Disadvantages of Oktavas?

[acorec]

that recording is amazing. two cheap mics and a behringer preamp? i think he's Trying to make us look bad

hehehe.

i don't own any oktavas. but i'm tempted to get saving (i'm 16, no job, no money, at school all the time... i need to save for Everything )

Andy

There is a HUGE difference recording a classical orchestra in a GREAT soundig room with just two mics, a pre-amp and a recorder. This "Test" proves not too much to me. Tell him to try that with a multi-track recording and trying to mix it down and sound "amazing"

 

[jonnyc]

why don't you pm him and tell him that yourself. I wouldn't dout for one second that mans abilities he's extremely talented.

 

[hawk]

What exaclty were the "quality problems," with the Russian models? Were some DOA or did some not sound as good as others, and if so in what way? Thanks.

 

[paddyponchero]

Yes I definitely prefer multi-tracking when recording the philharmonic in the local public toilet.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Hawk! a number of the 012's were DOA, or went dead after minimal use, usually because of components, but sometimes by bad solder joints. I think they scrounged a lot of parts off the radios in dead tanks and trucks, and they used what they could get. I have heard 2 MK-319's that were beautiful sounding mics, but totally different from each other. One bright and clear, the other dark. The Russians build some good mics, but they have yet to build a consistent mic, at least at the low end of the price spectrum. A pair of the Oktavas are good to have, if they are good ones. That's all you can say. I got mine at GC for $50 each, and they have served me pretty well. I had one of the Sound Room's pairs, which were very nice, but alas, I had to part with them for other gear. I wound up replacing them with the $100 pair, which are pretty damn close to each other, because I do like those mics. -Richie

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Acorec, the apparently not banned. I agree. To me, and Acorec, the OKtavas are a certain color of crayon. We all have a big box, but damn few of us have all the crayons. When people ask about the fine points of difference between 2 cheap mics, they are asking, "I can only afford one crayon right now. Do you like royal blue or navy blue? Sky blue? When I reach into the box, I can only pull out the crayons I have. The Oktavas make good hard rock overheads, and there's an occasional weirdo who sounds good singing into them. Some folks use them for acoustic guitars- I'm not one of them.The Oktavas are prone to popping, and I use 2 pop filters for vocals. I sometimes use a pop filter on the 012 for instruments, also, especially brass and percussion.

 

[Robert D]

This is a great forum, and I love everyones participation, from the pro's down to the newbies (or up sometimes ). One problem though, is that of parroting and embellishment. I think the reality of Oktavas quality issues are quite different than the legend that has evolved. I've worked in the electronics industry for nearly three decades, and I'm pretty well versed in the cost of quality. IMO, Oktava makes nice microphones that are a cut above similarly priced mics in sound quality. Is their QC equal to Neuman's or other high end mics? No, that kind of QC adds cost, which I'm sure isn't possible with their margins. But I haven't found buying their mics to be the crapshoot that some have suggested. What I have found is that every batch of their mics has a couple of cherries, a bunch of fine mics, and a couple that have slightly less sensetivity. And yes, like every electronics company I've worked for (a bunch), they have a small percentage of defective product. I don't know the actual numbers, but within my audio circles, no one has had a bad Oktava, but have had to return other more trusted brands.

-RD

 

[acorec]

This is a great forum, and I love everyones participation, from the pro's down to the newbies (or up sometimes ). One problem though, is that of parroting and embellishment. I think the reality of Oktavas quality issues are quite different than the legend that has evolved. I've worked in the electronics industry for nearly three decades, and I'm pretty well versed in the cost of quality. IMO, Oktava makes nice microphones that are a cut above similarly priced mics in sound quality. Is their QC equal to Neuman's or other high end mics? No, that kind of QC adds cost, which I'm sure isn't possible with their margins. But I haven't found buying their mics to be the crapshoot that some have suggested. What I have found is that every batch of their mics has a couple of cherries, a bunch of fine mics, and a couple that have slightly less sensetivity. And yes, like every electronics company I've worked for (a bunch), they have a small percentage of defective product. I don't know the actual numbers, but within my audio circles, no one has had a bad Oktava, but have had to return other more trusted brands.

-RD

I agree with you. But, the problem is that a few people get a bad product and come to these BBS' to tell all about how "bad" the QC is.It only goes downhill into urban folklore after that. I am in, and have worked (as my primary job outside of Audio Engineering) manufacturing doing some design and testing software for professional products (OEM). There are no perfect products and no matter how well you QC them, there will always be defective products received by customers. The 2, 3, 4, etc. people who got bad mics have posted dozens of times making this apparent problem seem much bigger than it really is. The other problem is really GC themselves. There is some inconsistancy in sound between the exact same mics. What happens is that GC sold tons of them, and got plenty returned (not for it being defective but not sounding like they wanted). So, the "QC scare" had many people selecting the best sounding mics and leaving the "dull" ones. This along with the returned ones being put back to stock only created a final pile of undesireable mics.

So, I bought about 15 various models of Oktava and each one sounded and continues to work great.

 

[Robert D]

Yup, that sums it up

Acorec.........exactly.

RD