The Coles 4038 is a uniquely designed ribbon microphone that is extremely high quality.  The mic has a bi directional polar pick up pattern and will pick up frequencies in between 30 Hz and 15 KHz.  It has a shape unlike any mic I have seen before and has the sound to match it.  I wouldn't use this microphone outside of the studio at all as it is a ribbon microphone and needs to be kept in the proper condition as it is fragile.

OVERALL OPINION

I've only used the Coles 4038 a few times in a recording studio (as I don't own the mic), but I've used it enough to know that it is a special microphone.  It is one of the best sounding ribbon microphones that I have used and is versatile to boot.  I've used the microphone for recording vocals as well as for recording drums from a distance.  While I wouldn't use the mic for too much close micing, I would bet that this would sound great on just about any instrument a few feet back.  It picks up an extreme amount of detail and overall sounds quite natural.  If you are looking for an accurate sound from a microphone that doesn't color your sound (although it does have its own tone), this the mic for you.  While the price of the 4038 isn't cheap by today's microphone prices standards, it is still a great deal considering the great microphone that you are getting here.  There are a lot of cheap ribbon microphones out there that you can get, but none of them sound anything close to what this mic sounds like.  It is definitely one of the best deals out there in terms of top end ribbon microphones as it is reasonably priced as far as top notch ribbon mics go.  I would mostly recommend this mic for professionals looking for a high end ribbon mic, but also to those home studio owners looking for a great ribbon microphone that will blow most others out of the water.  So in general, I highly recommend checking out the Coles 4038...