Mic Comparison: Oktava MK 319 vs. SP B1

[Shaky Tee]

Welp, my B1 arrived yesterday from Sweetwater Music and I picked it up this morning from the front office of the RV park where I"m staying.

I'm gonna do an A / B vocal test on it with the Oktava I got from Guitar Satan, er, Center last week.

This is gonna be interesting. I've never owned two condenser mics before. I'm thinking the Oktava may be better for the more organic sounding music (or attempts at such), and the B1 might be good for crooning to the more electronic-type music I've been working on lately. I'll see...

I'll be putting up results as I get them.

My next mic purchase will either be a Rode NTK or a SP TB1 (after I pay off my credit card, of course). Any feedback on either (well, I've heard all about the NTK, but what about the TB1?

I'd just like an inexpensive Tube mic that sounds good. Is that so wrong?

[Shaky Tee]

I'll be running BOTH mics through an ART MP studio preamp that just had the tube in it replaced with an Electro-Harmonix tube (12AX7) that I also picked up this morning from the front desk of the RV Park where I'm staying.

The warmth I should be getting through this, I HOPE, should be substantial, but we'll see...

[Dick Flansen]

I'm really looking forward to hearing your results! My two cents, for what it's worth: I just picked up the Oktava 319, couldn't pass up the price... I've gotta say I'm not thrilled with it. For one thing, I'm shocked by the amount of "handling noise" - NOT that you would ever use this as a handheld, but I mean - the slightest touch or vibration to the casing of the 319 gives you a fairly obnoxious "poing..." Just feels cheap, and I'm afraid to ever use it in any application without a shockmount.

For another thing, the actual SOUND of the mic is disappointing - very dull, not too warm, not too bright... Then again, maybe that's a GOOD thing. It's defnitely NOT a "hyped" mic. Maybe it's just giving a flatter, more accurate response then I'm used to. Or, maybe it just sounds crummy.

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to your results. I'll dump my 319 in a heartbeat, if you prefer the B1...

[Christine K]

Yeah, me too! I thought about the 319, but ordered the B1 for recording my acoustic. Still waiting excitedly for it to arrive. It's gotta be better than the POS that I'm using now.

[monty]

Hey Shaky, check your PM.

[darrin_h2000]

I hope that everyone knows that any LD condencer needs a shockmount. theres a DIY project in Tape-op this month that will cost $2 to build.

Having 2 diferent mics like these is a good thing.

[Dick Flansen]

Oh, sure, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't make a habit of using a LD without a shock mount, but... There's no way a mic should be this sensitive to noise from the shell. I actually have two of the 319's, and they're both like this.

It makes me much less confident in the mic, is all - I don't have any other mics that are this touchy!

[Shaky Tee]

Here's a d/l of each of the two test mp3s I did.

These are DRY runs. And not only are they dry, they are literally done just after the mics were plugged in. My voice is kinda on the mend from something nasty I did last week to it, so I apologize, in advance, for the less than stellar performance.

B1

Oktava


Both mikes were set on a (barely fitting) shockmount from my old mic.


The backing track was played directly off my palm pilot, using an SG-20 Palm Synth, straight into my VX Pocket soundcard, using an Aardvark USB3 as a preamp.


Some observations I've made...

I had the Oktava set on the +10 DB setting, and the cut bass setting (the bent line setting). I was basically trying to do my equing on the mic itself so as to kill some of that strident hi-range I tend to have. I also used a pop filter. Not sure if it was a good idea, but I was trying to get it's warmer charactaristics out, and it came out with a not-half bad sound that didn't make me feel like I was listening to screeching chalkboard. In relation to this song, it did sound a little dull, but I've used my old one on other tunes that didn't sound so techno-y, and it fit right in. It is a VERY sensitive mic tho. I was having problems trying to get the mic XLR cable in and out of the bottom plug, and I was concerned that I might have been shaking it too much taking the mic cable in and out. I got a new cable from GC today, tho', so that might alleviate the issue. I just don't want to end up with another busted Condenser.

I had to turn the output of my preamp down when I used the B1 (it's a LOT louder than the Oktava, apparently). Even at a lower output setting, it picked up a LOT more background noise than the Oktava did (it definitely heard the air conditioner I had running - it was like 85 degrees outside today). Also, even with the massive windscreen I placed on it (I dispensed with the pop filter for the B1 when I saw how massive the windscreen was), the hi-range was definitely present. However, in this tune, it seemed to sit in there better.

So, there you have it. Personally, I think my initial perception of these mics holds up. Agree? Disagree? My miking techniques probably suck, but hopefully , you'll get past that and give me an assessment. Thanks all!!

[Richard Monroe]

Well, Shaky, as you have no doubt figured out, mics are instruments that you play, and the Oktava is more familiar to you, like that old guitar you just know how to play. The B-1 is hotter than the 319, as you have already found out. I'd say, lose the big foam condom, and go with a regular pop filter. What the condom won't do is regulate your distance from the mic, and you got too close to it at several points. Turn off the air conditioner, and anything else that makes noise, put up a pop filter, and back off from that mic!
I frankly prefer the cut with the 319, but I think the B-1 is just a tool you don't know how to use yet. All in due time my pretty. And last, I still think once you get your hands on an NTK or a T-3, you'll never look back.-Richie

[Shaky Tee]

Hey Richie,

I ended up buying a new pop filter at GC today, (the old one was getting kinda gamey), so I'll try that out with the B-1.

Yeah, I'm used to the Oktava, but, I am rather pleased with the B-1, and how it sits in the mix of this particular song in the more dense parts. I guess I just need to play with it some more, like you said.

NTK huh? I've already gotten an in at the GC I go to (I've seemed to have made friends with one of the sales people there ), so I'm giong to see about testing it when I'm ready to plunk down some cash for this thing...

[Shaky Tee]

Any other opinions?

[chessparov]

Just make sure to test the TB-1 too.

Chris

[Shaky Tee]

If/when I get one, I will.

[kid klash]

I bought a pair of 319s two months ago; compaired them to a pair of NT-1s; then returned the 319s the following day. Even before I took the two 319s home, I spent the afternoon at GC going through a stack of the 319s, which I listened to through a large Mackie 8 bus, to weed out the really funky ones. At least 25% of the 319s had XLR connector shell problems (undersized opening... I couldn't even plug the mic cable into the mic because the opening was too small!). I used a Martin acousic guitar, a vocalist buddy, and a hand full of coins to check them out at GC. Even though they sounded a bit dark and muddy, I paid for them and took them home. Then, I recorded vocal tracks (with a 319 and NT-1 simultaneously, onto two different tracks); did the same with my own acoustic guitar; and did the same thing using mic pairs as overheads on a Mapex drum kit. In each test, the 319s sounded VERY muddy, noisey, unfocused, and "small", compared to the NT-1s. They also seemed to be very prone to mechanical noise. Anyway, I returned the 319s.

Since then, I tried out and bought a pair of SP B1s, and simply love them. They're very "honest" mics, for a LDC; they're very versatile (they sound good on everything I've tried them on), very quiet, and at $85 each locally, they WAY exceed my expectations.