ml52 manual?

[jkudler]

hey there - i just got an oktava ml 52 ribbon mic off of ebay, and it didn't include any kind of manual or documentation, if it's even supposed to. does anyone have this stuff? if you'd be willing to xerox it for me, i could cover postage and a little bit of money, or possibly figure out something to trade.

thanks a lot,
jesse

[@?,*???&?]

It's an Oktava mic unlikely they'd provide anything other than the black pouch it comes in! Look for an extra mic clip too, the clips don't last very long.

[Randy]

At the risk of skirting copyright law, I will post the manual in full:

"
Oktava factory has been the main manufacturer of ribon microphones in the former USSR. Introduction of the ML-52 marks the company's return to its glorious ribbon heritage.

ML-52's recommended uses include acoustic MS recordings, wood wind instruments, vocals, bass and drums, distorted electric guitar, and all those applications, where high frequency detail can be sacrificed to better low midrange & bass reproduction.

ML-52 transducer assembly comprises two ultra-thin (2.5 mkm.) metallic ribbons, requiring careful attitude in use, shipping and storing the microphone.
Please remember, heavy impacts and strong airblows might deform or tear the microphone's ribbons."

Technical Specifications:
Frequency range, Hz--50-16000
Directional pattern-- bidirectional
Full electrical resistance at 1 kHz, Ohm--600 +/- 120
Free field sensitivity at 1KHz, mV/Pa-- 1.6
Average sensitivity change at 0 degrees to 90 degrees in 250-8000 Hz range-->16d dB

Dimensions:
diameter (max), mm-- 63
length, mm--185
Weight, kg .05
"

Then there is a frequency response curve, it has a slight hump of 2db from 70 Hz to 150 Hz and then a half-circle dip of about 5 db from 5000 Hz to 17000 Hz.

I got mine from the Sound Room and they included a plotted graph that is a bit different from the curve printed on the pamphlet (or manual) and a note saying that the mic gives 1.9 mv/pa (pretty strong for a ribbon)

now for the back cover:

"
Limited Warranty
The product is warranted for 24 months from the date of purchase. This limited warranty covers repair or replacement of any parts proved defective in materials or workmanship. Product warrnty shall not be extended to products repaired or modified without an authorization; to products mechanically or electrically damaged due to customer's mishandling, including incorrect phantom powering and exposure to excessive wind, humidity, vibration, or sound pressure.

Russian Transducer Technologies
VLA 1391, Suite 295
208 East 51 st Street
New York, NY 10022, USA
Tel.: +(095)1906152
email: rtt@glasnet.ru
"

[jkudler]

wow, thanks for that, randy! i hope you had it in the computer already and didn't have to type it all out.

best,
jesse

[I'm Painting Again]

ithink its funny that thier mailing address in in NY but the phone and e-mail is over seas..

[kayagum]

Thanks for posting the manual! Mine was completely in Russian, so with the exception of the response curve, nothing made sense.

[Flight Feathers]

i have a ton of dumb crap to do today, so naturally i am procrastinating. what better way than to help out the fellow tapeopers! i scanned the manual that came with mine for you. you can find it here:
http://www.ionrecords.com/tapeop/

i just got this mic, and i've played around with it a little bit. i must say, i get nervous around the thing, being all delicate and all. i wish it had a better mount.. my first impression of the mic is that it's DARK. it has a very smoothed out high end response i find. it sounds really cool on my fender twin playing a g&l asat (like a tele). that combo has a very twangy trebley sound that works great for cutting through live, but a little harsh for recording. the ml-52 really makes the recorded track sit nicely. i bet recording this mic to tape would sound great, i'm going digital tough. one question i had about the mic was which is the front. but i just found out it is a figure of 8 pattern, so it doesn't really have a front. that also explains why i was getting so much room sound when close micing the amp. i need to try putting some foam or something behind the mic to block out the room sound, because my room sounds like ass and i like to capture things as dry as possible.

i also tried it as room mic on drums, with a good amount of compression, and it sounded great. real dark and crunchy. in a nice room this sound would rock.

what have your experiences been with this mic?

ayan

[wormunit]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I got one of these mics a few weeks ago and I like it. I've done limited recording on electric guitar and it does sound way more natural than an SM57, which to my ears always sounded constipated on guitars.

I've mainly been using it for voice and acoustic guitar. I like the sound. Kind of old fashioned sounding but in a good way. I really like how there is no sibilance whatsoever. I find I do have to EQ the track a bit as it is a little dark, but when you do EQ it, you don't get a nasty sound like you do when boosting the highs on some mics.

I'm still trying to "master" this mic, as I find it to be quite finicky with respect to placement, but once you get it positioned correctly, it yields a great sound.

Devin

[rich]

anyone got some critisicm for this mic. the price of it looks nice to me but im curious if it has any major faults in design or anything lacking in its performance

[wormunit]

I have some criticism for this mic. Although I really like it, it is very dark sounding and very picky about mic placement. It's not a "set up and go" type of mic.

Also the quality of the mic clip sucks. It doesn't fit mic stands tightly. Real garbage. But overall, I like it's unique spirit.

Devin

[Red Rockets Glare]

I love love love my ml52 ribbon. I use it about 3 feet off amp cabinets with a tube mic about 6 to 10 feet off and get really awesome guitar sounds. That is about the best use I've found for it, puts my 57 to shame every time.
I also like it as a room mic for drums in addition to some nice overheads. It picks up the meat of the toms and snare that my overheads miss.
The mic clip is a piece of crap, but I haven't had any real problems with it. I have even commited the cardinal sin of sending phantom through it once & it survived.
Overall it really lends a nice color to a mic collection.
Cheers,
Raymond