Where to buy Oktava mk319?

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tone_aot

tone_aot

Owner of ToneJonez.com
I've seen a bunch of rave reviews about how the Oktava mk319 with the Michael Joly mod sounds nearly as good as some of the more expensive mics. I heard it's miles above alot of the chinese mics out now. I seen online where you can get the mod for $250 but i cannot find a place to actually purchase the mic. Any help folks?
 
you can get buy a new modded one (in any of the available configurations) from him at www.oktavamod.com. michael is an authorized dealer for oktava iirc. the advantage of that is that the mic will have a much better warranty than if you buy a used one or send him a new one to mod.
otherwise, you can get a new one at www.oktava.com (the sound room), from various ebay sellers, used, etc. if you go for the mk-319 be careful, as some might be chinese counterfeit oktavas (commissioned by the distributor who supplied the mics to guitar center some years back to improve his profit margin; he apparently had license to do so). the advantage of buying from the sound room or from michael directly is that you can be sure that the mic will be authentic russian. you'll also get very similar performance from a mk-219 which has the same capsule and electronics, but in a different housing and mk-219's weren't counterfeited. he explains a lot of this on his site, or just email him-- he's very responsive and has excellent customer service.
 
Oktavausa.com has all the distributors, and the best info on Oktava products. They've really upgraded the site, ver nice. JRRSHOP has the Oktava MK 220, which is a dual diaphram, multi-pattern 319, for $295. Something to consider.
 
Never got over that whole cold war thing, huh? :D Or did you get dumped by a hot Russian babe? Or.......maybe you got burned in a mail order bride deal, and she turned out to be a three eyed Yetti from Chernobyl?:eek:
 
Never got over the time I actually had to put one of those crappy things up for an actual session ... and everything came out sounding like it was being played in another fucking room. :D

It's like ... damn, I could have sworn there was a vocal I cut with this track. Did I point the mic in the wrong direction? Did I accidentally assign one of the other mics to this track (like maybe one lying on the floor?) Nope.

Say ... I think I might just know what's wrong. Maybe the mic just sounds like utter shit!

Let's investigate this further. Hmmm. I'm talking in to this mic, and the sound coming out of the other end is like an SM58 behind a really thick, wool blanket. Na, more like 20 thick wool blankets.

Now why the hell would anyone actually want to spend more money trying to clean up this piece of sonic doggie-doo? I have not a clue. Here's a great modification for ya ... Take that piece of crap mic, point a camera at it ... upload it's picture to an Ebay listing ... and instead of having it in your mic locker, you could modify it to where it now belongs to some other lucky bidder.

It's called ownership modification, and for this particular mic, I think that's about the best kind of modification available. That's what I did with mine, and now my mic collection has been successfully modified to where it no longer has this mic listed in it's contents! And I tell ya, that mod sounds absolutely amazing to me.

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I'm thinkin you had a bad one, of which there were reportedly a few floating around. Aside from my own experience, and maybe I don't know a good sounding mic from a bad one, they've been in a couple of mic clip comparisons, and I've never read anyone saying "what the hell was number 5? It sounded like a 58 behind 20 wool blankets".
Maybe it just takes a C1 to cut through the wax in your ears. :D
 
Never got over that whole cold war thing, huh? :D Or did you get dumped by a hot Russian babe? Or.......maybe you got burned in a mail order bride deal, and she turned out to be a three eyed Yetti from Chernobyl?:eek:

Chernobyl is in Ukraine :p
 
Oktava

Hey Tone, I have a 319, I bought mine on ebay. You can usually find a handful of Octava Mics on ebay. If you can find used at under $200 go for it. They are indeed as good as you've heard. I particularly love to use mine for horns and guitar amps. Good luck comrade, oh and I hardly even see the NEED for the mod, they already sound very pro, very flat. Latas!
 
They all pretty much sound like garbage.

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...I guess I had a bad one too (as in "dull", "lifeless")...authentic, made in Russia...and that was after A/B'ing a half dozen in GC...eBayed that bad boy...;)

...prefer a good dynamic...the Heil PR40 has better bass response and more presence than the other popular dynamics (like the RE20 and SM7B)...good alternative to a mediocre LD condenser mic...
 
Let's investigate this further. Hmmm. I'm talking in to this mic, and the sound coming out of the other end is like an SM58 behind a really thick, wool blanket. Na, more like 20 thick wool blankets.

Now why the hell would anyone actually want to spend more money trying to clean up this piece of sonic doggie-doo? I have not a clue. Here's a great modification for ya ... Take that piece of crap mic, point a camera at it ... upload it's picture to an Ebay listing ... and instead of having it in your mic locker, you could modify it to where it now belongs to some other lucky bidder.
.

Again, I would just point out that this is far from an isolated practice. Charter Oak takes Chinese capsules and machined mic bodies/grilles and replaces the other stuff in the circuit path and makes a premium mic. Royer developed a mod for the MXL 2001 (a particuarly crappy mic), which in turn created enough demand to result in the development of the Mojave Audio MA-200. In manufacture, it initially (and may still) used ADK-manufactured capsules and bodies, but still the lionshare of the improvement came from the new circuit. The popular Dorsey mod basically takes any crappy, transformer-less mic and replaces it's circuit with a new one for significant sound improvement. Shinybox takes Alcatron ribbons, replaces some key components and removes unnecessary ribbon protection layers which are detrimental to the sound to result in a product that is hailed by many.
The Oktava MK-319 stock may not sound good to many. I love my Oktavamodded MK-219PE and I think that it's a great mic. I think you'll find testimonials and sound clips from end users who would concur.
 
Also, I would point out that what you're saying Chessrock is like it would be to say that all Les Pauls are crap because you got a bad one. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it doesn't mean that your experience will be everyone's experience.

People might not like certain aspects of a Telecaster's pickups, but love the sound and resonance of it unplugged, and they would not hesitate to put in new pickups, new pots, a new bridge, a different material nut, whatever. Mics and pickups function in a very similar way both in their physics and in the sense that they are effected by the material they are housed in (the wood of the guitar, the mic body).
 
Also, I would point out that what you're saying Chessrock is like it would be to say that all Les Pauls are crap because you got a bad one.


Why would I buy a Les Paul in the first place if there was a really good chance that I could get a bad one?

Is consistency not important?

The popular Dorsey mod basically takes any crappy, transformer-less mic and replaces it's circuit with a new one for significant sound improvement.

Yea, but why do that when you can just buy a decent mic in the first place? The MCA SP-1 and the CAD M-177/79 pretty much already have the improved electronics similar to the Dorsey mod. Audio Technica mics, for the most part, already have quality capsules, electronics ... and they're very consistent from mic to mic.

Why even bother mucking around with stuff that's broken ... just so you can send it to someone else to fix it ?

Now I admit that in some cases and for some types of equipment, mods can be very worthwhile and cost-effective (particularly with Symetrix/dbx/Rane/Ashly comps, mic pres and eqs). But with mics ... there's just too many good ones out there ... for very cheap, that are like that right out of the box.

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Why would I buy a Les Paul in the first place if there was a really good chance that I could get a bad one?

Is consistency not important?

Sure it is. Quality control is very important-- that's what separates the capsules that companies like Charter Oak or Mojave use in their mics from the capsules manufactured by the same machines and in the same factories for cheaper mics-- better quality control. I've definitely heard accounts of people getting higher priced acoustics or electrics that were "duds." People pay a lot for a brand name. It's true of guitars, it's true of jeans, it's true of a lot of things.
For things like guitars or cheap Chinese mics, people often buy these from online retailers, ebay, off message boards, etc. where you can't try out the exact item you will be receiving. This is not exactly uncommon or new :rolleyes: :D

Yea, but why do that when you can just buy a decent mic in the first place? The MCA SP-1 and the CAD M-177/79 pretty much already have the improved electronics similar to the Dorsey mod. Audio Technica mics, for the most part, already have quality capsules, electronics ... and they're very consistent from mic to mic.
My MCA SP-1s are on the way :)... they are modded though :rolleyes:

"Why do [it]...?"; the chance for something better at a modest expense. If you honestly think that a stock production mic is going to equal a modded mic of similar cost that has been upgraded at a reasonable rate by hand, by a highly skilled technician with carefully selected parts (not arbitrarily, but as the result of significant R&D like Michael Joly has done) in the quality of its components (both the spec quality and quality control from component to component), craftsmanship, etc., I believe (IMHO) that you're missing out on some great tools.

Why even bother mucking around with stuff that's broken ... just so you can send it to someone else to fix it ?

Personally, I wouldn't at this point. I would break it and probably hurt myself and others in the process. I would personally like to learn how to do these things myself.

Now I admit that in some cases and for some types of equipment, mods can be very worthwhile and cost-effective (particularly with Symetrix/dbx/Rane/Ashly comps, mic pres and eqs). But with mics ... there's just too many good ones out there ... for very cheap, that are like that right out of the box..

Those are things you have tried and liked. We all tend to recommend what we've tried and like and our recommendations are limited by our experience with things. I certainly do this-- everyone does. It doesn't mean that better things aren't out there though. Have you tried the Oktavamods or even listened to any of the well-recorded clips of them?
Ultimately, better is always subjective anyway... it's a damn good thing too-- what would we argue about if we all like the same things :)?
 
Now I admit that in some cases and for some types of equipment, mods can be very worthwhile and cost-effective (particularly with Symetrix/dbx/Rane/Ashly comps, mic pres and eqs). But with mics ... there's just too many good ones out there ... for very cheap, that are like that right out of the box.

Ribbon mic transformer mods are, IMHO, very worthwhile and cost-effective. Fifty bucks worth of parts and about fifteen minutes of time (assuming you don't add a switch to choose a transformer at will) turns it into a completely different (and much, much nicer) mic.

I do tend to agree, though, that radically modding condensers can easily be overdone. I could easily see myself doing a capsule replacement if I found a Chinese capsule with decent electronics attached, but many of the mods seem so invasive that I would much rather look for a mic that better matched my needs in the first place.

The modded MK-319 samples I've heard sound kind of dull to me up against the U47, which in turn sounds a bit dull compared with some of the Peluso samples I've heard. Wow, the Peluso mics sound nice. That said, there are probably plenty of sources there the modded MK-319 would be ideal. You don't always want a bright mic. Even unmodded, the Oktavas still sound better than an SM57, IMHO.

If I were choosing a mic and money were no object... I just heard a sample of the Peluso 22 251 that has me drooling enough that I'm thinking about dong a capsule swap on one of my chinese tube condensers and seeing what kind of modding I can do. Anybody know if they sell the capsule from that mic?
 
I've seen a bunch of rave reviews about how the Oktava mk319 with the Michael Joly mod sounds nearly as good as some of the more expensive mics. I heard it's miles above alot of the chinese mics out now. I seen online where you can get the mod for $250 but i cannot find a place to actually purchase the mic. Any help folks?

I do not know where are you from but except for already mentioned stores Oktava is sold also in www.thomann.de (Germany)
I am sure they sell russian originals not chinese copies.

Official representative in Germany is here:
http://www.oktava-online.com/

Factory:
http://oktava.tula.net/index_e.htm

I bought mine in Thomann and have only good experiences with it. I prefer its sound with less heights and thick body over all those chinese mikes with the harshing and excessive heights and thin body. Record made by Oktava fits well in mix.
On my lower positioned voice fits perfectly and acouistic guitar record is also usuable.
 
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Hmm, I have one of those MK-319's I bought at GT years ago (roughly 8), gonna have to go find out how to tell if it's counterfit :eek:

Never have gotten a vocal sound I really like from it but in all fairness I never really tried either.....just set it up and go is what I've done until last night.

Now, I'm trying to see if I can't find the match (sweetspot) between my voice and the mic's placement.
Of course my current surroundings might not lend itself to recording anything very well but where theres a will......

Incidentally, I've used the setup and go method with this mic in front of my 5150 half stack and it sounds fairly good, specially mixed with an SM57 on the same cab, for what little I've done with it.

Got my curiosity now though.
 
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