More on Oktava mics to consider.......

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Flatpicker said:
How is the 2500 doing? Did the tube get broke in?

Also, how much gain does the 52 appear to have compared to say, a SM57?
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I have no SM57s. The gain needed on the ML-52 is around 1-2 o'clock on my Focusrite. It does need high clean gain.

The 2500 is sounding better and actually increased in gain. It is really smooth. I wasted the whole weekend and most of this week playing with the 2500. There seems to be no end to what it can do. I read about it and it was co-designed with some company from the UK. It really is very brittish sounding. It gets a very open vocal sound (like Pink Floyd on the Wall). I have been searching for this kind of vocal mic forever. I am really elated with the 2500 and if I hear they will no longer carry them, I might just get another for pairs. For now, I love the thing and will continue to play with it even though I have not recorded anything worthwhile. I keep screwing with the mic and get nothing done.
 
Flatpicker said:
The only other one I know of is the Sound Room. Thinking about it though, if GC stops carrying them, you know someone else will pick them up. They might even get cheaper!
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I was thinking the same thing, but, I think that the price will go up. GC is buying these things by the millions. The soundroom cannot compete on any level with GC. GC has over 100 locations not including MF. Their buying power is awesome. The best deals may be now. However, I could be wrong, but I have mine in case I am right.
 
You should check the prices at the British outlets: Digital Village and Turnkey.


You've been very very fortunate.
 
Mark7 said:
You should check the prices at the British outlets: Digital Village and Turnkey.


You've been very very fortunate.
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Man, you are so right. I got 2 MK-012s for $99.00 US. That is 59 pounds!(I think)

The low prices are because of GCs buying power.
 
Which no UK chain can ever hope to match.

Especially as they never compete directly with each other.
 
Dethska said:
I can't find the mk012's on musicians friend's website anymore. Did they stop carrying them?
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I dunno about the website, but I called on the 30th, and the GC in Westminster was out of them, but expecting like 35 more any week now. I've got a raincheck with them for the 2/$100 sale price. They are supposed to call me when they get in, but they're probably already there, and I'll have to follow up.

Since I've quite a bit of stuff there, I'm going to try to audition a few with some windscreens, to pick my pair out at the store. Depending on who's running pro audio that night, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get away with it (they don't seem real happy do it with the cheap mics). If you want to drive down south and meet me at Westminster GC sometime after they're in, I'll get you into a pair for the same price (or you can probably find a pricematch somewhere and get them for yourself for that price too).
 
acorec said:
In my travels on the internet, I read a story about the very low prices of Oktava mics. In the story they quoted as saying that All guitar centers/Musicians Friends sold 400,000 mics in one month at the height of the last sale. This is the month (Sept) that I got my MK-012 for 2/$99. They were reportedly flying off of the shelves all month long. The manager I was talking to said that the buyers actually go to Russia and basically buy everything they have. The Oktava factory is HUGE. Realize that my factory manufactures a technically equivelent product to a mic (same #of parts and assembly steps) and we pump out 500/day. Our assembly staff is 10 people.
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That is amazing. I also work in the electronics industry and I used to work for a company which manufactured profesional photography equipment. Its not the man power or company size that shocks me, it's the market share.
 
Dethska said:
I can't find the mk012's on musicians friend's website anymore. Did they stop carrying them?
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I've been watching the Octava stuff on MF for the past year. It seems like they are not going to carry the products any longer. Thats not info from them, that's just my guess. A few months back, they blew out their 319 shock mount (similar to the one supplied with the studio projects C1) for 6 bucks! That was a deal!
 
acorec said:
I keep screwing with the mic and get nothing done.
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You sound like me!:D I can spend all day messing around with different mic positions, etc... and end up no better off then when I started. I hate days like that.

If you get a chance, throw up a clip or two to let us know how they sound. One short line from a song or a few strums and picked notes on the guitar would be fine for a demo clip. (I'd LOVE to hear an acoustic guitar sample through the '52!)
 
Jay, check your PM


This sucks. First they stop carrying the DMP3, and now the MK012's. I can't save money fast enough to buy the stuff I want that they keep discontinuing. :mad:
 
Humm, I read the rumor MF was going to discontinue Oktava mic's too... is GC discontinuing them also? If so, I bet it will drive the MC-012 mic price back up.
 
I was told that GC will be going international and that Britain should be part of that expansion plan!? This was only by one of the employees in the Orlando branch so...

I got myself 2 of the MK012's for $99, but I did not check them out in the shop as I was with my girlfriend and on holiday (vacation) and we had left Island Of Adventures early to go to get them! She would have killed me if I'd asked to listen to a dozen!

They seem to sound fine and the levels appear to be pretty equal, but I have not tested them fully yet. However, one of the 10dB pads has a few deepish scratches on the (aluminium?) plate that ends up against the mic body (hope you know what I mean?). Do you think this could cause a problem or is it just the connection between the 'spike and hole' that matters? I noticed this outside the shop and really wish I'd taken it back in to replace it!

Please forgive my crap, non technical descriptions!
 
Dethska said:
Jay, check your PM


This sucks. First they stop carrying the DMP3, and now the MK012's. I can't save money fast enough to buy the stuff I want that they keep discontinuing. :mad:
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I spoke with a manager at the Rancho Cucamunga store and he indicated that the two for $99 sale was just a hook to get folks in the store. He said they underestimated the popularity of that mic and got caught short. They have more now. I don't think they are discontinuing Oktava. They are one of the few places you can buy them. I know he told me that GC is planing on dropping quite a few items to try and run more "lean and mean" but he didn't indicate that Oktava was one of them.

Blessings, Terry
 
still4given said:
I know he told me that GC is planing on dropping quite a few items to try and run more "lean and mean" but he didn't indicate that Oktava was one of them.

Blessings, Terry
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Lean and mean? If they dropped everything with a Behringer logo, then they'd reduce their stock by at least half!:D

Of course, knowing GC, they'll probably drop everything BUT the Behringer lines.:mad:
 
:cool: I have 3 219's and 3 012's, they work/sound fine, this thread was started to see if anyone had trouble with the ribbons that oktava makes.........

Presonally I wish I could get a few more of the 012's, this time with multiple patterns....



da MUTT
 
Mark7 said:
I wonder why the Mackays and GC have ended their relationship?
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Do you know this for a fact?

I would be very surprised if this is true.

Musician's Friend has dropped Oktava (I would assume due to return hassles), but GC is a different matter.
 
muttley said:
this thread was started to see if anyone had trouble with the ribbons that oktava makes
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I was reading a post from Scott Dorsey about the Oktava ribbon microphone and he doesn't much care for it. He says that it requires professional mods to the ribbon and other parts that cost about twice what the microphone is going for and this will approach the price of a ribbon microphone that is built right to begin with.

A solid thumbs-down from Scott.

I've wondered about the ribbon microphone myself, and am glad I saw this before I bought one. In general, I trust Scott's opinions on microphones because he both knows what he's talking about and is not overimpressed by price and manufacturer status. Most other people seem to be.
 
bongolation said:
I was reading a post from Scott Dorsey about the Oktava ribbon microphone and he doesn't much care for it. He says that it requires professional mods to the ribbon and other parts that cost about twice what the microphone is going for and this will approach the price of a ribbon microphone that is built right to begin with.

A solid thumbs-down from Scott.

I've wondered about the ribbon microphone myself, and am glad I saw this before I bought one. In general, I trust Scott's opinions on microphones because he both knows what he's talking about and is not overimpressed by price and manufacturer status. Most other people seem to be.
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Well, Scott Dorsey can come to my studio and have a listen to one of the finest sounding mics out there for the $$. Be careful of opinions and where they come from. No flames about anyone from me, but the ML-52 is one bitch'n mic.
 
Scott Dorsey has tons of experience with mic's like the RCA 77 and 44, so he more of a frame of reference with the top shelf ribbons, compared to the rest of us that are on an amateur level.

Chris

P.S. He likes the "Soundroom" Oktava condensers quite a bit BTW.
 
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