Tom Craca Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Have a colleague looking to buy and Octava. I bought some many years ago and did all my research and found The Sound Room in Mahwah, NJ to be reputable and have the genuine Octava's. Anyone recently find suppliers selling the Russian ones and not the Chinese knock-offs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hi, Tim, and welcome... " Sound Room in Mahwah, NJ to be reputable and have the genuine Octava's. " no change in that... or... this has been mentioned before, and is still accurate, as well: www.oktava-online.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Mitchell Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I'm pretty sure the mic you're looking for is the MK-012, not the MC. I have one that I purchased through the Sound Room and it has lasted me in good stead until I moved up to an MKH-50. I can't go back now though; the MK-012 outputs an incredibly weak, noisy signal by comparison. Still though, everyone needs a first Hyper-Cardioid. The thing that was great (and not great) about it was that it taught me how to handle a boom properly. It picks up tons of handling noise so developing a light touch has lasted me in good stead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Craca Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Actually they have both designations, MC and MK depending on the year manufactured I believe. I only use them piggy-backed on a CS3e or my Scheops double booming on a stand. I actually like it a bit better than my 41. Absolutely can not be hand held on a fish pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 There were versions that were still legit that had the "MC" print on them. I hope you're not rubber banding the Oktava and "other" mic together for your double booming. If you're trying to use an MK/MC012 on a boom, first get yourself the low cut filter along with a decent shock mount (inv7). Anyways, check out http://www.oktavausa.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Hi All, Since you're looking at the Oktava mic, thought I'd mention this other low budget mic that people are liking for music recording. The Avantone CK1, pencil condenser : http://www.avantonepro.com/Avantone-CK-1-Small-Capsule-FET-Pencil-Microphone.html It might be an ok budget mic for dialog perhaps? Anyhow, a nice little 3 capsule setup for $149.00. Can't find any dialog samples but it sounds quite good to me on instruments : Crisp and warm string sound : Nicely balanced (bass-mid-treble) acoustic guitar : CK1 into handheld Fostex recorder : I intend on getting 1 or 2 for home studio - will let you know how it goes. Thanks and best of luck :-) Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Craca Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I stand corrected.... I have the MK012's, and bought them in 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I got mine from The Sound Room in 2008 I think, and have been happy with it, though it's mostly a backup now. If you search the archives here (via google) I think you will find threads about people that got their MK012 from http://www.oktavamod.com They sell new modded mics, or will mod yours. I have not personally used their modded mics, but people here seem happy with them for dialog. I have a friend that has used modded Oktavas for his music studio (not MK012, forget which) and he also spoke highly of their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toy Robot Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Actually they have both designations, MC and MK depending on the year manufactured I believe. I only use them piggy-backed on a CS3e or my Scheops double booming on a stand. I actually like it a bit better than my 41. Absolutely can not be hand held on a fish pole. Not posting just to be contrary, but if you boom with Rycote InVision shock mounts, you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Mitchell Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Not posting just to be contrary, but if you boom with Rycote InVision shock mounts, you can. Indeed. I used mine on a K-Tek 152CCR in a K-SSM mount with a BBG on it. It was extremely touchy but I reckon that's how a boom op should cut their teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Absolutely can not be hand held on a fish pole. I used one on a boom pole for a few features, with different boom ops, and we didn't find it to be trouble. I never got the low cut filter either, though it would probably help. I didn't even have a great shock mount for the first film (had the SSM-1 they sell). I will say it was scripted fiction, so moves were planned, and both boom ops are awesome. I kind of wished the Sound Room black MK012 came with a low cut instead of the -10dB module. I though it would be more useful on the one they sell as the "film/TV model". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Yeah, the -10dB att. module is useless for dialog and such. The M. Joly modification lowers the self noise some and helps control the infrasonic rumble so the HPF module isn't really needed... especially with an Invision shock mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tong Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Only issues I have with mine is its sensitivity to moisture... Here in sunny Singapore. in and out of an air conditioned area, and it outputs nothing but hums and "dropouts". Scrimping and saving for a 8050 now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonSpaulding Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 Yes, I've had moisture problems. Nothing a minute near a light bulb didn't fix. Is the sound room still in business? I sent them an email weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harris K Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 +1 for the invision. As far as I can tell mine is genuine, unmodded, and I've been happy. Could have been misdiagnosed moisture issues, but two or three times I've had what I thought may have been a static electricity issue (although now that I'm thinking about it again, I think that's wrong), where it became very noisey and low output. Persisted across both capsules I have. Ten minutes or so without phantom power cured it. Just mentioning as a heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhaudio Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 +1 on the InVision mount. No problem at all with the 012 on a boom. I really like them in cardioid and try to use this capsule when possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 Have a colleague looking to buy and Octava. I bought some many years ago and did all my research and found The Sound Room in Mahwah, NJ to be reputable and have the genuine Octava's. Anyone recently find suppliers selling the Russian ones and not the Chinese knock-offs? I bought some accessories from a dealer in Indiana who appeared to be selling new Russian mics (http://www.oktavausa.com/). Re the knockoffs--I have not heard of any new Oktavas of "mixed parentage" being made in a very long time know. There are still ones in the used market that are the result of the 3-way cross-cheat done on them in the early 2000s (re Guitar Center), but all of those I've encountered actually sounded good too (I'm a big fan of MC012s). These days, if you have the money to buy new then why not--they aren't very expensive compared w/ Schoeps. I like Oktavas but I'm not sure how well they will age--certainly not like Schoeps in that regard. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 I've had a set for about 5 years now and they do look beat up and scarred. They still work nicely though, but one thing I have to do every now and then is tighten the three small screws on the preamp every now and then, otherwise the signal would cut in and out. Tightening these screws is done by screwing them counter clockwise, that screws them out but actually tightens the parts. I have thought about getting a CMC6/MK41 but I have never felt like the Oktavas aren't good enough to justify a purchase like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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