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The Electro-Voice 635A. A true interview microphone.

It was a typical Buffalo winter. Wind gusts from Lake Erie cut through the buildings of downtown creating drifts as quickly as they could be plowed or shoveled.

Yet; it was downtown and people went about their chores walking on icy sidewalks and slushy intersections.

I was driving in for one of my first afternoon drive shifts at WYSL (14 Rock) and ran into the ENG crew for our AM/FM combo. Since we were mostly music, these guys would roam the streets asking people which station was their favorite and rewarding them with cash, if they answered correctly. I talked with the crew for a while and had some coffee with them before they went into production to cart-up a few $100 winners that I’d be playing as bumpers for the drive home. I wonder how many times they had to edit out other stations?

Although I can’t remember the model of Marantz cassette deck in their field pack, I’ll always remember the old, beat-up looking microphone; an Electro-Voice 635A. This mic had only about half of it’s original finish visable and it actually had a burn mark on the side (likely from an engineers stray soldering gun.) The cassette deck was in a pouch to keep the heads and tape warm. However, the little 635A was always sticking out of the back connected to a hideously thick cable. Wind sock? …not a chance

I wouldn’t be surprised if that little mic is still in service somewhere.

That was my introduction to the Electro-Voice 635A. As I slipped a brand new 635A out of the box for this show, it brought back a rush of memories. This little guy is …little. It looks curiously inept without an XLR attached. The body is very small, the head is only slightly larger and it has the trademark knurled steel head acting as a bullseye for the interviewee.

The 635A is a true speech mic with an omni pickup pattern, tough as nails and ready for any interview. It’s a 150 ohm dynamic and has 4 stages of blast filtering. The low end starts at 80Hz and I was surprised that the sweep graph stated 13kHz as the high end. I don’t really think this little mic cares about graphs at all. It was built solid, simple and works as well today as it did decades ago.

Best,
MarkJensen

List Price: $178
Street Price: $99

Filed under: Podcasts