Rate the octava mk012 please...

[sponge bob]

I need a mic for acoustic guitar, strings, hi hat & overheads, and wondered how the mk012 would do? I saw it advertised by M.F. for $99 and that is definately in my price range! so...

1. How do you rate this mic on a 1-10...
2. why?
3. What have you used it on?

Thanks for your help!
Bob

 

[Track Rat]

Value wise I'd give it a 8. I have a couple of them with the three capsules and I've used them with great success on lots of sources. It's a darker, round sounding mic with a smooth top end. I've used the as drum overheads, on snare, on acoustic guitar and cello. I don't use it exclusively on these instruments but it's one of the usual suspects I reach for when recording them. Something else you can do with the pre amp body of the 012 is pick up a LOMO M1 or M3 33mm capsule and you have a nice vocal mic too.

 

[Dan Merrill]

Value wise I'd give it a 8. I have a couple of them with the three capsules and I've used them with great success on lots of sources. Something else you can do with the pre amp body of the 012 is pick up a LOMO M1 or M3 33mm capsule and you have a nice vocal mic too.

Same here, i agree with trackrat.

I've used it on: ac guitar- smooth not too bright, vocal and ac guitar together- surprisingly nice on this application-( liked it better than my AT 4033 ), and successfully on some live choir work and drum overheads. For 99.00 it's a decent mic..


BTW Track, where can you get the M1 and M3's, and how much are they?

 

[crgman]

mk or mc?

If you're talking about the Oktava mc012's, then I would also give them an 8. Great small diaphram condensor for money. Usually run about $150, and the extra capsules you can pick up for about $50. I have used them on acoustic guitar as well as recording a vocal group. Pretty versatile mics. I have heard of them used as choir recording mics with great success as well.

-crgman

 

[skippy]

Ditto. The good ones are very good- I now have an obscene number of them (actually, 8 bodies as of today, and 20 capsules). I've used them for drum overheads, XY and ORTF coincident pair recording of small vocal ensembles, live recording of large choral ensembles (~150 voices), acoustic guitar, and even got good results on a baby grand piano with a pair of them. I use them for live reinforcement/recording of a capella vocal quartets, and have no heartburn at all taking them out for live dates where there's a finite chance that someone will either swipe them or roll the piano over them.

For the large chorus, I've used 6 at a time rigged on battens and flown in overhead. For a Christmas show this year, I did that with the hypercardioid capsules so that I could pick up the vocal work *behind* a 7-piece Dixieland jazz band that was set up in the center of the stage, inside the arc of the risers. The omni capsules are very flat, and all in all, I *like* this mic (with the set of 3 capsules) as the bang-for-the-buck leader, when versatility is considered. The good ones are very good.

The bad ones, on the other hand, *suck*, and problems may not reveal themselves instantly. Use your ears carefully before you buy. I've had two bad preamp bodies, and two bad capsules (one omni, one hyper)- all from Guitar Center. Serves me right- I didn't listen long enough (to catch the bodies, which go noisy after a while if they have a failure coming on or are badly defluxed), or to all the capsules in a kit (because I didn't think I'd ever need 6 hypercardioids: *never* say never....).

IMNSHO, it is worth paying the extra money to buy them from a vendor that will sort out the culls and DOAs for you. The first ones, I bought from GC, because I needed them *right away* (for a gig that evening) and they were there. The later ones, I've bought from The Sound Room. Taylor has also fixed my two noisy GC bodies, and they are just fine now...

If you choose to buy from GC, listen _with headphones_ for at least 15-20 minutes per body. Use heat (and moisture) from the palm of your hand to warm up the body, and listen for LF rumbles or basso pops (rumbles or thumps that are indicative of flux/PC board cleaning problems). And listen to each and every capsule if you get the kit of 3. QC is very spotty at the Oktava factory, in my personal experience.

I like 'em _a lot_, but your mileage may vary.

I'm jonesing very heavily for a pair of the Lomo M3 capsules also. To probe further, or to find out about The Sound Room, go here:

http://www.oktava.com/

I also have some Byetone dynamics from there that could actually be used to drive nails, and sound good for tuba and way-over-the-top mic-ape vocalists...

 

[Meshuggah]

I have 2 012s, both with 3 capsules. I don't really have the experience of comparing them to other mics than NT3 and C1000 which they blow away completely.

 

[lucid]

so the 012 is a lot better than an nt3?

 

[Meshuggah]

so the 012 is a lot better than an nt3?

IMO, yes. Are there exceptions? Probably.

 

[Track Rat]

BTW Track, where can you get the M1 and M3's, and how much are they?

Dan, check the link for the Sound Room that Skippy put up. They're $379. If you have any questions about any of the Russian mics call Taylor Johnson. He's a real nice guy and can dial you in.
That's where I bought all my Octavas (012's and 319). You pay a little more but IMHO it's worth it, at least to me it is.

 

[Dan Merrill]

wow, $379 for the lomo... considering the relatively low price of the mics, that seems a bit pricey for a capsule. Anybody here heard 'em yet?

Audix is making a cool looking lomo mic now too. http://www.audixusa.com/scx_25.html
retailing for around 679.00.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

wow, $379 for the lomo... considering the relatively low price of the mics, that seems a bit pricey for a capsule. Anybody here heard 'em yet?

Audix is making a cool looking lomo mic now too. http://www.audixusa.com/scx_25.html
retailing for around 679.00.

IT's called a "lollipop" mic, and the Lomo head is Russian with a big-assed 33mm diaphragm, not a 25mm, like the Audix. Very big sounding mic. I own the M3 head and it's great. The sound is identical to the M1 head - just a slightly different grill arrangement.

 

[philboyd studge]

I have two 012's from GC that work fine, but if you go that route follow Skippy's advice. And I'd add you should be a pest and ask to see every one they have, I went through 27. The cases aren't sealed so you don't know their history.

 

[sponge bob]

Thanks for your help everyone,
I went ahead and picked one up for the $99 from GC.
WOW! It really is a cool sounding mic, and I'm loving the price!
Now I wish I had bought 2 of em.

Mine didn't come with extra caps though.
Just the Cardioid one & a REAL cheesy box.

Is it worth getting the other caps though?
And if so, who's gottem' cheap?

Thanks again,
Sponge Bob

 

[Dan Merrill]

Use the aformentioned link to oktava.com. I see they sell the extra caps and some nice cedar boxes.

 

[crgman]

What Guitar Center has the 012's for $99?!?!?? I have never seen them cheaper than $150 at Guitar Center or anywhere for that matter.

BTW- the capsule kit is usually $50.

-c

 

[philboyd studge]

Yeah, the boxes are cheezy, and you have to take the cap off to get it back in, but I think it's the same thing with sound room ones also. Funny, you'd think you would get Oktava if you typed in oktava.com, but you get the sound room.

That's an interesting point. If you think there's controversy between Alan Hyatt and contributers to this bbs you should see what goes on between the sound room and Oktava's recognized distributor. Though I have no doubt that every mic that comes out of the sound room is excellent, to believe they have access to only the best 012's and such that Oktava makes is horseshit. Secondly they are not allowed to sell their mic under the Oktava name, which makes oktava.com all the more puzzeling.

Anyway, to me the 012 is a great mic and can be used in many situations, it's just that it's so small.

Almost forgot, Tensimount makes a shockmount that fits the 012 perfectly for about $15.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Yeah, the boxes are cheezy, and you have to take the cap off to get it back in, but I think it's the same thing with sound room ones also. Funny, you'd think you would get Oktava if you typed in oktava.com, but you get the sound room.

That's because Sound Room registered the domain name. The Sound Room mics come in a very nice cedar case.

That's an interesting point. If you think there's controversy between Alan Hyatt and contributers to this bbs you should see what goes on between the sound room and Oktava's recognized distributor. Though I have no doubt that every mic that comes out of the sound room is excellent, to believe they have access to only the best 012's and such that Oktava makes is horseshit.

I won't get started again on this subject since it was covered at great length here when I first came on the BBS, but you obviously do not have all the facts. Sound Room in fact, DOES have access to the best 012's made. I'm not at liberty to explain how, so you will simply have to take my word for it (based on the factuality of my other posts here), or ignore this claim.

Secondly they are not allowed to sell their mic under the Oktava name, which makes oktava.com all the more puzzeling.

Interesting, isn't it? According to the distributor, Sound Room is not allowed to sell Oktavas or have any rights to the name oktava.com, yet they do. Perhaps the distributor is not telling you everything?

Anyway, to me the 012 is a great mic and can be used in many situations, it's just that it's so small.

We certainly agree there - it's a great mic. It's about the same size as the Neumann 184 or the MXL-603S.

 

[philboyd studge]

Harvey,

Size matters, or seems to anyway. In the last few months order to pay for gear, I've recorded about a half dozen amature and pro singers in various situations and packaged CD's for them. After they test the several mics I present them with, they always go for the 'big' one, even though the 012 has sounded better to me in a few cases. If I had something bigger than a C-1 I'd bet they'd go for that.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Very true. I had a friend with a studio in Denton. Woman came in with a Frank Sinatra album and wanted to know if he had a mic like that (a long body Neumann U47). He said he had a 414 (an very nice older model, BTW), but she walked out.

 

[philboyd studge]

Same thing, I had a guy about three weeks ago with a music minus one CD of Sinatra covers......I didn't bother, I just used the C-1.

So, maybe we should ask ourselves "Whats the biggest mic made?" Those RCA ribbons were good but there must be something bigger.