Oktava mic's from GC

B

Bloomington

New member
I see GC has a pair of Oktava mic's on sale for $100. Regular price of $999 each. Not exactly sure which one's they are or what they are good for OR is this too good to be true - the most likely case.

Has anybody else seen this add and if so do you know anything about these mics?

Thanks
 
As mentioned they are usually $99 a pop..you could search for MK012 or MC012 and find trillions of posts but in a short summary: good for overheads, good for acoustic guitar, great value, test them out before you buy if you are particular
I heard a rumour that they were phasing these out - not sure if its true...
 
IF you get a "good" one, they're a good microphone.

Scott Dorsey, a pro AE, who repairs them also, has said they
have poor quality control. The one's from www.oktava.com are the safest bet, if you're relying on them for anything important.

The Sound Room has a deal with the manufacturer to get the "best" ones, the rest go to GC and the like.
Sometimes an excellent one gets through the cracks, and ends
up at GC, I was fortunate enough to pick one out once.

Chris
 
Does anyone have concrete proof that Oktava has poor quality control? I don't mean this to be contentious, but every post I read seems to go like "I've HEARD they've got quality control problems, but mine sounds great". I just wondered what the source of this statement is, or if it's some kind of home recording urban legend!
 
randyfromde said:
Does anyone have concrete proof that Oktava has poor quality control? I don't mean this to be contentious, but every post I read seems to go like "I've HEARD they've got quality control problems, but mine sounds great". I just wondered what the source of this statement is, or if it's some kind of home recording urban legend!
Click to expand...

It is common knowledge--both sonically and in construction. Many people on this forum and other forums have reported problems. I brought two home and, although they both sounded close, the threads on the amp body of one mic and the 10dB pad of the other mic had bad threads, so I switched the good pad over to the good amp body and returned the other mic. Is that concrete enough for ya?
 
As referred to in my previous post, Scott Dorsey repairs-as in takes one completely apart, and has witnessed :D factory
mistakes literally firsthand.
He says the defects may not be apparent for even up to several
years, until they've been used a lot.

Chris
 
randyfromde said:
Does anyone have concrete proof that Oktava has poor quality control?
Click to expand...
Oktava's reputation for poor quality control is definitely well-earned, but the McKay Oktavas are getting better and more consistent where it matters. This is my observation as well as that of Scott Dorsey, who has worked on a very large number of Oktavas over the years. When Oktava microphones work well, they can be very good.

My recent experience - from r.a.p.
 
my 319 is pretty good, except that with some preamps it hums.... so i would take that as a sign that something electronically is f-ed up. and so in my experience 100% of my oktava mics have something wrong with them.

on the other hand, i think it is a pretty great mic for the $99 i spent on it.

and let me tell you, i am going to have some trouble NOT buying the 012s.... even though they are the last thing in the world that i need.
 
I have a 319 from GC - it's a couple years old, paid $150. I'm very pleased with it - if I need a darker vocal than I get from my Baby Bottle or C-1, I'll use the 319.

I have matched MC-012 hypers from the Sound Room - they are my x-y mics of choice. I've been very pleased with the choir recordings I do with them.

The QC issue with Oktavas isn't that there are a lot of bad ones, just a wide variance in frequency response, output, and "character". If you're buying a single mic - GC should be fine. If you want a matched pair and (a) trust your ear, and (b) have a couple hours to kill (usually a prerequisite for going to GC anyhow:rolleyes: ), buying at GC should be fine too. For me, (a) was an issue. The Sound Room premium was well worth it for me.
 
If you have a credit card with a few hundred bucks of space on it, just buy 8 or 9 MC012s and "match" them at home. Then return all but two of them. That's what I did, and I was able to get a pair that sound identical to me.
 
randyfromde said:
Does anyone have concrete proof that Oktava has poor quality control?B]
Click to expand...

I just bought several Oktava mics in the last few weeks (219's and 012's) and have no quibble (yet) with their sonic characteristics.

However, I have to say that physically, these mics are really shit, esp the 012's. The finish looks like it was sprayed on over dust particles. The lettering is irregular and looks like you could scrape it off with a fingernail. The clip only screws onto my stands about 1 1/2 threads worth. After I took one mic out of its clip, I couldn't get it back in without re-forming (read bending with vice grips) the curve on one side. The clips have lines scored or scratched into them, probably from a manufacturing process. The set screws holding the electronics into the case look dinged.

The exterior quality reminds me of the Zorki series of cameras - Leica copies made back in the 50's and 60's. They look good from a distance but when you get up close all the flaws are apparent.

But, I'm happy with the sound. :)
 
I actually think they look really cool, myself. Cooler than any other SDCs, except for maybe the Josephsons and the Earthworks.
 
I actually think they look really cool, myself. Cooler than any other SDCs, except for maybe the Josephsons and the Earthworks.
 
eeldip said:
my 319 is pretty good...i think it is a pretty great mic for the $99 I spent on it.
Click to expand...
I got a sealed-box, "Studio Essentials" MK-319 packaged with a reasonably good 20' cable for $49.99 at GC on Labor Day. I didn't need it, but how could I beat that price? I paid $149.99 for my first one, with that ridiculous shockmount included. The rubber rotted out in less than a year, but I replaced it with better cloth-covered elastic from the local crafts store for just a few cents.

The GC/McKay Oktavas are getting not only better - in terms of sound - but also cheaper.
 
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