EV 664

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Brett Siler
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EV 664

Post by Brett Siler » Sun Sep 05, 2010 12:18 pm

So I've been thinking about picking one of these thingys up. I saw some specs for it and it has some nice boosted low end and low mids and a roll off at around 11khz. My first thought was "wow perfect for bass amp", maybe on spoken word, rap or hardcore vocals, guitar, snare, room mic (tame those cymbals). I just thought I would yous guyz first. Any experience on bass amp? How does it do more modern stuff? Would it sound cool on a really heavy rock/ metal bass sound or would it just be a mudicicle?

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Post by getreel » Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:29 pm

I have a 660 which I think is the same mic without the Pistol grip mount. I love it on guitar amps. Have not tried it on bass though. It makes really gnarly guitar tones sound smooth enough to sit in a mix while still having nice bite in the highs. I love the mic and it has sounded fantastic on all the amps and cabs I've tried it with. Like a better sm57 at times.

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blackdiscoball
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Post by blackdiscoball » Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:46 pm

I've used mine a bunch and still haven't tried it on bass although I really need to try it, but It does great on vocals (i've used it on screaming vocals) and also a lot on guitar amps and most of the time it does have a really full thick tone, although it also sounds a little hollow at times even while it still sounds full if that makes any sense? I just bought another and I think I might try them as overheads.
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:57 pm

http://nicksevilla.com/music/FAWLB_Drums.mp3

Drums recorded with 4 EV664s.

Compression used only on the kick ans bottom snare mics.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Brett Siler
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Post by Brett Siler » Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:29 pm

I'm suprised none of you have thought to try it on bass guitar. That was my first thought one what to use it for after see the specs, but then again I've never hear the mic which is what really matters.

Hollow? Like devoid of low mid range, scooped sound? If thats the case I would have thought the exact opposite. I figured it would be a beefy thick sounding mic.

Noeq, those drums can help but remind me of old devo

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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:51 am

I've got one and use it on guitar and bass all the time. I find it best on amped up, slightly distorted rock bass. It's kind of like a less hi-fi 421 (which I think of as a less hi-fi M88).
It's also great on guitar amps. It does bridge pick-up bassy guitar better than almost anything else.

I don't find it hollow at all. The 664 can be set up for high or low impedance. I wonder if any hollowness might be a result of an impedance miss match.

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blackdiscoball
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Post by blackdiscoball » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:46 am

I've never looked at the spec sheet and it might have been an imp. mismatch but most of the time it is a beefier sound but at certain times I've pulled it off of things because it just sounded thin or hollow on it. It wasn't a low or mids thing it was more of an upper mids thing. But ymmv its just what I've run into once or twice.
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Post by evan » Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:00 pm

I'm convinced the 664 was made for upright bass. I've only had the opportunity to record upright twice, but it has produced a very nice balance of attack and tight low punch when placed near the bridge and F-hole.

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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:41 pm

blackdiscoball wrote:I've never looked at the spec sheet and it might have been an imp. mismatch but most of the time it is a beefier sound but at certain times I've pulled it off of things because it just sounded thin or hollow on it. It wasn't a low or mids thing it was more of an upper mids thing. But ymmv its just what I've run into once or twice.
It should also be said that these things are 40+ years old at this point and it's probably a safe bet that no 2 sound exactly the same.

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Electro-Voice 664
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Post by Electro-Voice 664 » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:44 pm

I like 'em!
I bought 3 back when I was starting out, then a buddy gave me a pair of the gold ones. I'm down to only one right now, but I think they are great.
I used to use the hiz 1/4" straight into a 424 for all instruments and liked the bass guitar sound.
It's funny listening to noeqplease drums because it sounds so tangible and familiar, like, "I have heard that sound before", always thought it was cool, but hearing Nicks recording make me want to use them again.. You can get them for under $50 and just check it out.

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Post by mrc » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:27 pm

By the time you're 40 you deserve to be one of a kind :rofl:

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Post by lancebug » Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:07 am

looking at the graph, i dont see the low end strength on th 664, as it looks like a steady gradual fall from around 1k. Doesnt mean it doesnt sound great on bass sources, just surprising looking at the graph. The 660 i always thought of as a proto re-10/15. The one i have sounds like a slightly less hi-fi version of my re10's. The plots look similar as well.

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Post by LesW » Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:35 am

looking at the graph, i dont see the low end strength on th 664, as it looks like a steady gradual fall from around 1k.
Measuring LF response of gradient microphones has hardly been standardized over the years.

At Shure we used a plane wave tube, which really emphasizes the designed in low cut.

A one meter near field measurement might show much more LF response.

Of course the resistance controlled variable d EV mics had somewhat less proximity effect.

Ever notice that the similar 666 has almost a dead flat response curve? Almost like a condenser, and very unlike the peaky curves shown for the 664.

The 666 was very popular...I understand it's still used with the PA system in hell...
Les
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Brett Siler
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Post by Brett Siler » Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:43 pm

Thanks for the responses guys. Weird timing with the thread but i saw Arcade Fire on Daily Show about a week ago or so and I'm pretty sure that the singer was using an EV 664. It looked like it anyway and sounded really good.

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Post by bluesman » Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:09 pm

ZZ Top is using the 664 live for Vox....highly modified with non EV capsule....they do look very cool though.
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