Audio-Technica AE6100

My name is Zach and this is a year and a have later perspective on my previous post about this mic.
Since that time I have played many, many more shows in a bunch of different venues ranging from the gutter bar routine to a couple of outdoor festivals, and don't forget rehearsal time spent in the old un-insulated 110 degree summer 25 degree winter practice space.
The PA equipment has been as varied as the venues, but the mic remains the same.
So how did it perform in each of these situations?

A year and a half later, my appreciation for this mic has done nothing but grow.
In every live situation it is a given that there are going to be at least a dozen variables that are essentially beyond your control. Does the venue have monitors? How big is the stage? How big is the room? What's the PA setup like? What about swirling clouds of dust at those outdoor summer shows? And of course those constant accidental durability tests (the drunk idiot who jumps onstage and wrests the mic from the stand between songs to make an "announcement" who proceeds to spit and drool on the mic and then drop it on the concrete floor). This mic stood up to each of these tests and more, and did it as perfectly as I could hope for.
This is the mic for loud stages. The drummer is LOUD. And I mean LOUD. Almost obnoxious. But this mic rejects the cymbal wash like a champ. The guitarist plays through a Bogner Uberschall, the bassist through a Peavey 450 with a 410 and 15. I'm on a loud stage. Even in the cramped jam-room with concrete floor, there was never a problem with bleeding in from the instruments. Tight.
Every show I played I got compliments on my voice. I'm not the greatest singer in the world. I wasn't spot on every night. I'm not a machine. But this mic is just that. It's a work horse that sounds great, and is consistent night after night.
Again, I've used the Shures, the Audixes, Sennheisers, Electrovoices, but I like this mic better. Period.
Drawbacks? Well, it sounds like a dynamic. It's brighter and clearer than the Shure dynamics (that includes the beta 58a), a little fuller than the OM5 I previously owned, and I didn't like the coloring of the EV 767 when I AB'd it with this mic, and it's feedback rejection is as good or better than any of those.
When comparing any of these mainstay dynamic mics, it's a matter of opinion and preference, as well as a person's specific needs. But comparing any dynamic to handheld condensers isn't really fair, so I won't.
So what's next? I have my eye on the AE5400, which I will use simeoultaneously with the 6100 on stage as well as in recording.
Expect a review on the 5400 in the near future.
If you bothered to read all that, do yourself a favor and give this mic a shot.
Peace.

I have used several of the main live dynamic mic companies' products over the past 6 years, including the SM58, Beta58, Sennheiser E835, Audix OM5, Electrovoice n/d (not sure exactly which one)... I'm really excited about and happy with the Audio Technica though!

This is a dynamic hypercardioid live microphone in Audio Technica's Artist Elite series. I'm surprised no one has reviewed any of the AE series, as they seem to be truly top-notch, along with all the other Audio Technica gear I've used.
I recently bought this to replace my Audix OM5, which was a great sounding mic, but just repeatedly fell apart on me. I thought Audix would be rugged as a Shure, but it simply wasn't.
I was depressed about the loss of my OM5, and I needed something tough as a Shure, but as clear and feedback resistant as the OM5.
This Audio Technica just rules! Highly resistant to feedback onstage and in my small rehearsal space, yet it has an extremely hot output. It WILL feedback if you're not careful with your monitors (don't get right on top of them... but that's pretty much true of any live mic), but the gain-before-feedback is amazing. Oh, and I recently got the mic cable tangled around my foot and dragged it onto a concrete floor from a desktop and NO DAMAGE AT ALL!!! Still sounds and looks beautiful. What a great mic!
The clarity of this mic beats out anything I've used before. Chesty mids and lows and excellent high-end. Nothing I sing into this mic sounds bad (unless I sound like crap to begin with), and I have a very classical sounding voice (within the context of an alternative-metal band, so we have a LOUD stage). As with any hypercardioid, you have to stay on this mic, or you'll get lost... but I was actually surprised that it carries pretty well as you bring it away from your mouth. This mic just really kicks!
I couldn't imagine using anything better, especially in this price range. For now, nothing could make me happier.
By the way, quit buying Shure SM58s, please. I don't care how rugged they are, they sound like GARBAGE compared to so many other 100 dollar mics these days.
If you need a live mic, do yourself a favor and buy an Electrovoice n/d767, a Sennheiser e835, or an Audix OM2. Each of those sound light-years better and are in the same price range. If you're looking to step up, keep checking out that EV, or take a serious look at the Audio Technicas (or higher-end Audixes... I think mine just had a defect!)
Again, in my opinion, this is the best sounding, toughest, most perfect mic I've ever used! An absolute 10.