APEX 210 Ribbon Microphone

I recently purchased one of these APEX 210 Ribbon Mics. The first thing I noticed was that the cord was permanently attached to the microphone. I'm thinking that since cables are prone to fail, it may prove to be a PITA. On the other hand, hard wired like this will make for a cleaner, more direct connection to your pre-amp. After first plugging it in I thought I received a dud. It was then that I realised that this mic requires a lot of gain.... huge amounts of gain. Once I pumped in a lot of gain I started to experience awesome results. I was only able to test this mic for a short time but my first impressions is that this mic would be well suited for female vocals and acoustic guitar. Especially when used in acoustically treated room.