Oktava Sucks!...

  • Thread starter Thread starter memriloc
  • Start date Start date
Female vocal and banjo....

Errrrrr.....ok....Shit, that put's a whole new spin on The Deliverance....DULEING FEMALES!!!
 
Memriloc, to answer your question in the short form, The 2 main sources for Oktava are GC and The Sound Room. Taylor Johnson at The Sound Room does great work with value added quality control and matching pairs of Oktava mics and charges the appropriate extra price for his work. If you're looking for a single mic and you don't mind auditioning a shit-load of mics and returning 1 or 2, GC has the best price. If you want a matched pair that is damn near perfect tonally and in output, pay the extra money. I did both. I have a matched pair of 012's from The Sound Room ($424 the pair) and a MK319 I talked GC out of for $99, and I'm very happy with all 3. It's a personal choice, and the debate has been hot and heavy. To be fair, GC's quality control is better than it was, but that appears to be due primarily to Oktava's improved quality control, not anything GC did. I think there's less cruddy Oktava mics being made than there were before. My personal choice- If you want 1, check your local GC's return policy and start dickering, because the price *is* negotiable. If you want a matched pair, Taylor Johnson's the only game in town.-Richie
 
Forgive the ignorance here, but I'm in the market for a pair of 012's (they appear to be the best bang for the buck for versitile condensers).

When you say "matched pair", what kind of differences am I going to find?

GC wants $199 for the pair, Sound Room wants $424. Maybe I'm a cheap-ass, but I can return a lot of mics for $224 bucks.
 
Seanmorse, you can't get a pair of Oktavas from GC, you can only get 2 mics. When they say matched pair, there are 2 primary qualities that must match. The first is output, and I'd say a variance of < 1db would be useable. The bitch is that they must do that across the audio spectrum. Every mic has tonal peaks and lows, and a matched pair doesn't zig where the other one zags. I'm sure the tech boys will give you all the links you can stand. If you intend to use this "pair" for X-Y micing or overheads, I believe the extra money is worth it. As I said, if you want *1* mic, audition GC. These days, quality control seems to be improving, and your chances of hitting a useable mic on the first try is pretty good. For pairs of mics, Taylor is The Man!-Richie
 
Gotcha. Yes, I'm looking for a good X-Y pair for overheads, as well as for other uses. It looks like the odds of getting them from GC are kinda nill, even if I take them back a dozen times, not to mention I probably wouldn't be able to test them accurately enough to know the difference.

Looks like I need to put a few more nickels in the jar, but I'll probably go the Sound Room route. Thanks for the explanation.

Sean
 
Seanmorse79 said:
Forgive the ignorance here, but I'm in the market for a pair of 012's (they appear to be the best bang for the buck for versitile condensers).
Click to expand...

If you are not looking for a matched pair, a pair of Marshall MXL603s for $79 each also qualifies as "best bang for the buck."
 
Thing is, my budget's pretty low, and my mic collection is pretty lacking. Primary concern is X-Y overheads, but I'm hoping for double-duty as vocal mics too (right now I'm using an Oktava 219 for vox).

The 603's are LD's though, right? I know some people use them for overheads, but I though the rule of thumb was to use SD's. Got a budget-minded suggestion for a matched pair of condensers for OH's?
 
Phyl said:
Could be wrong but I think the 603's are SD.
Click to expand...

Actually, you can't be wrong (about that, anyway). The MXL 603 is a small diaphragm condensor.
 
... my bad. I was thinking of the 2001 (wow, how'd I screw that one up).

I would probably have the same concern here as with the Oktava 012's if they're not a matched pair, correct?
 
Many people here use either the Oktavas or the Marshalls as overheads claiming excellent results. I'm no expert, but I don't think you need a matched pair for this application.

According to Harvey Gerst, the 603s are very consistent in sound and build quality. The Oktavas from the Sound Room have a great reputation. Guitar center Oktavas I hear are a crap shoot--better know what you are doing when buying from GC.

If you have a nice sounding room, some folks here have gotten good results using the Behringer ECM 8000 omnis ($39 each).

All of the above mics also sound good on acoustic guitar and piano--at least to me they do.
 
The 603's are wide cardioid small diaphragm condenser mics, like supercardioid almost, not to be confused with hypercardioid, which is a very directional polar pattern. An unmatched pair can be used for overheads, but will almost certainly create "issues" when used as a stereo pair. To each their own. I prefer the Oktavas because of their multipolar capabilities and the versatility provided by the LOMO capsule, an add on item that transforms the 012 into a large diaphragm mic. Either deal is good, essentially. At GC you can get a pretty good mic dirt cheap. At Sound Room you can get a matched pair that works better than almost anything at that price point. God, aren't these good times to live in?
 
I've got a pair of mc012's and a pair of 603's. None of them are mathched. I've used both as overheads and they do an outstanding job.

I don't understand what kinds of issues one might face if they're not a "matched" pair, or why having a matched pair is so important. Maybe if you're doing XY, but I prefer a wider stereo spread anyway for drums.

In that price range, I wouldn't fret over whether or not you're getting a matched pair. Just put 'em up, have a listen and rejoice that mics like this exist for $150 and less. :D
 
Ive been thinking of 012s for a while. I can get them for 70.00 each at the musicians friend clearence center.

Are the generally good as single mics, are is that too inconsistant for every one of them?
 
darrin_h2000 said:
Are the generally good as single mics, are is that too inconsistant for every one of them?
Click to expand...

I think the whole quality control thing was more of an issue a few years ago. It's preferable to be able to audition any mic before purchase, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a hundred more mc012's. These things are classics.
 
mk012

I just got my mk012's yesterday in the mail then saw this thread today :) ... I am using them for drum overheads and from preliminary tests, they sound great! I have a few questions though..

1) What is a matched pair? Is this a pair that is determined by the manufacturer to be "alike"? Is my pair matched, I bought them both from musiciansfriend.com, they had them on sale 2 for $200.

2) Where can I get the additional capsules and what kind of prices are we talking about?

3) When should I use the -10db add on as opposed to turning down the pres??

Thanks for your help, sorry for the stupid questions

Scott
 
As you'll note earlier in this thread, I'm the king of stupid questions, and your questions 1 and 2 were already asked (by me, the king) and answered in page 1 of this thread.

As far as using the -10 pad, I'm honestly not sure, but it may change the response (it seems to on my 219).
 
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