Broadcast mic for Radio? Advice needed!

[dr94]

Looking for the best mics for baseball broadcasters. Heard the Sennheiser MD421 is popular. What about MD441? What other mics would be good fits? RE20?

What other concerns would be valid? What about mixing a broadcaster on one of those mics and a broadcaster on a sennheiser headset?

Thanks!

[Chim Richalds]

every time i see a video of a radio studio, they are using the RE20. seriously.

[britdick]

i am a DJ @ SIRIUS and we use a couple of choices, one of which is the RE20. Solid build. Sounds great! Most of the stations i've been @ use them.

[Jeff Braun]

Originally Posted by Chim Richalds

every time i see a video of a radio studio, they are using the RE20. seriously.

Same here. Industry standard.

[Brent Hahn]

If you mean play by play (not studio) nobody uses anything but headsets anymore.

[dr94]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

If you mean play by play (not studio) nobody uses anything but headsets anymore.

The request came from the broadcaster -- he said that Jon Miller and Pat Hughes and Vin Scully all still use stick mics on their RADIO broadcasts. On TV, they all wear the headsets.

Is there a qualitative or quantitative difference between the mic element on one of those headsets and a good stick microphone? Would or could it make a difference in the quality of sound on the radio broadcast?

Good suggestions/advice so far. I appreciate it!!

[Brent Hahn]

Then I stand corrected.

And yes, in my opinion there's a qualitative difference. Any of the mics the other posters recommended will sound better than a headset on radio. The only real difference among them is that the RE20 has very little proximity effect, so it sounds best worked very closely, which might not be ideal for play by play.

[asap audio]

EV RE-15 and Heil PR20 would sound good. Both would cut through
the crowd noise, and they have a presence bump which works well,
especially on AM radio.

[JMc]

You can't go wrong with either the RE-20 OR the Sennheiser 421. Both industry standards. At least for the 19 years that I was in that industry. Shure SM7B would probably be very nice, also. I used a SM5B, but those are a little tougher to come by these days...

[jowillie]

How much ambient noise are you fighting (or featuring)? The dynamics on a stand are probably the best compromise. If you are in a tight booth, the RE20 (overkill) or any of the quality mics mentioned should be fine (I did not prefer the Senn421 in similar situations though). MajorLeagueBaseball radio is now using the Heil PR40 as their standard. I have used the PR20 and PR22 at ball games and in crowds with great success.
I have set up production for football, basketball and baseball regionally for TV and lots of radio and we used high quality headset mics for many reasons. One--low noise. Two--the announcer is never "off-mic." Three--constant air monitoring (should not be a problem with stand mic and headphones, but it's all there with the headset.)
And most of all....what will your talent be most comfortable with?

[dr94]

Thanks for all your help! I found a really cool site with some VO work compared on a ton of mics:

VO Mic Tests

Anyway, there seems to be something about the warmth and accuracy of the 421 that is winning me over so far. The PR40 is really nice, but almost too much bass boost.

Thanks again!