What's the scoop with the Oktava MK 219s?

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PinkStrat

New member
Hello everyone,

I was over at a friend's studio earlier tonight and he said "Hey, I've got a present for you!" He then handed me a black zipper bag which contained an Oktava MK219 condensor microphone! I heard it briefly with my speaking voice and it didn;t sound too horrible. Anyone have te real scoop on just how good these are in sonic quality. Seems The SoundRoom calls this particular mic "legendary"..How much of this is truth and how much is hype?
Any and all comments are most welcome...Thanks again for your help in this matter!:)
 
Last edited:
PinkStrat said:
Hello everyone,

I was over at a friend's studio earlier tonight and he said "Hey, I've got a present for you!" He then handed me a black zipper bag which contained an Oktava MK219 condensor microphone! I heard it briefly with my speaking voice and it didn;t sound too horrible. Anyone have te real scoop on just how good these are in sonic quality. Seems The SoundRoom calls this particular mic "legendary"..How much of this is truth and how much is hype?
Any and all comments are most welcome...Thanks again for your help in this matter!:)
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The 319 is much better sounding. I had a 219 for about 20 minutes. I gave it to my brother for his birthday. It is good enough as he records a song per year (if that).
 
Here's the scoop: they suck.

The 319 sucks almost as bad. It's no wonder guitar center gives these things out for free with some purchases. The 319 was the worst condenser I've ever heard. Even puts carvin to shame.
 
I recorded my Strat with the MK219 using my horizontal Mesa 212 cabinet & granted it does sound a little shrill....Oh well it was free! I was thinking about why he had two of them to begin with & then I didn't see them as an obviously promoted product at the Sound Room's site...Hmmm.
 
If you search around on other boards, you'll find that some people really love that mic. I met an FOH guy from Clair bros sound who loves the mic on drum overheads. I have the 319 and it does a great job on some male vocals.
 
I agree that especially in the past, quality control has been an issue with Oktava. Oktava mics are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. You just have to listen. Fenix, I've got about $6000 worth of mics in house, but the MK319 spends quite a bit of time up, as does ML-52. One of my backing vocalists, a particularly strident (almost piercing) mezzo soprano, wound up tracking 6 songs on the current project with an MK319. This is after we tried and rejected AKG C414B-ULS, Studio Projects C-3 and B-1, Shure SM7B, Rode NTK, and B.L.U.E. Kiwi!
Now I have only heard one MK219, and it sucked big-time. I know Littledog has one and hates it. My drummer, Rimshot, has one and likes it. Go figure. All I'm saying is that at least some of these mics are very good, and some of them aren't. Recently, Kurt Foster (well known gear snob and moderator on another board) auditioned an MK319 which compared very well to a U87ai, and he had to actually eat his words, which must have hurt a lot.
So is your mic any good? Depends on which Oktava team showed up for the game. I've had good luck with all of mine, but I don't own a 219.-Richie
 
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