aidan

someone from the studio will probably answer this by saying that ribbon mics aren't as fragile as they are made out to be and that the 4038 can take a pretty good level, certainly better than 100dB, which is a 'don't expose your ears to anything over 80dB or you'll go deaf' kind of statement

i agree generally, and i would add that you can easily hear the mic crap out if it's getting hammered, in which case you just kill the source and move it back posthaste

but i would say that electrical tends to regard 4038s as a renewable resource

they don't abuse them, but they do have to reribbon them on occasion

the payoff is not being afraid to use the mics and ending up with all the benefits of a 4038 on a loud guitar amp, of which there are many

low end is really what whacks ribbons, though i've even used my 4038 and other ribbon mics on bass (only occasionally and always carefully)

tm