SM81's vs OKTAVA mc012

[nestle]

I've read so many good things about those mc012's that I am considering selling my sm81's buying a pair of the oktavas and pocketing the cash, is this a bad idea? how do the 2 models compare..I like the sturdyness of the SM81's but I don't do live sound. I have a km184 for acoustics, but need a stereo pair (mostly for drum OH's), the SM81's sound a bit thin since aquiring the neumann-
Oh also what's the deal with the mk012 are they different?
Thanks

[todd]

i got rid of my rode nt5 stereo pair and now only have the sm81's. don't know if i would get rid of the sm81's, but i sure wish i had kept the rodes!
i've never worked with the mc012's before but i remommend the nt5's. for the stuff i used them on (drum overheads, acoustic guitar) they had a very "smooth" sound that i liked a lot.
the sm81's have always felt a little harsher to me, but still very good on some sources (LOUD, gritty drums for example). plus the sm81's have a pad and a bass rolloff...you won't find those in the oktavas or rodes.

thanks,
todd

[Randy]

I've used the SM81s a few times and they are something I would want to keep. Every time I have gotten rid of gear I have regretted it. The Oktava's are so inexpensive, you should just get a pair and keep the 81's.

The 012's are great as drum overheads when you have someone who bashes on the cymbals.

A lot of mics are great in conjunction with other mics, the 81's are definitely that for me.

[analogcabin]

Do not sell the SM-81's. Watch the prices on the Oktava' mic.s, and when they do the "2 for $99" buy em'!

[thenumber]

the mk012's are a-okay. get the job done. in my basement with 7' ceilings and crapass preamps, they probably sound as good as any other mic would. and they were 50 clams each! bonus!

[Quest Poetics]

I've used both the sm81's and the octavas...Dont sell the sm81's...I've used both as drum overheads and the 81's are so so much smoother....The octavas have a bit of a rough edge to them that I tend to have to eq out when using for drums...I'm not pissing on the octavas, I'm just saying to keep the sm81's...Never sell your shit that you'll regret.

[jspartz]

I have rediscovered my SM-81's lately. I usually go to the KM-184's first but one is acting up so I switched to the SM-81's on acoustic guitar. They have such a different sound. It was great. After thinking about it I realized that they don't have the bright high-end like every other modern mic on the market today. I have been using it on acoustics, perc. and even had a couple great takes with an X-Y pair for the singer who needs to play acoustic at the same time. I love the way they sound.

Jason

[Scodiddly]

The SM-81s will last many years longer... don't sell them! Just wait a couple years, and then everybody will be bitching about the Oktavas and what the heck were we thinking buying that Russian shit.

[nestle]

Thank you everybody especially jspartz for the reality check. I started thinking about it and realised the sm81's have served me very well. I remember now how well precussion things like tamb or shakers worked in the mix. The thing is, I think I'm beginning to expect that loud hyped type sound and the sm81's are just very ruler flat, honest and though not exciting they really work in a mix, the jury has spoken...I'm gonna keep em'-

[honkytonk]

oktava do come with a 10db pad btw.

[loudmusic]

On that note,

I got a pair of Oktava's and only one of the pads actually screwed on like it was supposed to. The other one was crossthreaded or something... I was able to make it work, but it was all wobbly. Overall pretty shoddy build quality....
they sound great though. Cheap but effective.

Martin

[joel hamilton]

They are both good microphones. I use both on almost every session.