Oktava MK-319 mic review

[inverseroom]

This inexpensive large-diaphragm condensor was my first non-crap microphone, and it remains the first one I reach for for lead vocals. It is fairly dark, with a strong midrange, which makes it a good complement to other affordable LDC's, such as the Studio Projects C1. When recording an acoustic-guitar based rock song, my band chose it over the AKG 414 and Neumann U87 for the acoustic guitar! Works great for baritone voice.
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New album out now! clicky

[Bear]

I don't have many mics to choose from, but even when I do, I often pull this for acoustic guitars, and it works great on my voice. Probably the best $100 I've spent on recording equipment.
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I am wangtacular.

[Lavahead]

I have tried it twice on vocals..and it sucked so bad compared to the two other mics I usually use (SE Tube 2500, AKG Solid Tube).

The only time I've liked it is when I put it about 3 feet above a drummers head and pointed it pretty much at the kick pedal. I compressed it about 6db and gave it a little boost in the highs...kicked ass. I've done that a few times and liked it everytime.
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steely dan sucks, and so do mesh hats

[andrew embassy]

We bought one of these for $15 because the place thought it was broken. It's done triple duty on pretty much everything, because we're too poor to buy any other mics, from vibes to guitar cabs to voice to whatever. It did very well with acoustic, and actually did pretty well miking a Wurlitzer 214 through a Vibrochamp.
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HEY! Who forgot they bag?

[twitchmonitor]

I got this mic even before I got a 57! I used it initially for vocals, and was pretty happy with the results despite the minimal processing gear available and the fact that I was printing to my 424...Now that i've got a bunch of mics, a nice PT system and a rack of gear, I still reach for this guy for vocals, but usually only after I discover my modded MXL2001 isn't going to work on a particular vocalist. Yeah, it's dark. Looks cool. Get a shockmount.

Haven't once wished I DIDN"T have this mic.

Oh, and it works REALLY well for micing cabs (if you want to stray from the 57-on-the-grill thing) and as a room mic on electric guitar (beat out the 414 I tried in this application once).

[wing]

i've found it really soft and gentle on most vocals.

[Bernardo]

I was asking about that mic on the Electrical forum, here:

http://www.electrical.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=619

[christiannokes]

I own one of these. I think it sounds good. I only use it for vocals though. I don't own many mics, so I don't really know what to compare it to.

[dino]

My only complaint with the 319's is that like the other products from Oktava, it's hard to get two of them to sound the same.. I have two 319's four their little 012 condensers, and they are all different mic's for all intents and purposes.. Of the 319's, one is noticably brighter than the other.. For vocals, I actually found more use for the duller of the two.. It seems to be more forgiving when it's pushed hard.. The other one is better suited to distant mic'ing where the extra top end helps pull detail out of things like a string section.. I'm glad I have all of them, but after buying six mic's, I'm still left without the matched pair that I started out to get. They do give me more colors in the crayon box, which is always a good thing. What concerns me though , and it should concern everyone who is considering Oktava's, is the fact that the two 319's sounded a lot more alike when they were new. Does this mean one of them is faulty? Does it mean one of them will continue to degrade until it becomes useless? Or will I get twenty years of good recordings out of them. Six months from now I might be back here posting how my new, thousand dollar, american made condenser just went up in smoke. Then you guys can hammer me for being stupid enough to blow that kind of money on a microphone. I just don't plan on getting another Oktava any time soon. Not until I see how these ones age. If your going to buy Oktava, make them take a bucket full out for you to compare. Even then there's no assuming that they will continue to sound the same. I might be little gun shy and jaded lately, thanks to Uli and the bozos at Behringer. Maybe it's just a stroke of bad luck, but everything I ever bought from Berry has since failed. I'm tired of "renting" equipment for a year or two until it craps out..Dean

[lars savage]

I've had really good luck with this thing on kick drum, about 3-5 feet back off the head, mixed with another mic inside the drum. Of course unless you build a house around it, it's another overhead as well at that distance. It used to be my main vocal mic as well, but Having graduated to a Rode NTK it doesn't see as much action anymore. When I put those two up side by side, the difference was pretty brutal on the 319... "hey this thing used to sound good, what happened?"

[obermorph]

If you want a matched Kick ass pair of any of the Oktava mics you HAVE to go to www.sound-room.com. Taylor Hohenahl (ie. THE mics) is the importer of the Oktavas.....he goes through them all, puts pairs together, and then sells the rest to putyououtofbusiness center (guitar center). They come in boxes, and with frequency responce plots.....thats where I get mine......and I love em.
Randy (aretoo)

[Mark]

Correction. It's Taylor Johnson who runs the sound room.

The H in T.H.E. stands for Hohendahl, which is the surname of the two brothers (Andy and Christian) who are Taylor's partners in the business.

[obermorph]

Sorry, Shit happens.
Rest of the info is right though......
(aretoo)

[nick_a]

to me, this mic has a ton of midrange, and for soft girl vox it came out well but made my guy friend sound like he was dead. The best place i've used it was right over the hammers of a baby grand piano. the sound was Beautiful. I felt as if i were in a dream, or as if i had a song playing in my head. i would suggest trying it to anyone.

[awolski]

A guy at G.C. said they were selling them 2 for $99 this month. I am seriously considering looking into this. My question, and this is a little off-topic of this thread, but also kinda on-topic, is what kind of comparisons can I do at the store to make sure I get 2 that I like? I guess I would ask them to bring a bunch out, hook me up with a clean preamp and a set of monitors, and talk through them, looking for any weird sounds and trying to find 2 with similar frequency characteristics. Is there anything else I should think of or listen for?

I'm thinking I'd like this mic because I want something for digital recording that is detailed but not real bright in the top end.