Sale on Oktava MK319's! Any good?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lanstar0
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DJL said:
I think a mint Oktava MC319 for about $40 would be an ok deal.
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So $50 is too much? I guess you're more into those Fellatio chinese mics.:D
 
DJL said:
I think a mint Oktava MC319 for about $40 would be an ok deal.
Click to expand...
As good as these sound $269 (Sound Room's price) would be an ok deal.
 
Well, this sux! I went back today and the sale is over, despite the fact that the sign said until November 30th. After telling an employee, he offered 2 Oktava MK319's for $150, but I decided against it... thinking they will most likely have the sale again...
 
Questions for Flatpicker

Hey Flatpicker-
Where are you located?
What kind of guitar are you miking with your 012?
Also, I would like to know about your mic placement. I haven't ruled out the 012 yet, but so far, I'm not satisfied.

We should pick together sometime-
And I'll send ya an mp3 once my production gets a little better!!

Woodshedder
 
Re: Questions for Flatpicker

woodshedder said:
Hey Flatpicker-
Where are you located?
What kind of guitar are you miking with your 012?
Also, I would like to know about your mic placement. I haven't ruled out the 012 yet, but so far, I'm not satisfied...
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I'm in Knoxville TN.

I have mahogany and rosewood Gallagher dreadnoughts. So far, the best placement for me is straight out about 12 –16” away pointed between the 16th and 18th fret. If I put it If I move it higher, lower, or farther up the neck, the treble strings thin out. Farther toward the sound hole, and I loose definition. I’m still experimenting, though.

Here's a hint - don't try to judge the sound live. Record it in several different positions and then play back the takes to determin the best ones.

Drop me a pm if you’re ever going to be down this way. If I'm free, we'll pick a few. ;)
 
$50 for a Condensor mic is Insane :eek:

Over here you'd be hard pressed to get anything better than a Karaoke mic for that price (about £30): not even an ECM8000.
 
While we're on the subject here... I'm looking for some shockmounts for both my MK319s and MC012s. Any advice?

thanks
 
Bob Keelan said:
While we're on the subject here... I'm looking for some shockmounts for both my MK319s and MC012s. Any advice?
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Unless it's free with the microphone, don't get the Oktava shockmount for the MK-319. It's just an amazing piece of junk. The rubber disintegrated in less than a year of storage and the shockmount takes three hands to use. It's incredibly overpriced and crude for $50.

There are a number of generic shockmounts that will work with the MK-012. If it really mattered to me, I think I'd just improvise some.
 
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Mark7 said:
$50 for a Condensor mic is Insane :eek:

Over here you'd be hard pressed to get anything better than a Karaoke mic for that price (about £30): not even an ECM8000.
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The strange part of this is that these are coming in to the US from a British company, too. Last time I heard anything about it from Angus McKay, every Guitar Center Oktava was checked out in the UK prior to shipment to the US, apparently getting cheaper the farther it travels.:)

A couple of months ago, I got a factory-sealed "Studio Essentials" boxed MK-319 with the zip case and a pretty serviceable 20' cable for $49.99 at Guitar Center. I think the last one I bought a year or so earlier was $149.99 with the funky shockmount and no cable.

Both seem to be reasonably decent examples and have good boards and components. Oktavas are getting both cheaper and somewhat more consistent.
 
bongolation said:
Unless it's free with the microphone, don't get the Oktava shockmount for the MK-319. It's just an amazing piece of junk. The rubber disintegrated in less than a year of storage and the shockmount takes three hands to use. It's incredibly overpriced and crude for $50.

There are a number of generic shockmounts that will work with the MK-012. If it really mattered to me, I think I'd just improvise some.
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Yeah, this is what I'm thinking too. I was just wondering if anyone had any specific solutions that would work. (e.g., the SP B1 shockmount would fit the MK319)

thanks
 
A MXL 67 shock mount might work on the 319. Could someone give it a try and let us know? I use the one that came with my “free” Cascade mic I got with a purchase from Bayview (funny, but it doesn’t really fit the Cascade that well). It’s a little tight, but seems to work fine for the 319. BTW, a SP B1 mount won’t work. It’s made completely different.

I saw the ‘012 shock mounts at GC and wasn’t impressed. The elastic is so flimsy it’d be nearly impossible to aim the thing once a cable was connected. There’s just no way to do this with single-ring suspension. I’m going to take a 3” PVC coupling, some “ouchless” hair bands, and make my own.

I haven’t had a chance to take a look inside of my 319 yet – hope to this weekend.
 
Flatpicker said:
A MXL 67 shock mount might work on the 319. Could someone give it a try and let us know?
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Yes the MXL V67 shock mount will work on the MC-319... however, it covers the switches on the 319 so you can't switch them while in the mount.
 
I just grabbed a pair of 219s at GC. I know they've gotten pretty mixed reviews around here, but for $29 each I figure there's something i can use them for.
 
ZOWIE! said:
I just grabbed a pair of 219s at GC. I know they've gotten pretty mixed reviews around here, but for $29 each I figure there's something i can use them for.
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Dang. I can remember when the MK-219s were $199.99 on sale at Guitar Center! :)

A couple of years back, I was corresponding with Scott Dorsey about the MK-219 and he told me that the most serious problem he had found with them was case resonance, which to a degree can be damped with creative application of silicone goop. A number of experiments were done by removing a layer of screen and even cutting the entire capsule housing off so that the capsule was just sticking out of the housing naked as a jaybird.

The MK-219 will respond to the same mods as the MK-319 and MK-012 which Scott has written about - the replacement of the Hi-Z resistors with 1G-3G units as available, upgrading the bridging capacitor and FET, then carefully going over the conformal coating. Unfortunately, the recommended parts are rare and expensive enough that they are almost beginning to overtake the cost of the MK-219 microphone at these long discounts!

I have a couple of MK-219s and a couple of MK-319s (all unmodified). While both pairs are reasonably well-matched, the MK-219s do sound surprisingly different to my ears than the MK-319s.
 
bongolation said:
The MK-219 will respond to the same mods as the MK-319 and MK-012 which Scott has written about - the replacement of the Hi-Z resistors with 1G-3G units as available, upgrading the bridging capacitor and FET, then carefully going over the conformal coating. Unfortunately, the recommended parts are rare and expensive enough that they are almost beginning to overtake the cost of the MK-219 microphone at these long discounts!
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I’ve got a couple of 319’s that sound fairly similar. I plan to mod one of them and record before and after clips. I’ll post the results, but don’t look for them before the end of the year as I’m pretty swamped right now.
 
The shockmount for my ADK A-51 works pretty well with my 319. I'm guessing that most generic mounts that will fit the "base" model Chinese LDC from Marshall, MXL, Cascade, Behringer, Nady, ADK, or quite a few other manufacturers will work with the 319.

I bought the Oktava shockmounts for the 012's. They're almost a joke. They work, but I'm not sure they're necessary. I used my 012's for almost a year before I bought the shock mounts, and haven't really noticed any difference in sound quality using them. But, I was able to get them for about $15/each, so I figured I couldn't go wrong.

I paid $99 for my 319 just a couple of months ago. For $49, I may have to go get another one...
 
There are times when the 012's want shock mounts, but it depends on the setting. I use the Sabrasom shocks for that. They are a little pricey, but very versatile. I recently recorded an 88 piece orchestra with a percussion ensemble (8 tympani), using a pair of C-4's, and I was thankful for shock mounts.-Richie
 
Get your shockmounts at tensimount.com. Cheap and effective.

Terry
 
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