This is a really amazing ribbon mic. These are a pretty penny so you don't want to use these live if there is a chance someone could knock it. Ribbon mics are known for being fragile, but this one can handle up to 136dB, which is plenty of headroom for your loud sources. You don't need phantom power for this mic, in fact it would be a very bad idea to switch that on with this mic. It comes with a really nice brass shockmount and a wooden box for storage. It's a figure 8 polar pattern, so you're going to get a very open and balanced sound with this mic. It connects to your mic preamp with an XLR cable.

OVERALL OPINION

I got this mic soon after it came out a while ago. I love Blue mics and figured they would do a great job on a ribbon mic. They did, of course. The entire frequency spectrum sounds wonderful through this mic. I find that it truly excels on delicate acoustic instruments and vocals. My favorite is acoustic guitar. If you want a nice smooth sound, say for a stripped down folk song, this mic will definitely get you the sound you hear in your head. I do with it had a switchable polar pattern, since that would make it more useful. Sometimes the figure 8 pattern is a little bit limiting in some recording situations. Other than that, I have few complaints about this great ribbon mic. It's very easy on the eyes as well. At a thousand dollars, you get a top tier ribbon mic with some nice accessories. That sounds like a good value to me. I would get it again if anything happened to mine.