This mic is really nice. It has a ton of features and goodies that come with it to sweeten the deal when this mic is worth the price you pay for it based on the sound quality alone. It is a large diaphragm condenser mic that is definitely meant to live in the studio, but I have seen a bunch of them used at high end live venues where they have nice microphone setups. They are commonly used as either drum over heads or has a hi-hat mic live, and I actually use them for the same thing in the studio. These can also sound fantastic on the right vocalist for lead vocals. It is a condenser so keep in mind you will need to power this mic with 48V. The mic comes in a rock solid metal case with a bunch of goodies inside. It comes with a velvet sleeve, a nice shock mount, and a windscreen foam cap which is really useful if you are recording something outside with this mic. The mic itself has a lot of great features. One of the most unique things about this mic is how much you can adjust the polar pattern. You have five options for the capsule. You can use a standard cardioid pickup, a hyper cardioid pickup which is a very focused and tight cardioid, and there is also a wide cardioid which includes a lot more of the sides of the mic, but still rejects most of what is behind it. You can also use this mic in figure 8 mode and in omni mode. The mic has a pad filter with three different positions to really hone in on your gain staging. There is also a bass cut filter which does a great job at getting rid of low rumble.

OVERALL OPINION

It is really hard to come up with ways to criticize this mic. I have used this on a lot of things, from a cello to a lead vocalist to a hi hat and depending on the instrument or singer it can sound fantastic. The highs from this mic really sizzle, making it one of my favorites for overheads and hi hat. The price on this mic is a little high for most people, but this is one of the most versatile and trustworthy mics that you can buy. You'll never want to get rid of it once you have one. It's a really good mic.