http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?p=757667#post757667
This may be relevant to your interests.
I found the EV Cardinal was good for micing sax bells, vocals (still use it) acoustic guitars and to a certain extent bass guitar, though I don't do that very often as I use digital processing.
It works well with instruments that can sound tinny because the frequency response has a boost around 150-200 hz. It can make things sound muddy though, so the bass guitar thing can be inappropriate.
Depends on the sound you want really, I LOVE warmer tones, so it was perfect for me.