In this article, we show you everything you need to know to properly set up the Electro-Voice RE20 Dynamic Microphone with the Rode Rodecaster Pro 2 Audio Mixer. We’ll explain what each setting does and when we would use them within this awesome podcasting setup.
Quick Answer: Connect the RE20 to the Rodecaster Pro 2 using an XLR cable and set the level to 52 dB. Keep the phantom power off and leave post-processing turned on. In the post processing menu, select podcast studio. We don’t think you’ll need to use the high-pass switch on the RE20 with this setup, the Rodecaster 2 has more than enough control.
Price & Specs
- Rodecaster Pro 2: http://currentprice.io/rodecaster2
- RE20: http://currentprice.io/re20-black
Electro-Voice RE20
When you buy the EV RE20, you get a mic clip, the microphone and a soft case.
Table Mic Stand & Boom Arm
For the stand, we recommend two options: a table mic stand or a boom arm.
Table mic stand
The table mic stand is:
- Inexpensive
- Portable – can be folded down flat
- Small & compact
The downside of using the mic stand is that:
- They let some taps that come from the table into the microphone.
- They do take up some table space.
The boom arm
The Rode PSA1+ boom arm is a wonderful upgrade to the table stands for a couple of reasons:
- Its design offers sound dampening through the neoprene material that covers the foam wrap on its sleeves.
- It stays exactly where you leave it every time.
This is by far our best microphone stand to use. It is not the most expensive stand on the market but it is the most comfortable to use on a daily basis.
Mounting of the Electro-Voice RE20 microphone is done by screwing the mic clip into the boom arm until it is all tightened up.
One thing you need to know is that the center of gravity of the microphone is forward because the microphone clip is not in the middle. You need to spend a little more time to get it nice and tight on the stand before you try to dial it in.
XLR Cable
We like using the Canare XLR cables.
They have male and female connectors, gold pins and black Neutrik connectors. They are super high quality connectors and can come in a variety of colors. They have a star-quad design which is really good for use in a studio environment because they offer protection from electromagnetic or electrostatic interference from other equipment.
Connect RE20 To Rodecaster Pro 2
EV RE20 > XLR Cable > Rodecaster Pro 2
Connect the XLR cable to the back of the EV RE20.
Connect the XLR cable to the back of the audio mixer. Plug it into input 1.
The Rode PSA1+ boom arm has a convenient cable management system that allows you to run the connection in a matter of seconds.
The benefit of running colored XLR cables within your studio connections is that they keep track of where everything runs in your setup.
Microphone Placement
Position the mic 2-3” away from your mouth.
Slightly off-axis and slightly pointed up when the arm is at a bottom level.
If you have bad mic placement, there is nothing that you can do inside the Rodecaster Pro 2 audio mixer to make it sound good.
We find it to be a comfortable position when the mic is pointed up. This frees us the hand space and does not block the face from the camera. It does not make any acoustic difference if the arm is at a higher level.
This position allows us not to directly speak into the microphone which can cause a lot of quality issues as it catches breath noises, plosives and pop sounds.
The EV RE20 is quite resilient against those types of sound issues. We do not think you need any pop filter, foam windscreen, or any type of that. You just need to have the microphone in a comfortable position.
Rodecaster Pro 2 Setup
Hit the channel button to open the presets menu.
Select the EV RE20 preset.
The default preset of the Rodecaster Pro 2 is on the dynamic setting. Rode has a bunch of custom tailored presets including one for the EV RE20.
Level Setup
Set the level to 52 dB.
Rodecaster Pro 2 has a green bar on the level. That is the sweet spot. That is where you should be when you are speaking.
By default, the level is set at 51 dB.
We prefer to set our level to 52 dB because it is comfortable enough to speak.
Phantom Power
Keep the P48 turned off.
48 V of phantom power is not required.
It will not help or hurt this microphone because this is a balanced dynamic microphone. There is a one-in-a-million shot that something could go wrong if you power a dynamic microphone.
Post Processing
Leave the post-processing turned on.
Click the presets button.
Select podcast studio.
By default, post-processing is turned on.
When you turn it off, you can hear how the EV RE20 sounds like with the Rodecaster Pro 2 with no processing whatsoever.
The post-processing menu comes with three presets:
- Neutral – The audio has less compression, and less EQ. If you go to the settings, you’ll notice it has dialed back on the de-esser and the noise gate in comparison to the default setting.
- Podcast – The audio sounds a bit more lively.
- Broadcast – The audio is more compressed, warmer, less lively and a little drier.
The podcast studio is widely accepted by the greatest range of people as their preferred setting.
RE20 High Pass/Low Cut
We prefer to keep the settings off.
The settings are built into the back of the EV RE20.
When turned on, the high-pass (low cut) filter will take your voice out of the listener’s subwoofer by rolling the lower frequencies off.
We prefer leaving it in the flat position because you get so much more control by using the presets built in the Rode Rodecaster Pro 2 or in a computer than anything on this high-pass filter switch that’s in the back of the EV RE20.
Headphones
We recommend the Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO headphones because they are:
- Lightweight
- Clean
- Articulate
- Open-back.
The closed-back version of this is the DT770 is just as good. The only downside is that they are heavier and get quite hot after long use.
Rodecaster Pro 2 & Electro-Voice RE20 | Setup & Demo | Price & Specs
- Rodecaster Pro 2 Audio Mixer: http://currentprice.io/rodecaster2
- EV RE20 Dynamic Microphone: http://currentprice.io/re20-black
- Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- TRS Cable: https://currentprice.io/trs_cable
- Mic Stand: https://currentprice.io/desk_stand
- Rode PSA1 Boom Arm: http://currentprice.io/psa1_plus
Rodecaster Pro 2 & Electro-Voice RE20 Topics
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 0:35 – Price & Specs
- 0:53 – Video Setup
- 1:10 – Electro-Voice RE20
- 1:20 – Mic Stand & Boom Arm
- 2:35 – XLR Cable
- 3:15 – Connect RE20 To Rodecaster Pro
- 3:50 – Microphone Placement
- 4:55 – Rodecaster Pro 2 Setup
- 5:35 – Level Setup
- 6:00 – Phantom Power
- 6:18 – Post Processing
- 7:25 – RE20 High Pass/Low Cut
- 8:28 – Headphones
- 9:00 – Final Thoughts
