Oktava MK-319 Mods ???

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Old Oktava MK-219 price

Bongolation -

I think the Harris introductory price of the MK-219 in the US in '94 was about $600 then dropped to $400 by '96 when they were also distributed by Auralex. The president of Auralex gave them a great testimonial (he was (is) a voice-over talent) at the time.

$600 in '94 was breakthrough pricing for a LDC. The AT 40xx series had just been introduced and I seem to remember them being about $1000.

There were quite a few favorable reviews written about the 219 back then - Sound on Sound etc and a few endorsements from "name" engineer/producers like Hugh Padgham. I think even Steve Albini said somthing to the effect that if he was just starting out he'd buy boxes of them.

re: Grille grounding -

The stock MK-219 is well-grounded to the case. However, if the grille-cutting mod I've suggested is done, a grounding wire must be soldered to both front and back grilles and run to the nearest ground point on the PC board to re-establish grille grounding and sheilding.

best, MJ
 
Re: Old Oktava MK-219 price

MichaelJoly said:
There were quite a few favorable reviews written about the 219 back then - Sound on Sound etc and a few endorsements from "name" engineer/producers like Hugh Padgham. I think even Steve Albini said somthing to the effect that if he was just starting out he'd buy boxes of them.
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I remember them being written up in the late '90s as being used by major studios and major recording acts, too. Isn't it sad that now they have retroactively become "cheap junk" microphones that everyone regards as trash, unfit for even beginner use? :(

From what I gather, from my own experience and from correspondence with Scott Dorsey, the current Oktava MK-219 microphones that I've seen at Guitar Center for as low as $29.99 are actually better than the old ones, too - though I don't think Scott was ever a fan of the MK-219 because of case resonances.
 
grounding wire?

can someone tell me, in the case of an unmodified mk-319, if the grounding wire goes from the grille to the chassis (body), and if there are specific receptors for it or if it can just connect from anywhere on the grille to anywhere on the body, or any helpful details, thanks
 
The grille is connected to body ground via a mechanical connection through the headbasket frame and four mounting screws. There is no wire connection between the grille and body ground.

However, the capsule diaphragm is connected to ground via a wire from the center tap screw to the closest ground point on the PC board.
 
I own one and I like it and use it.

Quote:
"This is usually regarded as a dark mic isn't it?"

I have found it to be an ideal vocal mic for a very husky sounding lady blues singer that I recorded with and I have used it very effectively in the studio as an additional overhead on my large floor toms. Just as with any mic, it's not bad because there will be an application that it's perfect for. I use it as a vocal mic for any singer that has a mid-range voice. Yes it adds a lot of color, but in some cases, that's just what I'm looking for.
 
thanks.. i'll talk to my brother.. he knows more about electronics than i do.

the guy i bought this mk-319 from had done some kind of mod and he said "it needs to be ground from the grille to the body"

i don't have what i need to test the mic out, but here's what i see (and keep in mind i know pretty much nothing about microphones):

front of mic (side with switches): i see diaphragm with a screw in center. no wires.

back of mic: i see i wire from screw at center of back of diaphragm, and a wire attached just below the back of the diaphragm.

am i missing something, or is there some kind of mod the prev owner might have done which would require the grille to be grounded to the body? if he was mistaken and thinking of something else, what might it be?
 
ah...when you test it you'll want to speak into the front of the mic - the side with the Oktava MK-319 logo...the side of the capsule with the gold sputtered diaphragm. The side with the switches is the back of the mic.

re: grounding - sounds like the former owner either removed, or attempted to remove one of the grilles and disturbed the grounding of the other grille to the headbasket frame. This would cause the mic to hum. I'm guessing the former owner knows this and sold the mic to you with the caveat that the grille needs to be grounded (repaired in other words).

The best way to repair this is to rebuild the headbasket - it needs to be disassembled into its component parts, paint removed from all contact surfaces to allow 0 Ohm conductivity to ground and then reassembled using epoxy cement. Besides being an awkward modification (running a wire from the grille to the PC board), simply attaching a wire to the grille is unlikely to provide a reliable 0 Ohm connection to ground.
 
yes, indeed he did remove the second grille, or the grille under the headbasket in other words. the only grille there is on this is just a single layer on the headbasket and he told me that he removed the second grille
 
Michael, do you know of a conductive epoxy that really works?
 
Woot! just scored a mk-219 from Craigslist for $70 in unused condition! :D
Was just testing it out to make sure it worked and it's fine. Wow this sucker is DARK!!! and really bassy with the high-pass turned off. I'll have to compare it to my ACM-4 because I think the Oktava is actually more bassy :eek:

So here's the bad - no stand clip or shockmount. :(

Anybody know where I can get these?
 
PhilGood said:
Michael, do you know of a conductive epoxy that really works?
Click to expand...

I've found this stuff works well when mixed for 2 minutes and allowed to dry overnight. Conductivity is very good when set. I don't rely on this stuff to bond parts together, but it is fine for making good electrical contact on hard-to-solder surfaces.
 
pc board

could someone tell me what the PC board is on the oktava mk-319? thanks
 
I just bought a 319 at a pawn shop in Miami, FL for $35. I didn't know anything about it at the time, but now I'm very pleased I took a chance on it.

It's got a flat top.... am I correct in assuming that it was modded?
 
i would say so, just from my very, very limited knowledge on the subject. but you never know, someone may have just put a new headbasket on the thing. but it seems unlikely without some modifications having been made.

watch out for low frequency hum.. the prev owner removed the second grille from mine and it isn't properly grounded
 
shannon509 said:
i would say so, just from my very, very limited knowledge on the subject. but you never know, someone may have just put a new headbasket on the thing. but it seems unlikely without some modifications having been made.

watch out for low frequency hum.. the prev owner removed the second grille from mine and it isn't properly grounded
Click to expand...

Any links to an original schematic so I can try to figure out what they did to it?

Thanks for the advice.
 
You guys need to search a little harder. Here's a thread covering a lot of Oktava mod stuff. Unfortunately, some of the links are broken.
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=131639

www.prodigy-pro.com/forum has lots of DIY info on the Oktava mics - unfortunately the site is down as I write this.

Here's a schematic that I got, I believe, from Flatpicker, who use to post here; I can't verify its accuracy.
 

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