There really is no other microphone that compares. It is a classic for a reason and you see it everywhere for a reason. If you know, you know. I use this as a studio vocal microphone but it is also great for just about anything with bass/mid range. Looks sleek, rejects noise reasonably well, and variable-d is sooooooo cool! No regrets!

This mic is more versatile than meets the eye. For spoken word, it enhances intelligibility while eliminating low end boominess while remaining full. For singing, it can be right up on your lips for more rock, punk, and rap styles. It sounds like a slightly better 57 on guitar cabs. Cleans up bass cabs, can handle kick like a champ. It's really a mic you should explore use cases, because it'll sound better than you expect.

If I had any complaint at all, it might be that it does need a fair amount of gain. But as long as your preamp can deliver about 50db of gain, you'll have enough for most cases.

i mistakenly ordered the wrong mircorphone and needed a replacement fast. Rep Matthew Langston swooped in and saved the day by getting one out the door in time for my needs. HUGE thanks to him for recognizing the importance of my emergency.

good? yes, good mic indeed

I resisted buying this mic for years. I already have a few Shure SM7Bs and a bunch of low to high end mics I've collected over time. Could this possibly serve a purpose or is it overkill?

I plugged it in with nothing but more than an LA-2A and sure enough, it just has something magical about it. It seems to perfectly capture the best qualities of a speaking voice. A crisp, warm tone that's incredibly pleasing to the ears.

Highly recommend.

Very cool mic. It was a toss up between this and the SM7b for me. I am using this for music vocals, not podcasting. I chose the RE20 because I read its design lessens proximity effect. I've found that to be true. I've read people describe this mic as having condenser-like qualities, without the sensitivity/need for room treatment that a condenser has, and again, I think that's spot on. The mic is very quiet and I am able to get ample signal from just the preamp on a xenyx mixer channel. I am very happy and it's definitely an upgrade from the SM58 I'd been using.

Where do I begin, when I ordered this microphone I wasn't sure I was going to like it or not. I was also a first time customer with sweetwater so I wasn't accustomed to their ways. They called me and thanked me for my business within hours of placing my order and assured me it would be sent out promptly, which it was. Shipping was fast and efficient and when I received this package I was BLOWN AWAY this microphone is phenomenal totally understated it in the title I love it this will probably be the microphone I use for the rest of eternity! Wish I could give it 100 stars!

I use this mic for live vocals for my primary rehearsal studio. Excellent feedback rejection! Very flat sounding, giving my renters some flexibility to EQ to their needs, but no frequency ranges pop out too aggressively as compared to other dynamics I've tried.

Also sounds great on trumpet for live recording use. Near perfect isolation even in a loud/small room environment. Can't recommend enough with the time I've spent with it so far!

After having used the RE 20 on several podcasts and kick drum duties, we tried it on some scratch vocals, and also on a local 'live' recording. Let me tell you, it completely surpassed my expectations as a vocal tracking mic. A couple of our clients have chosen it over some of our high end condensers. I would not have a problem with a couple more of these mics in the locker. It has surprised my studio partner, as well. Just FYI, we have well over 70 pro level mics in our locker, with several in the 4-digit price range.

I'll post a link to a local 'live' session we tracked thru a QSC TouchMix30. Notice we used the RE 20 on the lead vocalist, going straight into the QSC TM30.

Bought this mic because I create live and recorded spoken word content professionally. My background is in engineering for music, though, so I've been using this mic in both situations. Protips:

With a dynamic mic like this, preamp choice is 30% of the sound: While not as low-output as an SM-7b, you'll be looking for at least 55-60db of gain when you're eating the mic.

Cloudlifters & "mic activators" are better than built-in interface pres, but pale in comparison to a quality solid state preamp with tons of gain. Replaced a FEThead with a used Focusrite ISA One, put it in "Low Impedance" mode and was floored at how much better the sound was - the mid-range and low end really open up with a good preamp!

My spoken word signal chain is RE-20 -> Focusrite ISA One -> Symetrix 528e for gate, compression, "radio scoop" EQ, and phase rotation -> Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. This is "the radio voice", especially in a treated room when you know how to work the mic.

Now, for music: the other preamp in my rack these days is the ART Trans-X - this is a much thicker, mellower sound than the ISA thanks to Jensen input transformers. RE-20 -> Trans-X has become my go-to combo for lead vox sounds. The RE-20 provides incredible off-axis rejection with a super clean, linear response, so your scratch vox can be your final vox even with a band in the background. Honestly feeling dumb for not having this mic around sooner during my myriad recording projects - have wasted so much time trying to EQ and de-ess condensers to sound like this mic does right out of the gate.

For my time and money, this mic is better than the SM-7b. Why? The 7b's lack of Variable-D proximity effect control. Have used both mics in music situations, and for my taste, the 7b just can't touch the RE-20's low end rendering - I'm always reaching for the EQ with the 7b, and working harder to get a tonal balance I like. The RE-20 also takes EQ better in that testy upper midrange where the lead vox's feel in a track really comes together. If you want to look like your favorite podcaster, by all means choose the Shure, but for any other application, I feel the RE is a stronger choice.

This mic is perfect for the pulpit in our church. The pulpit is used for prayers, announcements, etc. so needed a mic that could deal with different body heights and voice dynamics. This one does that very well. Very pleased.

I bought the RE20 to replace a SHURE Mv7. My use case was to maximize the quality of spoken word for variety of use cases, from meetings to voiceover. The mic is so good at vocals, even in an untreated room.

My chain is the following: RE20 > dbx 286s > cloudlifter > SSL2 > PC. You don't need a cloudlifter in this situation, however I already had one and I decided to use it to keep gain down on the 286 and SSL2. Anything that helps with reducing noise due to cranking gain is a bonus. The thing about the RE20 in this chain is that it barely needs the 286s. Any mic benefits from compression, noise gate, and de-esser. However, when it comes to the enhancer settings - RE20 is so good that I barely touch those settings.

The kind of sound RE20 is able to produce shows why it's a go-to for anything involving vocals in any environment. It's worth the money, and you'll be hard pressed to want to upgrade beyond this mic. Also, I really love it in black.

For the bulk of this review I am going to compare the RE20 to the SM7b, which I feel is it's closest direct competitor, and I am focusing on music applications, not spoken word or podcast. I have owned an SM7b for a number of years, and always liked the noise rejection of the mic. For my voice, however, the SM7 always had a rather flat presentation. It was clear and present, it just did not emphasize the vocal frequencies I liked, and could sound harsh. I also own a Shure SM57, which shares a similar profile but lacks the bass presence of the SM7 IMO. Like so many others, I don't have the luxury of an isolated space, and although my recording room is treated, there are sounds (HVAC, street noise, etc) that are hard to eliminate completely with condenser mics. What I was personally looking for was a dynamic with a similar (not exact of course) sonic footprint to a U87. There is a nice texture to the upper midrange that is brought out by an 87, especially for vocals...and it is really hard to duplicate. The RE20 is the closest I have personally found to that profile while simultaneously giving excellent room rejection. I will be running more tests over the coming days / weeks, but right out of the box, with no EQ, the mic was spot on producing the vocal sound I was looking for. I want to caveat by saying the sound I have achieved is related to the RE20, with my voice, on my recording chain. (RE20, Maag PreQ4 (no EQ), Focusrite REDNET 4 for conversion) Microphone selection is really so subjective and depends on the result you are trying to realize. All that being said, it is an exceptional mic, has superb build quality, and will remain a permanent part of my mic locker. Definitely a five star purchase.

After building my own studio over the past 16+years, I now own an RE 20, and just purchased another.

Having bought this mic for podcast use, along with studio duties, I was impressed with its build, as well as its sound quality. It works perfectly for my voice on spoken word.

I can see many years use with this mic on many sources.

Both outstanding mics; however, different voices can dictate the type of sound you will achieve with each mic. So it basically depends on the type of sound you are trying to get. The black color of the RE20 is beautiful, though. The charcoal-black color gives it a more sleek and classy vibe, which I love. It blends in really well, too, which makes it less noticeable.