Having previously used borrowed Rode NT5's as overheads on several occarions, I was very pleased with the performance of the SE1a. Considering it is almost half the price of the Rode, it certainly doesn't sound like half the mic.

In only a couple of weeks I've used in on acoustic guitars, electric guitar amps, percussion and drum overheads, and have not been disappointed in any of the results. As overheads it gave a very clear stereo image, on acoustic guitar the detail came through beautifully, and just throwing it at a guitar amp gave a great sound with minimal fuss.

Coupled with a nice pre-amp, this mic can deal with just about anything, and it's solidly built too, so should take some abuse. Not that you'll want to!