for this mic so if it goes (or falls off the mic stand and breaks) then it's a part of history.

It's a legendary vocal mic... (I'll post more when there is time.)

i never blown away by the 666. i thought my stedman n90 was nicer and in the same family of sound. although you get that "no proximity effect" with the 666.

also they are not xlr, but some weird proto xlr. hard to find connectors for them, if you find one make sure it comes with it!

and they are nice looking and heavy.

but anyway, let me put it this way: if a guitar cab sounds kind of annoying to me i put a 666 or a stedman n90 on it. if a guitar cab sounds great, i put my sennheiser 441 on it. if it sounds boring, i put my ev 408 on it.

that make sense?

also they are not xlr, but some weird proto xlr. hard to find connectors for them, if you find one make sure it comes with it!

The connector is a Cannon "UA" connector. It's superior to XL ® in quite a few ways but cost more than XL in the 1950's and has become "non-standard". UA connectors are still in production in Australia, according to respected rumor.

and they are nice looking and heavy.

EV did know how to make a great looking mic in the 50's and 60's!

I have a 668, which is smaller than an RE-20, and built especially for handheld boom work (extra light weight). It has a plug-programmable EQ similar to a 667 or RE-27 (still in production).

Don't discount the 635A or the RE50 for guitar cabinets. Both models have very high overload spl and the omni pattern is very smooth for off-axis sounds. If you have a lot of money for e-bone recklessness, an EV RE-55 is the more-modern decendant of the 655c, with 40 to 20KHz omni response and no presence peak. Electro-Voice WAS a very fine American company, in the era of Burroughs, but now it's just a division of TELEX.

Cheers.

When I go to AES I'm hoping to get to talk to Brad Lunde and Bob Ohlsson into dropping by and perhaps adding any info we've left out.

And being consulted with by BLUE....And distributing BLUE worldwide.

Ty Ford

Hey, how did Ty Ford know BLUE was going to be distributed worldwide before us...and we're a dealer? haha

Seriously...I just found out this week from them that the change is taking place January 1. That's great, because their service has been the absolute worst of any company we've ever dealt with period. Maybe now we'll feel slightly inclined to take them seriously.

War

I've got an oldish EV408. The one with the swivel head. Great mic.. Loads of grunt and hard to distort under even extreme circumstances..

I love the strength of sound EV's general put out..

I've got some EV sx300 PA monitors (well, I built them myself from after getting all the bits..) and they are fantastic..

Rimmer

Don't forget the DL35...looks like an RE16 without the slotted ports, sounds like an RE16, but seems to have a lot more hi end...

We use em here all the time....and they are killers. Bought mine at a pawn shop in Lubbock for $15.00 (someone glued the 312 clip to it...)

EV mics should not be mentioned again, except in the for sale section...that way, those of us who know them, love, them, and use them can restock, and the rest of the world can continue with much lessor mics that just look a bit more like high end stuff...

I just got an EV PL-10 off of eBay for a little over $60 delivered to my door. I was also going to buy a Lucid clock but it's doesn't have spdif which is what I need to see how it'll work with a Digi 002. Oh well... I got no real complaints with the converters in my EMU so I don't need it for that.

Mazeltov! Good score on the PL-10. That mic is a relic of tha analog past which is well suited for the digital era IMO.

Bear

I'm a new member,
You where talking about the EV 666 mic's, I LOVE them. I got 7 off of eBay, 2 don't work & the others have a different sound from each other, But they are still are great sounding mic's.
I only wished EV still made them...

I was looking at a mic tonight going. Huh? Then, I remembered it's that PL-10 I won.

Oh, come on! Haven't tried it at all? It's definitely a favorite color mic for me. "Warm" is such an overused word, especially for mics, but the PL-10 is a warm one.

Bear