I've seen it so many times: a sound guy who just doesn't have the space, the extra stands, or the time for a proper stage setup, and so to mic the house guitar rig -- a Fender Ultimate Chorus, most likely -- he just hooks up an SM57 and slings the wire through the amp's top handle, letting it hang there like a dirty hand-towel in some roadside motel: sloppy, dude, just sloppy.

Audix, that bastion of refined taste in the rough-shod world of pro-audio, has developed a solution that's so simple, it's a wonder it's only just arrived: The CabGrabber.

The ever-so elegant CabGrabber eliminates the need for those unsightly squat booms ["freakish!"] and frees up stage room for your performers ["they'll thank you!"]. And you'll never have to settle for the hanging-mic faux-pas ["How Gauche!"].

The durable aluminum housing of the CabGrabber is low-profile and durable, and can support microphones up the 16oz in weight, and it's screw top [no cork-stopper elitism here] fits any microphone mount. The clam fits any cabinet between eight and fourteen inches deep; it's refined, yet accommodating.

OK, so maybe the name "CabGrabber" would be a little out of place in the Martha Stewart Living line at K-Mart, but this handy little device unclutters and classes up a stage with minimal effort. I'd call that. . . a Good Thing.