I guess I missed this thread by a month. And it's about one of my current favorite "fetish" microphones, the EV 664.

For the record, I've got 4 of them, 2 silver and 2 "gold". It's my favorite inside the kick mic, and also a fav for "different" sounding electric guitars.

As for the" Buchanan Hammer" moniker, it's all true. It was common practice in the '60's to use a 664 to pound a few spikes into the stage to keep the kick drum from sliding away from the drummer (crappy 60's drum legs....), then you would screw the 664 onto a stand, and use it for your lead vocal!.

BTW, it's not chrome per se, but polished zinc, which looks a lot like chrome. That's also why so many of them are pitted on the outside now. Zinc is more chemically reactive than chrome.