Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

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Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by KermitPickle » Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:26 pm

I was just watching this episode of the Buck Owens show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOj9Bf1P3Ww

Apart from the fantastic pink sequined suits I was struck by how Buck appears to be playing guitar and singing with Don Rich all into what I believe is a single EV-666, kind of at a distance, and I like how it sounds. This is actually what I'm trying to achieve with one of the bands I play in, which seems to do best recording live, with the lead singer playing acoustic while singing along with other harmony singers.

I don't have a 666, but are there other kind of 'hi-fi'-ish dynamics that would do the same kinda thing as the 666 does here? IE, backed off a bit, catching the acoustic guitar and multiple voices, sounding nice.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by emrr » Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:22 am

I like what the 666 does, I have two, and they tend to get used on bass amps or kick drums. Electric guitar is cool with them. They aren't quite like the RE-16's I have, or the RE-20, but definitely the same family. The higher quality EV omni's are really good too.
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by floid » Sun Feb 18, 2018 4:52 pm

I'm a little obsessed with these mics. Have a pair of 666, a pair of 665, and ~ five 664. They're all a little different, one of these days I need to do a proper shootout and thin the herd. I have selected one 665 as what I like best for most things drum related (usually kick, heart, floor tom). Tend to like the 666s on cabs, strummy acoustic guitars, and bvox. Differences I hear between the 665 and 666 are at least partly in my head and entangled with using THE BEAST and having to find THE CABLE - w/ the 665 I can just say, "nope, let's plug in something else... actually, hang on, let's try the 665 again... I mean, yeah, please don't do your drum fills on the mic, but it can take it..."
All of which is a way of working around to saying the 665 is less spendy, so long as you can do without the name and the look, and may get you what you're looking for. But I've not really tried any of them in the app you're describing.
You might look at the Heil stuff. Just got a PR40 and it really does have a bit of a natural, hi-fi type thing going on - though so far it's been wanting to hang out closer to the source.
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by vvv » Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:02 pm

I can't find a link right now but there is a cool video of Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 recording "The Death of Donny B" for Northern Aggression, and Wynn is using a 666, and you can tell.
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by KermitPickle » Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:21 pm

I don't believe I've ever seen a 665. 666s and 664s yes, but not that one--I'll take a look.

It doesn't have to be an actual 60's EV, I'm just looking for something similar that would work well in this application. What would you call that mic position, anyway? It's not close but it's but it's not a room mic either.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by floid » Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:47 pm

Found it. Around the 3 min mark he's using a flat finish 665
The propaganda film from the 70s popped up first, very cool.
https://youtu.be/Qxbn_YQQEI4
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by vvv » Sun Feb 18, 2018 9:16 pm

I love that record, and the sound of the vox, altho' I don't think every choon has the 666, I'm pretty sure a few do.

Somewhere there is a full vid of "The Death of Donny B" as it was being recorded.

FWIW, while I've never used a 666 as I'm too cheap to buy one, the 664 (not the 664a) is said to use the same capsule (I think I read the 666's had hand-picked capsules) and electronics inna smaller body. No matter, set it up and sing and you, too can feel like Jack White behind the kit with Dead Weather.

I have two 664's; one is in good shape. The other has that ancient EV vibe where it sounds like everything below about 750hz is missing - it's a cool FX mic.
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by markjazzbassist » Sun Feb 18, 2018 9:23 pm

floid wrote:
Sun Feb 18, 2018 4:52 pm
I'm a little obsessed with these mics. Have a pair of 666, a pair of 665, and ~ five 664. They're all a little different, one of these days I need to do a proper shootout and thin the herd. I have selected one 665 as what I like best for most things drum related (usually kick, heart, floor tom). Tend to like the 666s on cabs, strummy acoustic guitars, and bvox. Differences I hear between the 665 and 666 are at least partly in my head and entangled with using THE BEAST and having to find THE CABLE - w/ the 665 I can just say, "nope, let's plug in something else... actually, hang on, let's try the 665 again... I mean, yeah, please don't do your drum fills on the mic, but it can take it..."
All of which is a way of working around to saying the 665 is less spendy, so long as you can do without the name and the look, and may get you what you're looking for. But I've not really tried any of them in the app you're describing.
You might look at the Heil stuff. Just got a PR40 and it really does have a bit of a natural, hi-fi type thing going on - though so far it's been wanting to hang out closer to the source.
per the old manuals and frequency response charts (try coutant.org) they are all the same except the low frequency response. 666 has the most, then 665, then 664 with the least.

http://www.coutant.org/666r/index.html

http://www.coutant.org/ev665/index.html

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

whomever is the person that runs that site deserves some serious credit, they have manuals and frequency charts for a ton of old gear that i can't find elsewhere on the net.

i owned a 668 and 667 which are pre-cursors to the RE-20, both were nice.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by KermitPickle » Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:04 pm

Just to get back to the original question:
KermitPickle wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:26 pm
are there other kind of 'hi-fi'-ish dynamics that would do the same kinda thing as the 666 does here? IE, backed off a bit, catching the acoustic guitar and multiple voices, sounding nice.
The Heil stuff has been mentioned--any other ideas?

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:40 pm

The only "hi-fi" dynamic that I can think of currently still in production would be a 441. But it's hyper cardiod (isn't it?) and might not be as forgiving if your target is moving.
The best out of production model I can think of is the akg d224. I don't know that it shares the same sonic footprint as the 666. It's just an all around amazing sounding mic. Very flat and accurate. Ive used it on everything from oh to strings and horns. It's impossible to fix and probably in the same price range or more than a 666. It's hard to find one in working condition but if you get a good one it's amazing. I have 2 and wish I had 10 more.

All that said, I find everything in the 666 family has a similar vibe. 664, re15, pl6, re20 all have a family resemblance and if you don't need the extended low end of the re20 and 666 there are lots af easily available and affordable options.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by vvv » Tue Feb 20, 2018 8:01 pm

The Senn 421 II and the EV RE320 are both a tranny-less variation of LD dynamics, and I think they have some very hi-fi-like characteristics, including clarity, large frequency range, and a certain quickness.
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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by KermitPickle » Wed Feb 21, 2018 8:42 am

Great, thank you. I can get my hands on a 421 pretty easily, I'll try that.
A.David.MacKinnon wrote:
Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:40 pm
All that said, I find everything in the 666 family has a similar vibe. 664, re15, pl6, re20 all have a family resemblance and if you don't need the extended low end of the re20 and 666 there are lots af easily available and affordable options.
I think you're right--this would be for vocals and acoustic guitar, so I can probably live without the extended low end. Would you put the re16 in the same family, or is it a different kinda deal? I notice it's still in production, but I've never heard one (that I know of).
Last edited by KermitPickle on Wed Feb 21, 2018 8:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by losthighway » Wed Feb 21, 2018 8:49 am

A.David.MacKinnon wrote:
Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:40 pm
The only "hi-fi" dynamic that I can think of currently still in production would be a 441. But it's hyper cardiod (isn't it?) and might not be as forgiving if your target is moving.
The best out of production model I can think of is the akg d224. I don't know that it shares the same sonic footprint as the 666. It's just an all around amazing sounding mic. Very flat and accurate. Ive used it on everything from oh to strings and horns. It's impossible to fix and probably in the same price range or more than a 666. It's hard to find one in working condition but if you get a good one it's amazing. I have 2 and wish I had 10 more.

All that said, I find everything in the 666 family has a similar vibe. 664, re15, pl6, re20 all have a family resemblance and if you don't need the extended low end of the re20 and 666 there are lots af easily available and affordable options.
All of these crazy re mics were very hip around here for a while. I remember a lot of people were jazzed on the 635a, which is both cheaper than most of the others (probably because there are so many) and omnidirectional (help or hindrance depending on application). I wonder if anyone is currently using a 635a and what they like it for. I kind of always want to buy one because they're affordable, but then can't think of it as anything other than a "wild card" mic for mixing in on a very specific, intentionally lo-fi drum mix section of a song etc.

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by KermitPickle » Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:03 am

Ah ha ha, I actually have a 635a, I use it all the time. One of my best $35 purchases ever. Useful on anything harsh/screechy, like loud distorted guitar amps. Shakers, percussion. I like it on my voice. I play in a band with a flute player, it's great for flute. I don't think it's lo-fi especially, but...my standards might be different from yours (I have all cheap mics).

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Re: Buck Owens show--impressed by the sound of the EV 666

Post by floid » Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:32 am

I use 635a quite a bit. it's not really lo-fi, more "vintage", if that's a useful distinction.
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