Oktava Mk 012 for strings ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Psyko
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Psyko

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Hi!

I'm recording a band with live violine and cello.
Do you think mk 012 it is suitable mic for this ?

Tnx for your help!
 
I did just that once. I thought it turned out well.

Two things I learned while doing it:
1: Since these instruments really don't sound complete until you get out away from them a bit, your room acoustics play a big part.
2. There's little to no helping a weak player in post production. So get the best performance you can out of them during tracking. (It may not be an issue for you as it was for me)

BTW: Now that I modified my 012's ala the Dorsey Mod, I'd bet they'd do even better. It's a substantial improvement. If you ever get the chance, go for it.

Good luck.
 
qbert1 said:
BTW: Now that I modified my 012's ala the Dorsey Mod, I'd bet they'd do even better. It's a substantial improvement. If you ever get the chance, go for it.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

What does this mod involve? did you do it yourself or have it done elsewhere?
 
I've used MC012's on violin and viola with very good success. I can't think of a better cheap mic for the job. Oddly enough, we liked B.L.U.E. Kiwi on the monitors, but on the mastered version, I prefer the little Oktava. I paid $50 each for them, so it's hard to bitch.-Richie
 
Thanks!

I can also borrow a CAD e200 ...

But I don't like cad's high tones... they sound unnatural to me.
 
thajeremy said:
What does this mod involve? did you do it yourself or have it done elsewhere?
Click to expand...

It's in a Recording Magazine article from a while back. Not sure which one off the top of my head, but it's easily searchable. I got the parts on ebay via member sitlerwds. He was very helpful both before and after the sale.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsitlerwdsQQhtZ-1

25ish if you want to do it yourself
50ish if you want him to.

Not a great beginner project, but with some care and skill, you can do this yourself.

By the way, it's for the older Russian 012's. The Chinese ones apparently will not benefit. And rumors state the newer Russian ones already have these new parts.

Well worth it.
 
qbert1 said:
It's in a Recording Magazine article from a while back. Not sure which one off the top of my head....

Not a great beginner project, but with some care and skill, you can do this yourself.

....rumors state the newer Russian ones already have these new parts.
Click to expand...
It's the September 2003 issue. I just did mine last month. Not a trivial project, but not overwhelming either. I'll finally get a chance to try them on a real project later this week.

The newer MC012s may have some of the capacitor upgrades already in place, but not the new FET, nor the higher value bias and leak resistors. And those changes are a big part of the improvement, so it's definitely a worthwhile mod even for the latest MC012s.
 
Gilliland said:
It's the September 2003 issue. I just did mine last month. Not a trivial project, but not overwhelming either.
Click to expand...
I've discussed these mods with Scott privately, and the most difficult part of the project is meeting the extreme demands of cleanliness required by the ultra-hi-Z circuit. The resistor replacement value Scott recommended was 3GOhms, no the 1GOhms supplied in this kit. 3Gs are rare and expensive.

Needless to say, with resistances that high the circuitboards and components have to not only meticulously defluxed and cleaned, but also carefully conformal-coated.

Most of the work & hassle in this mod is in those processes.
 
bongolation said:
I've discussed these mods with Scott privately, and the most difficult part of the project is meeting the extreme demands of cleanliness required by the ultra-hi-Z circuit. The resistor replacement value Scott recommended was 3GOhms, no the 1GOhms supplied in this kit. 3Gs are rare and expensive.

Needless to say, with resistances that high the circuitboards and components have to not only meticulously defluxed and cleaned, but also carefully conformal-coated.

Most of the work & hassle in this mod is in those processes.
Click to expand...
I originally tried 5GOhm resistors in mine and found that the mics took almost a full minute to come to life. So I dropped back to the recommended 1GOhm and all is well. The 1G resistors are small enough that it wouldn't be difficult to put two in series if you wanted to do so. After the difficulty that I had with the higher resistance, I'm not sure I'd want to go beyond 2G.

You're right that the cleaning is critical. I'm not as convinced about the conformal coating. Some of these mics ship from the factory without conformal coating.
 
Gilliland said:
You're right that the cleaning is critical. I'm not as convinced about the conformal coating. Some of these mics ship from the factory without conformal coating.
Click to expand...
Some of those mics ship from the factory without the right parts, come to that.

In any case, the typical stock resistors are only around 380M if I remember correctly, though these resistors (like other Oktava board components) vary in value due to Russian availability.

The conformal coating is necessary for proper operation even at that resistance, as any contamination or condensation will actually form a short across that part of the circuit. This is one of the things Scott told me to notice in evaluating MC-012s. If there is a static when the microphones are first turned on that goes away after the microphone warms up, it is a sign that condensation is shorting across this part of the circuit, which is not properly sealed with conformal coating. I have encountered just exactly that symptom. As the values of these resistors increase, the amount of condensation or contamination needed to cause a short decreases.

You have to be really serious about perfect cleanliness and dryness, then seal it so it stays that way.

So says Scott. ;)

 
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