Post by: Wyatt Rice on August 26, 2005, 03:31:50 PM
Thanks, Wyatt Rice
Post by: Greg Youngman on August 26, 2005, 03:41:02 PM
Post by: canada on August 26, 2005, 03:46:11 PM
Post by: JamSync on August 26, 2005, 08:24:36 PM
| Wyatt Rice wrote on Fri, 26 August 2005 20:31 |
Hi, Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Oktava MKL- 2500 tube mic on sale now at guitar center for $99.00? http://www.guitarcenter.com/newsletter/getThis/products.cfm? sel=6&eid=14 Thanks, Wyatt Rice |
Oktavas in general are surprisingly good for the price. Beware using them in high humidity, however. They are particularly susceptible to "woolly problems" resulting from a humid atmosphere.
Post by: Seeker-Ian on September 02, 2005, 04:55:55 PM
Post by: Chris Cavell on September 02, 2005, 05:52:22 PM
Post by: Ronny on September 02, 2005, 06:04:39 PM
| Chris Cavell wrote on Fri, 02 September 2005 17:52 |
It is my understanding that ALL Oktava mics at GC right now are fakes...and have been for months...not just the 012's anymore. |
I bought 10 MC012/MK012's from GC. They are not fakes. That's kind of like saying hey this mic is a fake, it's not really from China. Now if you said this mic is a fake, it's not really from Germany, it would make more sense to me.
There are other rumors that this one may have started from. The main one is that GC doesn't get the matched mics so all of the Octava's sent to them are inferior. Just some crap that came from a small time distributor, who was charging close to the original retail of $250 for each mic bought from him. I tested all 10 mics that I bought from GC and found that although not perfectly matched, they weren't mismatched to the degree that it was audible.
Post by: Jeff4h on October 01, 2005, 12:41:26 PM
Post by: Scott Helmke (Scodiddly) on October 01, 2005, 02:54:52 PM
| Ronny wrote on Fri, 02 September 2005 18:04 |
I bought 10 MC012/MK012's from GC. They are not fakes. That's kind of like saying hey this mic is a fake, it's not really from China. Now if you said this mic is a fake, it's not really from Germany, it would make more sense to me. |
Fakes as in "not really from Russia". There's been some kind of trademark/distributing dispute between the original Russian company and the company that was distributing here, and the distribution company has started producing cosmetically-similar "MK-012" models in China. I haven't had any of the Chinese models to actually compare, though.
Post by: compasspnt on October 01, 2005, 03:35:22 PM
"a special powerblock design [that] brightens & adds warmth to any sound source,"
how can you go wrong? Two for one!
Post by: Ronny on October 02, 2005, 03:10:10 AM
| Jeff4h wrote on Sat, 01 October 2005 12:41 |
accordint to the company themselves there are a lot of fakes being sold here is a link to the info http://www.oktavausa.com/ |
Thanks for the heads up Jeff. I haven't bought any Octava's since 2003, so I missed the April 2005 China mic thing.
Seems to me if they were going to rip off a mic company that they'd choose Neumann or Schoeps rather than Octava, but what the hell, the Chinese will clone anything and counterfeit the name. They have no copyright or patent infringement laws.
Post by: Ralf Kleemann on October 02, 2005, 05:12:20 PM
Regards, Ralf
Post by: locosoundman on October 08, 2005, 11:47:07 AM
or something like that...
Post by: Chris Cavell on October 09, 2005, 01:45:31 PM
| Ralf Kleemann wrote on Sun, 02 October 2005 16:12 |
Oktava themselves have a less than stellar reputation for their quality spread throughout their production, so I can't imagine it to be a great loss if there is a very similar type coming from China - and, what if they end up being better? Regards, Ralf |
The componentry in the fakes' preamp bodies are superior in quality, but the russians are actually pretty damn good at making capsules. Personally, I vote for the good capsule and replace componentry that costs pennies in the west.
Post by: Ralf Kleemann on October 09, 2005, 03:50:33 PM
| Chris Cavell wrote on Sun, 09 October 2005 19:45 |
The componentry in the fakes' preamp bodies are superior in quality, but the russians are actually pretty damn good at making capsules. Personally, I vote for the good capsule and replace componentry that costs pennies in the west. |
Oh, the original Oktavas are nice, not doubt, especially considering the circumstances under which they are produced. The problem is the quality spread, like the proverbial box of chocolates - "You never know what you're gonna get!"
BTW there is another Russian brand called Elation, apparently its head, Alexander Schreibman, is closely related to the Oktava capsule design and has come up with his own. I tried his KM201 mic which good results, until they started to growl like a Siberian bear because of the humidity in my room.
Best regards, Ralf
Post by: Chris Cavell on October 10, 2005, 12:11:16 AM
That's the thing though...the variations in quality are due to the preamp body componentry, not the capsules themselves, which I've always found to be remarkably consistent.