Opinions on Oktava 219 Microphones

[jrech]

Can any one share their opinions on the Oktava 219 microphone? Good Mic, bad mic, what instruments have you succesfully recorded with them. I can get 2 of them for about $200 and I want to know if it is worth it.

Thanks for all of your help,

J-

[townho]

Good Mics!Sounds like AKG C 414

[Jim]

Read this and then see the price on-line: 139 Euros each. I don't know what the exchange rate and VAT is today, but it sounds like your deal is half price or thereabouts.

[mhschmieder]

I owned a pair many years ago, and used them for years as my stereo pair for overheads and live gig and rehearsal recordings.

Great bang-for-buck, and similar as noted to the AKG mic (C414).

Slightly brittle in the upper end, like almost any mic in this price range. Not always a bad thing, depending on application.

We even used it occasionally as a vocal mic. It seemed better suited for female vocals than male vocals (due to output?).

I sold it at the time that I bought Audio Technica's high-end stereo XY mic. I use that mic for the same purpose; it's more convenient and less brittle in the high end, but likewise is not a mic that I would entrust to close-miking cymbals etc.

I never got around to trying the MK-419 on saxophones. Some people swear by them for cello and viola though.

[stephentayler]

Maybe I was unlucky, but my only experience with them was not good. It was many years ago when they really were one of the first budget alternatives available.

I found them to be noisy, and very susceptible to moisture when used as a vocal mic, resulting in terrible noises and change in the response.

I also found the build quality shoddy.

But it was a while back.....

Cheers

Stephen

[mhschmieder]

Stephen,

There were quite a few revs of the MK 219 and serial numbers DID matter... unfortunately (this makes it hard).

Yes, the self-noise was beyond my acceptance level, which is why I was disinclined to try it for solo instruments.

The sensitivity and pickup patterns were close to ideal for room miking a gig or rehearsal, though.

Every mic has its purpose -- ofttimes quite different from the original design intent.

Also note that the silver models apparently have a design revision from the black models.

My emphasis with these mics is "great bang for buck". And even in absolute terms, many pros swear by them.

I found them perfectly acceptable for my application, and don't consider myself talented enough to dismiss the applicability others have found for them in choral settings, for strings, etc.

In the end, these are cheap mics to come by, and have reasonable resale value, so are worth experimenting with.

If you have a higher budget though, I do recommend that you look at alternatives.

[rob.majchrowski]

very good mics for the price.. i tracked a baby grand with a pair of these a couple years back and was suprised. i would definitely check out Octavamod though.. from what i've heard from friends it's your best option on turning these mics into something that will rival Neumanns.