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Post by Mister Chase on Feb 27, 2019 22:09:53 GMT -6
My late friend wrote for Sony records and they offered to buy him a Mando. He warned them about the price but they just wrote the check. That thing sounded amazing and was so loud. Some kind of hand made Gibson. Nothing like an amazing mandolin. Check out "Mississippi railroad blues" on the ghost train sessions from studio B at old RCA Marty Stuart did. Whew. Amazing playing but amazing tone, too.
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Post by drbill on Feb 27, 2019 23:02:20 GMT -6
I had the original mc012's from Russia. Bought them in the early 2000's. Modded them with the mods we came up with on gdiy before Joly stole the mods and started his business up. Definitely opened up the sound some.. But.. Ended up selling them after I got some km184's. They never held up to the Neumanns. KM184 is my "one that got away" I need to save up for a pair. I never really understood the redheaded step child reputation with them, they always sounded just right to me. I think these modded Oktavas are going to be a little bit darker than the 184 though, they have that dark oktava vibe sort of. Works with my super bright taylor 114. They are even darker and smoother after the C2 mod that I did, compared to the stock tests with the same guitar. The "weirdness" went away after the cap change. It's a satisfying mod because it took me maybe 20 minutes or so for two mics. I'm thinking about the capsule to fet coupling cap but I'm not sure if I'll mess with it. That would be an even easier change. I just don't have the C0G caps in hand There is zero doubt the 012's will be darker than 184's. 184's are not designed for close mic-ing. They are much better at distances a little further than most people mic at. And Svart's jab at MJ was uncalled for. I know Michael well, and while his mods may be similar to Dorsey's, the put a LOT of experimentation into them to make them his own. Personally, I'd take a pair of MJ 012's over 184's any day. That is unless I could sell the 184's, buy some 012's and pocket the change.
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Post by drbill on Feb 27, 2019 23:12:18 GMT -6
KM184 is my "one that got away" I need to save up for a pair. I never really understood the redheaded step child reputation with them, they always sounded just right to me. I think these modded Oktavas are going to be a little bit darker than the 184 though, they have that dark oktava vibe sort of. Works with my super bright taylor 114. They are even darker and smoother after the C2 mod that I did, compared to the stock tests with the same guitar. The "weirdness" went away after the cap change. It's a satisfying mod because it took me maybe 20 minutes or so for two mics. I'm thinking about the capsule to fet coupling cap but I'm not sure if I'll mess with it. That would be an even easier change. I just don't have the C0G caps in hand The km184 are just a tad brighter than the km84 but not overly so, especially not to the degree that folks claim. They still have the same km "thing" in the mid to high frequencies, which I think is mostly the capsule. It's not just the brightness - which they certainly are. That's a given. But it's the way they handle transients that IMO mostly differentiates them from each other. The KM84's are almost universally accepted as being better - UNLESS - you're doing more distance micing - which is what neumann was pointed towards with the 184's from my understanding. And IMO, they fall short to 84's there in medium distances as well - unless you're talking WAY distant - like back of auditorium distant - where the 184 might just be a better mic. My pretty extensive experience with both, and my PERSONAL opinion. As always with opinions, YMMV. PS - For anyone that wants the 184 over an 84 for whatever reason, I'd highly suggest looking into the 100 series from Neumann. KM140 / KM150 / etc.. Very high end mic that you can find at ridiculous prices used, and similar to 184's but higher end.
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Post by svart on Feb 28, 2019 8:40:42 GMT -6
The km184 are just a tad brighter than the km84 but not overly so, especially not to the degree that folks claim. They still have the same km "thing" in the mid to high frequencies, which I think is mostly the capsule. It's not just the brightness - which they certainly are. That's a given. But it's the way they handle transients that IMO mostly differentiates them from each other. The KM84's are almost universally accepted as being better - UNLESS - you're doing more distance micing - which is what neumann was pointed towards with the 184's from my understanding. And IMO, they fall short to 84's there in medium distances as well - unless you're talking WAY distant - like back of auditorium distant - where the 184 might just be a better mic. My pretty extensive experience with both, and my PERSONAL opinion. As always with opinions, YMMV. PS - For anyone that wants the 184 over an 84 for whatever reason, I'd highly suggest looking into the 100 series from Neumann. KM140 / KM150 / etc.. Very high end mic that you can find at ridiculous prices used, and similar to 184's but higher end. Well you're certainly entitled to your opinions, even if you hint at them being the only truth.. Most of the A/B blind clip threads at GS and here that have the 84 and 184 together show most folks choose the 184 until they know which is which, and then walk back their decisions/comments to come in line with the groupthink of 84>184 to save face.. And my *opinion* is that the MC/MK012 never touches the KM series, be it the 84 or 184, even after modding. I went to the ends of the earth modding mine, including a custom PCB to handle some of the mods, etc.. My opinion, of course, after using all versions of the '012 and the 84/184 over years as well. MC/MK012 is a great mic for what it is though. I think they are better than pretty much any other pencil mics below the KM series, besides maybe the MC930's. It's just that they aren't KM killers as most folks hope they are when they are looking at price differences. Everyone wants a cheap solution, but they don't do the KM "thing" no matter what you do to them. And whatever. I remember Joly around Gdiy asking about all the mods and then starting his business doing the mods and heavily insinuating to potential clients that those mods were *his* creations.. I don't really care that he does(did?) modding, it's always been a sore spot for a lot of us that he has always claimed he came up with those mods, even though they were shared in a community for non-commercial usage.
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Post by drbill on Feb 28, 2019 10:25:20 GMT -6
It's not just the brightness - which they certainly are. That's a given. But it's the way they handle transients that IMO mostly differentiates them from each other. The KM84's are almost universally accepted as being better - UNLESS - you're doing more distance micing - which is what neumann was pointed towards with the 184's from my understanding. And IMO, they fall short to 84's there in medium distances as well - unless you're talking WAY distant - like back of auditorium distant - where the 184 might just be a better mic. My pretty extensive experience with both, and my PERSONAL opinion. As always with opinions, YMMV. PS - For anyone that wants the 184 over an 84 for whatever reason, I'd highly suggest looking into the 100 series from Neumann. KM140 / KM150 / etc.. Very high end mic that you can find at ridiculous prices used, and similar to 184's but higher end. Well you're certainly entitled to your opinions, even if you hint at them being the only truth.. Most of the A/B blind clip threads at GS and here that have the 84 and 184 together show most folks choose the 184 until they know which is which, and then walk back their decisions/comments to come in line with the groupthink of 84>184 to save face.. And my *opinion* is that the MC/MK012 never touches the KM series, be it the 84 or 184, even after modding. I went to the ends of the earth modding mine, including a custom PCB to handle some of the mods, etc.. My opinion, of course, after using all versions of the '012 and the 84/184 over years as well. MC/MK012 is a great mic for what it is though. I think they are better than pretty much any other pencil mics below the KM series, besides maybe the MC930's. It's just that they aren't KM killers as most folks hope they are when they are looking at price differences. Everyone wants a cheap solution, but they don't do the KM "thing" no matter what you do to them. And whatever. I remember Joly around Gdiy asking about all the mods and then starting his business doing the mods and heavily insinuating to potential clients that those mods were *his* creations.. I don't really care that he does(did?) modding, it's always been a sore spot for a lot of us that he has always claimed he came up with those mods, even though they were shared in a community for non-commercial usage. Svart - my opinions are my opinions only. But ones that I think are shared by many. Clips are fine - but having the mics in your hands and using them is really the only way to develop a realistic opinion I think. I developed my opinions over time, and by using both - not by internet clips. Have you had both 84 and 184 to use interchangeably? Like I mentioned, the 184 is a good mic, I'd just rather use it at distance than typical modern close mic'd situations. Mics are very subjective. Everyone's opinion is as valid as the next guys. But if you do like the 184, you should check out the KM140 at some point. I'm not going to get into the MJ thing with you. If he was here and if he cared - neither of which is going to happen - he could speak for himself. I think it's a cheap shot to essentially call someone a thief behind their back. I've spoken with him many times about his company and designs. He's a good guy. That's it from me on that subject.
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Post by svart on Feb 28, 2019 12:03:41 GMT -6
Well you're certainly entitled to your opinions, even if you hint at them being the only truth.. Most of the A/B blind clip threads at GS and here that have the 84 and 184 together show most folks choose the 184 until they know which is which, and then walk back their decisions/comments to come in line with the groupthink of 84>184 to save face.. And my *opinion* is that the MC/MK012 never touches the KM series, be it the 84 or 184, even after modding. I went to the ends of the earth modding mine, including a custom PCB to handle some of the mods, etc.. My opinion, of course, after using all versions of the '012 and the 84/184 over years as well. MC/MK012 is a great mic for what it is though. I think they are better than pretty much any other pencil mics below the KM series, besides maybe the MC930's. It's just that they aren't KM killers as most folks hope they are when they are looking at price differences. Everyone wants a cheap solution, but they don't do the KM "thing" no matter what you do to them. And whatever. I remember Joly around Gdiy asking about all the mods and then starting his business doing the mods and heavily insinuating to potential clients that those mods were *his* creations.. I don't really care that he does(did?) modding, it's always been a sore spot for a lot of us that he has always claimed he came up with those mods, even though they were shared in a community for non-commercial usage. Svart - my opinions are my opinions only. But ones that I think are shared by many. Clips are fine - but having the mics in your hands and using them is really the only way to develop a realistic opinion I think. I developed my opinions over time, and by using both - not by internet clips. Have you had both 84 and 184 to use interchangeably? Like I mentioned, the 184 is a good mic, I'd just rather use it at distance than typical modern close mic'd situations. Mics are very subjective. Everyone's opinion is as valid as the next guys. But if you do like the 184, you should check out the KM140 at some point. I'm not going to get into the MJ thing with you. If he was here and if he cared - neither of which is going to happen - he could speak for himself. I think it's a cheap shot to essentially call someone a thief behind their back. I've spoken with him many times about his company and designs. He's a good guy. That's it from me on that subject. "My opinion, of course, after using all versions of the '012 and the 84/184 over years as well." So yeah, in conjunction with the MC/MK012 as well. The 84's were borrowed, the 184's and the MK012's were mine. I saw no need to go after a set of 84's since the difference was so small between them and 184's. I liked the MC/MK012's, but I never pulled them out of the boxes to use once I got the 184's. I do actually tend to pull the highs down a small amount on tracks I use the 184's on, which give them a comparable frequency response to the 84's. In either case, there's certainly a specific tone that the KM series mics add to the source that no other mic does. It's especially noticeable on cymbals and other metallic sources. And behind his back? he's been publicly called out many times by others over the years. I'm doing nothing new.
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Post by notneeson on Feb 28, 2019 13:56:07 GMT -6
svart what's you KM184 treatment? How many db dip, at what, say 8K? Broad Q? Been meaning to try this on the way in with my 1073 clones, guessing 7.2K might be close enough. I have had some issues with KM184s being strident on occasion, but far from always. It really depends on what that lift brings out in the source.
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Post by svart on Feb 28, 2019 14:02:20 GMT -6
svart what's you KM184 treatment? How many db dip, at what, say 8K? Broad Q? Been meaning to try this on the way in with my 1073 clones, guessing 7.2K might be close enough. I have had some issues with KM184s being strident on occasion, but far from always. It really depends on what that lift brings out in the source. I usually do a high shelf cut of about 2dB at 7KHz or so to start. That gets it in the ballpark. If I compress heavily, I tend to back off the cut a little to keep some high end.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 28, 2019 14:39:39 GMT -6
there's certainly a specific tone that the KM series mics add to the source that no other mic does. That's how I feel. I don't have a lot of "wow" moments with SDC mics, but the KM184 certainly is one. Didn't Joly get banned from gearslutz? No need to rehash old drama but I remember being rubbed against the grain by him. Oh well, who doesn't love a modded Oktava. I ordered some 1 nF Vishay C0G caps I'm going to put them in my mics when they arrive from China. Didn't feel like paying $5 for Mouser shipping, haha.
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Post by Chad on Feb 28, 2019 15:14:27 GMT -6
svart what's you KM184 treatment? How many db dip, at what, say 8K? Broad Q? Been meaning to try this on the way in with my 1073 clones, guessing 7.2K might be close enough. I have had some issues with KM184s being strident on occasion, but far from always. It really depends on what that lift brings out in the source. I usually do a high shelf cut of about 2dB at 7KHz or so to start. That gets it in the ballpark. If I compress heavily, I tend to back off the cut a little to keep some high end. I tried this once just for fun... Antares Mic Mod FX Plugin: - Source Mic: KM184 - Modeled Mic: KM84 (proximity to taste) Seemed to get it in the ballpark. No files to share. That was a couple of years ago, and it was using some test files I downloaded from another site.
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Post by svart on Feb 28, 2019 15:37:45 GMT -6
there's certainly a specific tone that the KM series mics add to the source that no other mic does. That's how I feel. I don't have a lot of "wow" moments with SDC mics, but the KM184 certainly is one. Didn't Joly get banned from gearslutz? No need to rehash old drama but I remember being rubbed against the grain by him. Oh well, who doesn't love a modded Oktava. I ordered some 1 nF Vishay C0G caps I'm going to put them in my mics when they arrive from China. Didn't feel like paying $5 for Mouser shipping, haha. He might have. I know when he was confronted on Gdiy, he deleted his whole account. Anyway, have you tried some russian polystyrene caps? You used to be able to buy 'styrene caps here in the states, but those have since gone EOL. i think you can still get USSR era NOS caps that might work. They are the best for the capsule coupling, followed by COG/NP0. I actually might have some 1nF styrene caps I could send you if you if I can find them.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 28, 2019 15:48:13 GMT -6
That's how I feel. I don't have a lot of "wow" moments with SDC mics, but the KM184 certainly is one. Didn't Joly get banned from gearslutz? No need to rehash old drama but I remember being rubbed against the grain by him. Oh well, who doesn't love a modded Oktava. I ordered some 1 nF Vishay C0G caps I'm going to put them in my mics when they arrive from China. Didn't feel like paying $5 for Mouser shipping, haha. He might have. I know when he was confronted on Gdiy, he deleted his whole account. Anyway, have you tried some russian polystyrene caps? You used to be able to buy 'styrene caps here in the states, but those have since gone EOL. i think you can still get USSR era NOS caps that might work. They are the best for the capsule coupling, followed by COG/NP0. I actually might have some 1nF styrene caps I could send you if you if I can find them. Oh cool! I have a big fat polypropylene film cap that might be in the way on the back of the boards, so in the interest of fitting in a small space I thought I would try the C0G parts. I do have some polystyrene caps here but I think 330 pF is the highest value I have in stock. I could ditch the C2 bypass cap and put a big capsule coupling cap back there... Just sort of winging it right now but the do sound good. I just checked and I do in fact have some 1 nF russian polystyrene capacitors in my drawer, they are rather large rectangle size, and green. I don't know if that's the ones you're talking about. My other polystyrene caps are the small silver cylinders.
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Post by svart on Feb 28, 2019 15:50:41 GMT -6
He might have. I know when he was confronted on Gdiy, he deleted his whole account. Anyway, have you tried some russian polystyrene caps? You used to be able to buy 'styrene caps here in the states, but those have since gone EOL. i think you can still get USSR era NOS caps that might work. They are the best for the capsule coupling, followed by COG/NP0. I actually might have some 1nF styrene caps I could send you if you if I can find them. Oh cool! I have a big fat polypropylene film cap that might be in the way on the back of the boards, so in the interest of fitting in a small space I thought I would try the C0G parts. I do have some polystyrene caps here but I think 330 pF is the highest value I have in stock. I could ditch the C2 bypass cap and put a big capsule coupling cap back there... Just sort of winging it right now but the do sound good. I just checked and I do in fact have some 1 nF russian polystyrene capacitors in my drawer, they are rather large rectangle size, and green. I don't know if that's the ones you're talking about. My other polystyrene caps are the small silver cylinders. I know I fit small cylindrical ones in my mics, similar to the ones you mention. Let me take a look tonight and I'll see if I have any.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 28, 2019 15:53:08 GMT -6
Oh cool! I have a big fat polypropylene film cap that might be in the way on the back of the boards, so in the interest of fitting in a small space I thought I would try the C0G parts. I do have some polystyrene caps here but I think 330 pF is the highest value I have in stock. I could ditch the C2 bypass cap and put a big capsule coupling cap back there... Just sort of winging it right now but the do sound good. I just checked and I do in fact have some 1 nF russian polystyrene capacitors in my drawer, they are rather large rectangle size, and green. I don't know if that's the ones you're talking about. My other polystyrene caps are the small silver cylinders. I know I fit small cylindrical ones in my mics, similar to the ones you mention. Let me take a look tonight and I'll see if I have any. I just found some Xicon ones on ebay for pretty cheap, I'll probably order those in the morning, see if they fit. Thanks for the help by the way.
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Post by Guitar on Mar 24, 2019 8:24:33 GMT -6
Oh cool! I have a big fat polypropylene film cap that might be in the way on the back of the boards, so in the interest of fitting in a small space I thought I would try the C0G parts. I do have some polystyrene caps here but I think 330 pF is the highest value I have in stock. I could ditch the C2 bypass cap and put a big capsule coupling cap back there... Just sort of winging it right now but the do sound good. I just checked and I do in fact have some 1 nF russian polystyrene capacitors in my drawer, they are rather large rectangle size, and green. I don't know if that's the ones you're talking about. My other polystyrene caps are the small silver cylinders. I know I fit small cylindrical ones in my mics, similar to the ones you mention. Let me take a look tonight and I'll see if I have any. I put the polystyrene caps in there and the mics are sounding good. I have no idea how much voltage is on the capsule but my caps are only rated for 50V (I forgot to check that when buying) nothing has blown up though, they work fine.
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Post by EmRR on Mar 24, 2019 8:29:07 GMT -6
David Royer told me the Oktava capsules will only do a little over 50V before they collapse to the backplate and die. That's not really the question you were asking.....but it's not more than the phantom power you are using.
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Post by svart on May 7, 2021 13:43:32 GMT -6
So resurrecting this thread..
I recently bought back into a matched pair of MK012's after selling mine years ago and regretting it since.
Over the last week I have been getting the studio back into shape for recording other folks and I've been shaking out the bugs a bit by doing some tracking of various instruments including drums. I decided to give the MK012's a go for overheads and I was extremely pleased with them.
I bought back into them to get some of that thicker/slower sound they do but these are definitely a bit more hi-fi than I remember. My first pair was mid-90's vintage when you could buy them from GC for 75$ each. I had modded them with all the various mods that were created back then and later became the Joly mods, etc.
The new ones certainly do contain all the upgrades as some folks have already noticed, so there's no point in modding the new ones you can buy.
Anyway, I'm really liking them on overheads. The slower sound doesn't accentuate the brittleness of bright cymbals and they bring out more of the brassiness than the KM184's I've been using do.
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Post by ragan on May 7, 2021 14:05:32 GMT -6
So resurrecting this thread.. I recently bought back into a matched pair of MK012's after selling mine years ago and regretting it since. Over the last week I have been getting the studio back into shape for recording other folks and I've been shaking out the bugs a bit by doing some tracking of various instruments including drums. I decided to give the MK012's a go for overheads and I was extremely pleased with them. I bought back into them to get some of that thicker/slower sound they do but these are definitely a bit more hi-fi than I remember. My first pair was mid-90's vintage when you could buy them from GC for 75$ each. I had modded them with all the various mods that were created back then and later became the Joly mods, etc. The new ones certainly do contain all the upgrades as some folks have already noticed, so there's no point in modding the new ones you can buy. Anyway, I'm really liking them on overheads. The slower sound doesn't accentuate the brittleness of bright cymbals and they bring out more of the brassiness than the KM184's I've been using do. Good to know. I've missed my pair since selling them years ago. I've wondered if it was true that the standard mods really had been incorporated into the stock design, glad to know they have. Might have to grab a pair.
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Post by gouge on May 7, 2021 17:06:16 GMT -6
So resurrecting this thread.. I recently bought back into a matched pair of MK012's after selling mine years ago and regretting it since. Over the last week I have been getting the studio back into shape for recording other folks and I've been shaking out the bugs a bit by doing some tracking of various instruments including drums. I decided to give the MK012's a go for overheads and I was extremely pleased with them. I bought back into them to get some of that thicker/slower sound they do but these are definitely a bit more hi-fi than I remember. My first pair was mid-90's vintage when you could buy them from GC for 75$ each. I had modded them with all the various mods that were created back then and later became the Joly mods, etc. The new ones certainly do contain all the upgrades as some folks have already noticed, so there's no point in modding the new ones you can buy. Anyway, I'm really liking them on overheads. The slower sound doesn't accentuate the brittleness of bright cymbals and they bring out more of the brassiness than the KM184's I've been using do. hi Svart, can you let me know what fet and caps the jolly mod is? i have a pair i'm looking at modding after using a pair of MJ i don't have access to anymore i'd love to have that sound again as they were exceptional for me.
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Post by svart on May 7, 2021 18:02:07 GMT -6
So resurrecting this thread.. I recently bought back into a matched pair of MK012's after selling mine years ago and regretting it since. Over the last week I have been getting the studio back into shape for recording other folks and I've been shaking out the bugs a bit by doing some tracking of various instruments including drums. I decided to give the MK012's a go for overheads and I was extremely pleased with them. I bought back into them to get some of that thicker/slower sound they do but these are definitely a bit more hi-fi than I remember. My first pair was mid-90's vintage when you could buy them from GC for 75$ each. I had modded them with all the various mods that were created back then and later became the Joly mods, etc. The new ones certainly do contain all the upgrades as some folks have already noticed, so there's no point in modding the new ones you can buy. Anyway, I'm really liking them on overheads. The slower sound doesn't accentuate the brittleness of bright cymbals and they bring out more of the brassiness than the KM184's I've been using do. hi Svart, can you let me know what fet and caps the jolly mod is? i have a pair i'm looking at modding after using a pair of MJ i don't have access to anymore i'd love to have that sound again as they were exceptional for me. The fet is 2sk170 and the capsule coupling cap is wima, I think 820p.
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Post by gouge on May 8, 2021 1:57:16 GMT -6
Thx
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Post by javamad on May 8, 2021 3:45:38 GMT -6
I have a pair I bought about 3 years ago (MK-012-01) I use them mostly on acoustic guitar or other acoustic insteuments and I like them a lot .. stock.
I have tried on Overheads but prefer Mini K47 and recently Cascade Fatheads w/Lundhal
Every time I get in my head that I need some KM184, I start reading threads and people say the Oktavas are very good ... so I think if I'm not going to hear a huge difference .. I decide to not pull the trigger.
And here's another of those threads :-)
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Post by Guitar on May 8, 2021 4:38:35 GMT -6
I used a 1,000 pF polystyrene for the coupling cap in my Oktavas, they sound great, guess I already said this months ago, after svart so generously guided me through it. I'm not "sure" about ceramic coupling caps yet, at least not sure about the oktava factory ceramic caps anyway. I don't have any spare NP0 C0G types here, guess I should get some. Did the same 1,000 pF polystyrene thing with my SE 1A mic, that one really responded well to the simple change. I have no doubt the $90 chinese mic had a less than optimal ceramic cap in that position, after hearing the difference. Wima sounds like a good idea too. I personally didn't want to mess with the FET in the MK 012, too nervous that those tiny pcb traces might not survive the surgery. Some mod people like Bill Sitler will even change all the capacitors on new ones, not to change the values so much, but supposedly to use better brand name components, something I chose not to worry about, but am aware of. Since the thread came back, I have been using the MK 012 on acoustic guitar lately. I finally did this thing where it's on a moveable stand so I can go around the room wherever I want and position it in different places with the guitar. I used to always have my mics in a fixed position, found that a bit limiting I guess. Haven't been using the ribbon mic on acoustics so much lately, although that's the other sort of most used mic for this source. I have an actual "tracking area" now since the big reorganization, even though it's only a few square feet of empty space. Exploring my tiny little space. I agree that these mics are a bit slow and dark. And just talking about Oktava in general, I'm sort of interested in their vintage ribbon mics now, would love to try one as a project. The people I know that have them seem to rave about the sound. There's another recordist in town (full time, professional) who uses one for most of his lead vocals, which kind of surprised me. Here's a couple schematics of the oktava MK 012 circuit, that you can check against your mics to see if they are up to date, with recommendations for updated values: If my just enough knowledge to be dangerous ideas are anywhere close to correct, the higher "high Z" resistor values charging the capsule and biasing the gate of the FET might give a little better bass response, same with increasing the coupling cap value, and swapping to better capacitor types will just help with overall clarity, or just to change the tone to whatever capacitor sound you like in a mic. You can really hear capacitor type in a microphone more than some other audio circuits, it's not irrelevant. One of my big breakthroughs with my "251" was changing from an audiophile film cap to a specific old Sprague electrolytic for the output capacitor, and changing the Nichicon Fine Gold in the cathode bypass position to an Elma Silmic II reduced the sibilance in that mic, believe it or not. The capsule coupling position is another really good place to do critical listening of capacitor types, as per this Oktava discussion. A mylar film capacitor is going to be a bit slow and thick compared to a polystyrene film of the same value, to give one example. Paper in oil caps are favorites of mine, but they are often too large for some microphones, but wonderful when you can get away with placing them. This post was inspired by black coffee.
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Post by notneeson on May 8, 2021 8:14:53 GMT -6
Maybe this has been said before here, but I find the Oktavas much easier to overload compared to km84s or km184s.
And I hate the plastic box with the counterintuitive hinge. The newer wooden boxes obviously take care of this issue.
Other than that the sound of the mic, even stock, does not suck. I have one on long term loan and I’m actually surprised how much I like it on the mix. Still miss the km84s from my old place, but that’s ok.
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Post by svart on May 8, 2021 8:54:28 GMT -6
I have a pair I bought about 3 years ago (MK-012-01) I use them mostly on acoustic guitar or other acoustic insteuments and I like them a lot .. stock. I have tried on Overheads but prefer Mini K47 and recently Cascade Fatheads w/Lundhal Every time I get in my head that I need some KM184, I start reading threads and people say the Oktavas are very good ... so I think if I'm not going to hear a huge difference .. I decide to not pull the trigger. And here's another of those threads :-) The km184 are just different. Much more detail and sparkle on top. The mid-range presentation is different too.
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