ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Cardioid dynamic microphone

664 dynamic microphone

Electro-Voice · 1954

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Electro-Voice 664 was the first EV microphone to use the Variable-D design, in which multiple rear sound entrances keep the cardioid pattern consistent with frequency and reduce proximity effect. Its die-cast zinc body earned it the nickname 'Buchanan Hammer'.

Introduced
1954
Category
Cardioid dynamic microphone
Intended use
Public address and stage vocals
Production
Electro-Voice, 1954 into the 1960s

Equipment photographs · 1

Electro-Voice Model 664 (with Model 642) at the Museum of Making Music

1 / 1 · Electro-Voice Model 664 (with Model 642) at the Museum of Making Music

Electro-Voice Model 664 (with Model 642) at the Museum of Making Music·doryfour·CC BY-SA 2.0

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    Variable-D became the basis of later EV sound-reinforcement microphones.

  2. 02

    Its ruggedness made it one of the defining PA vocal microphones of its era, rivalling the [[shure-55s|Shure 55]].

Engineering record

Polar pattern design
Rear entrances combine into one effective entrance whose distance from the diaphragm varies with frequency (Variable-D)[1]
Construction
Pressure-cast zinc case[2]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Used on stage by performers including Bob Dylan in the early 1960s[3]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 1Our historyElectro-Voice · archive
  2. 2Microfiles: Electro-Voice 664, The Legendary 'Buchanan Hammer'ProSoundWeb · case study · 2023-05-08
  3. 3Electro-Voice EV664 'The Buchanan Hammer'Martin Mitchell's Microphones · archive · 2012-04-26

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