EV/Blue: Cardinal condenser mic

This is one of the first mics resulting from the collaboration between Electro-Voice and Blue Microphones. It's a medium-diaphragm (14 mm) condenser microphone in a beautiful and very functional form factor. The body is actually made of wood, is relatively small, and the mount has not one but two swivel points. The first time I saw this mic, I immediately wanted to try a few on toms. You know how you always hear about people putting U 87's on toms and how they sound so great. Who the f**k can afford to not only own enough U 87's to do this, but also not worry that they'll get pounded (which would compromise placement options). These mics street for less than $200! When we got a pair of these in at The Hangar, engineer Robert Cheek was starting a tracking session, and he put them on the toms, where they stayed for the rest of the record. He made a point of telling me how great they sounded and playing me some tracks, and I had to concur. The Cardinal is designed by Blue but built in China, then QC'ed here in the USA. It's affordable, it looks really cool, it's super sturdy, the mount is extremely functional, and it's not too big. Home run. Perfect for drums. I'll bet they sound good on other things too, and I'm looking forward to finding out. ($269 MSRP; www.electrovoice.com)