Up until the point when all my mics, (All EV Brand) were stolen from my car; this was a great mic in the studio for kick. On the road I would always use it for my Tube Amp. Worked and sounded great. Only problem was when in the studio I pared this mic with an alesis 8usb mixer and between the two of them when I used it on a guitar amp the guitar always came out sounded very digital. I think this had more to do with my mixer choice as when on the road it always sounded great!

When I first plugged in the mic, I was a little disappointed with the hig-end (but please read the whole review!!). I was looking for a general purpose instrument mic that could handle hand percussion, acoustig guitar, and unusual instruments like my didgeridoo. I quickly discovered that sensitivity at the high end is a problem--it begins to fall off pretty rapidly after about 10kHz and it totally gone by about 16kHz. This is problematic for instruments with high-end details, such as shakers and chimes. BUT THEN I MADE AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY--the low-end is fantastic--rich and nuanced. The documentation claims a 45Hz bottom end, but I would venture to guess I'm getting a good response even at 30Hz. Good low-end mics are expensive, and I would argue that this competes with mics that cost twice as much. I'm planning to mount it on a desktop mic stand, placed right on the floow, and use it to mic my didgeridoo. The Raven captures all the subtle low-end details of my didg without sounding muddy or boomy. I suspect this would also be a great mic for toms and african drums. In short, this mic is not what I expected, but it was a pleasant surprise.

I've used this mic for about a year and it has a full, clear, and uncolored sound. If you don't have experience with sensitive mics like this one, get an SM58 or something. But if you are an expressive singer, you will love what this does for you. It looks incredible on the stand, totally unique, and it has a top quality response. If "essing" and plosives are a problem for you,be prepared to improve your technique based on what you hear. I am very pleased with this mic, I will use it for live vocals exclusively.

Tried the Raven with my GK MBS-III while playing my Hofner, and it sounded how I hear the rig while playing it live.

I tried out the Raven and Cardinal in a store on an acoustic guitar, drum toms, and kick drums. I noticed that on all sources, the Raven sounded like the source. It adds nothing to the sound, and it takes nothing away from the sound. In front of an acoustic guitar, it sounded like an acoustic guitar. Above the toms, it sounded like toms. In front of the kick drum, it sounded like a kick drum.

I was impressed enough to take it out on a trial run to a show I amped, where I put it in front of a Fender combo amp. The guitarist played in both jazz/blues and rock styles, and the guitar amp through the PA sounded... You guessed it... Like the guitar amp. Further, its output is hotter than I usually expect from a dynamic, so I was able to leave the gain relatively low on the console (Mackie Onyx in this case). I was also impressed it its off-axis rejection; the guitar amp was only a foot or two from the drum kit on the tiny stage, and I heard very little drums through the mic.

The only thing this microphone did NOT do well at was voice. If I backed off of it even a couple inches, the sound got very thin and spitty-sounding. This is definitely an up-close mic, but up-close, what goes in is what comes out.

For vocals, consider the Raven's sister mic, the Cardinal, which sounded much better (quite good, in fact) on my voice. For instruments... It's all Raven.

I gave it a 4.0/5 for quality because the screws that tighten the head swivel will work themselves loose after a couple adjustments. An allen wrench is included to tighten them back up. The other swivel on the mount also feels flimsy. The quality of the microphone itself, though, is first-class.

I'll be picking a few of these up.