Read recently that some of Elvis' early vocals at RCA were cut on
an EV 635, and am getting the impression from other posts that this is a relatively forgotten vocal sleeper mike compared to the
ubiquitous SM57. I also found a book on Chicago Blues in the 50's and 60's with a number of pictures of it being used on stage with
various "greats" like Howlin' Wolf.

Comments?

Thanks
Chris

P.S. Just scored one off e-bay for about $20 to play around with.

oh great... now you are going to drive the price of them up to $500 tut :eek:

Well at least since you can get a brand new EV 535a for about $100
that ought to put a cap on it. This used one is silver in color (chrome?)
and looks the same otherwise as a modern 635a which are grey.
They seem to sell for about $50 normally at e-bay.
Maybe we ought to have a secret code like a pin number for us gearslutz?

All kidding aside Alpha, if you or anyone else has any experience with this microphone
feel free to let me know.

Chris

I've had some pretty amazing results with these little buggers on vocals. Something about that omni pattern in a dynamic mic. I've had some sessions where I've tried everything and the 635 ended up being the keeper...

I could be wrong, but I thought the 635a was somewhat different from the original, and I thought at least the housing was different. I love the 635a, though it never grabbed me the couple times I put it on vocals. I should probably keep trying. (The EV PL-5 is the same mic as the 635a, except it has a dark grey finish. It can be found even cheaper than the 635a, too, so it is truly the king of pawn-shop/garage-sale/ebay mics, IMO.)

Bear

I have used them on a Marshall cabinet with good results.

When I saw a photo of Elvis singing into one, I just thought it was an artifact of the times. You show up on a TV show and the the TV sound guys that's all they have....

never tried it on vox but they are cool on guitar amps sometimes...

I used to know a guy who swore by using them on snare. I've never tried that but I should one of these days.

I certainly never forgot about it!

It doesn't have the room-ducking ability of a 57 but it can be handheld amazingly close to a singer's mouth without any problem. They're great for anything percussive too.

Thanks everyone for your responses.
Looking forward to getting mine soon, and will let you know how I like it.
Been developing a healthy appreciation for various dynamic vocal
microphones after being brought up in the current newbie "what's the
best condenser microphone under $200" environment.

Chris

And the irony of course is that in the typical newbie bedroom or garage studio, the dynamics typically mimimize the crappiness of the room that a more sensitive condensor will maximize, and in most cases exacerbate with some high frequency "sizzle". Give me $200 and a few months to scrounge on ebay (don't even need to drive pawnshop to pawnshop), and I could find a handful of great mics that'll be useful for a lifetime.

Bear

Amen to that Bear. That's the main reason I started experimenting with
dynamic microphones for vocals. The other was since my voice has a bright
top end, the "modern" brighter sounding condensers can make it sound
sibilant, and having to use a de-esser is sort of a hassle.
(or finding songs that don't have any "S's" in them!)

Chris

Overheads!!!

(Don't laugh!!!)

I have had a pair for y e a r s and love them.. they are the only thing I use on a Leslie.. great on vocals (as long as the acoustics will allow an omni) they are great on acoustic GTR. I usually put one under the snare and one overhead with the 'regular' drum mics.. somtimes I use them as the main sound and sometimes just send them (only) to the reverb tank.. great all round mic.

Is the reason they work on Leslie's because it smooths out the volume/dopplar change when you stick mic's too close?

Right now everytime I mic my Hammond (internal Leslie) I tend to go far back... too close and it's really choppy. However, when I'm tracking a live band with the hammond I have no choice. Right now i've been using the AT4040, would you say the 635a would be the better choice.

I love the 635a for jangly guitars. Maybe the best 12-string electric guitar mic ever. Also really cool on guitar room mic. I gotta get a second one (of course) for trying as overheads/drum room mcs.

FWIW I've learned that Elvis Presley used a handheld EV RE-15 wrapped in foam for recording. He sang in the middle of the band with nobody wearing headphones.

Just to clarify because the thread title could be read two different ways

Is the EV 635, a "forgotten" vocal sleeper microphone?...
or
Is the EV 635a, "forgotten" vocal sleeper microphone?...

I was lucky enough to be recommended this mic by someone a few years ago.. It is truly a wonderful little mic. I used it for vcls a few days ago on a session, and it sounded great on all the band members who sang into it...

And ive used it myself for my own vcls while holding it in my hand at that, and i loved the results....

We are cut from the same cloth, sir. I LOVE these mics on acoustic instruments (very "boxy" and very cool), bottom snare, and electric guitars. Never tried them on vocals, but you can bet your ass I'll try it now.

So anyway, it appears half of the responses here are talking about the 635 and others are referring to the 635a, two seemingly very different mics. I believe the OP means the 635 no?

A 635 is a selected 630
Electro-Voice Model 630

A 635A is a different beast:
Electro-Voice Model 635A

Bob have you any experience using the 630a on a snare?

i love the 635a as overhead with no other mics. I've also used it when overdubbing just snare. it gets a great snare sound but it picks up a lot more of what's around it than something like an SM57, which might make it less than ideal when combined with other mics or if you're trying to isolate the snare. I would use it more in applications where you might normally use a condenser personally.

The 635a is a nice little mic but its lean bass should be kept in mind. I've often enjoyed it a lot as a heavily compressed room mic!

At Motown we had a 635a hanging from the ceiling in one of our studios as a communications mike we could switch into the monitors. Sometimes it just plain sounded better than the Neumann! I learned to never let my eyes unduly influence my ears.

Yes indeed, looking down the studio it can be quite surprising. Beyer also has (had?) a nice little Omni dynamic but what I really like about the 635a is that you can plug it in the mic box on the studio wall (its body is about the diameter of an XLR plug) - instant "listen" mic!

WOW, that's very interesting all. What I'm going to try is to get a piece of Auralex and shape like a funnel and point it at the side hole of the snare so I can pick up the crack, since I'm using a 57 on top I'm not getting the crack like I would like and I think this might work?, has anyone tried that approach?

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE KNOWLEDGE

What kind of foam?

Oh great, now foam is going to go up in price.

LOVE the 635a as a backing vocal mic. Just takes ANYBODY well on bk vocs.

It was a custom fit windscreen for that specific microphone. The picture I've attached isn't the one I remember, as it was much smaller/sleeker and would allow for handheld operation. Luke Gilfeather had copied me on an email from Norbert Putnam and he made comment regarding Elvis recording handheld with the RE15 making use of this foam 'sock'. I cannot remember the model # so I'll dig through the old archives.telex.com to find it.

edit: So I just went digging for the engineering data sheet for this 'mouse' and it seems EV has deleted most of what used to be the archives for the older and discontinued microphones.... The layout for the site is different, here's hoping they've only been misplaced.