Oktava MC-012

17 Years Making music
Pro recording experience
Record to tape, dump to DAW, mix to two track tape via analog board
Listening varies as it must - pro and consumer monitoring + headphones

Condenser - polar pattern via capsules, similar to Schoeps mic
Used for overheads and/or hi-hat, amplified keys
Actually like it better than SM81 for hat
Nice lively response, hi-end sits well, little heavy around 200Hz
Great small diaphragm condensor, modifiable, nice circuit design

NOT "all" MC-012's are "fake" as one user exclaimed.

quote from http://oktava.tula.net/fake:

"* - original MK-012 microphones produced by OAO Oktava earlier can also be labelled Oktava ??C 012.

** - MK-012 microphones manufactured before 2002 don't have serial numbers"

In fact, from what I remember at the time (~2001-2002), the "C" was just a marker indicating that you'd only receive one "C"apsule - "C"ardiod. "K" on these older versions such as mine, indicated that the product would ship with multiple capsules for use in obtaining multiple pickup patterns.

Some M"C" 012's, especially 012-01's are in fact genuine acc. to the guide at http://oktava.tula.net/fake/ - and acc. to my own two eyes in comparison to the "fake"s.

The mics that I have also do not have serial numbers, but appear to be genuine acc. to tula.net. But, don't take my word for it. Do your own research.

FYI

BEWARE. The mics marked as Oktava MC-012 (with a "C") are Chinese copies of the Russian version. They Guitar Center has brilliantly been selling these as the Russian version. They vary wildly in frequency response due to a absence of quality control by the manufacturer, and, moreover, there are some other problems:

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/

To be sure of the quality of your mics, buy only mics marked mK-012 (with a "K") that have been serial numbered.

I have been mixing live sound and some studio recording for over 20 years. For live applications I run into a Soundcraft Live 324 mixer, to Yorkville EF500p tops, and Yorkville ES700p subs.

I own 3 of these microphones, and use them for overhead drum mixes. For 5 or 6 piece drum kits, I use 2 of these mics, for larger kits I use all 3. For all kits I use a Beta 52 for kick drum. I have found these mikes give a very true reproduction of sound. Each individual drum and cymbal sounds just the way it is supposed to. I find this very easy set up (4 mikes) makes life so much easier, and still maintains high quality sound. Much better than the old days with 10 to 12 channels of drums. Multi-band venues are a breeze. For the price, they can't be beat.

I have been recording for about 10 years both live and in the studio.
Mostly on digital gear with some tube mic pre's mostly groove tubes.
I monitor on genelec's and tannoy's

Nice condenser, I only have the cardioid capsule but would love to try the omni. I use on hat's ,ride, overheads,acoustic guitars.They are as nice as my at4041's just a different color . It is great on all the above. You can not go wronge with this mic at this price. It is as good or better than many a mic ten to twenty times it's price

I've been playing percussion since I was 9 years old. In and out of bands since high school. I caught the recording bug in the early 90's since I had no interest in guitar or vocals. I used to use a Yamaha MS120 four track until a day old half empty bottle of beer landed on it. Now I use my computer, cakewalk, and cool edit pro. I mainly record our band during practice, demos, and when I feel creative on my drumkit and hand drums. I don't consider myself a gearhead, or a "Gary Gadget," but I can make quality recordings. What else would expect from a drummer???

I purchased a pair of these Octava MK-012 mics a few months ago cuz I wanted a couple of overheads for my drums. And I just couldn't resist the over-inflated savings that GC offered me. I insisted on trying them out in the store to see if they worked, and the rockstar with the nametag on hooked me up, gave me some attitude, and reminded me that I was saving $900 on the pair. (Has anybody ever paid list price for anything??) Sarcasm aside, these are nice little mics. I use the -10db pads for more control. Mainly as drum overheads, but I have used them for simple recordings of my hand drums, and I like the warmth and the range. I take care of all my gear now, (no food or drink allowed!!) and haven't had any problems with these. The clips can easily be crossthreaded if your not careful.

I have been a musician for over tweny years. I do mainly on-location recording, I also work in a mid-size commercial studio as a second engineer/assistant. I record to ProTools now with a Sony PCM 2300 runningt safety. Have used DA-78's and 20-bit ADATs in the past. My desert island set of headphones would be the Sony 7506's.

I own two pairs of the Oktava MK012 (or MC012 if you like) - one is cardioid only, the other is the multi-capsule set. I was a bit pickier when I bought the cardioid set and the quality of the multi-capsule set is a little poorer. I have used them on choirs, orchestras, pipe organs, pianos, and yes, just the other day a vocal mic (with a pop filter of course). In the studio, they are our drum overheads of choice. I own a matched pair of Schoeps CMC64's, but there are certain cituations where I am not afraid to reach for the Oktavas first.

I have found that the omni capsules have a really great bottom end, but they lack a clear high end, which my cardioid-only set has. I often use the two pairs in conjunction. They are definitely great mics if you want high end sound quality but don't want to put a really expensive mic at risk - which in live recording or live sound can be a big factor. I leave a pair of them in the back of my rack case in case something happens to my mic bag on the way to the gig.

Hey - they definitely aren't Schoeps, but there are more than a few people who would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Worked in the industry for 5 years, major studio for three, live sound on my own for 2. Making music for 7 years.

Recording to Pro Tools and 2". Now doing primarily live sound.

A&H GL3300, Tannoy Reveal Monitors (Active). EAW Mains.

MC-012 Cardioid pattern only. Sound great for choirs, celli, violin, often used them instead of the KM184's in the studio. Use them live (Only with -10 pad) on drum overheads, perc, sound absolutely wonderful on kick with a D12. They have a GREAT low end response. There is inconsistency between pairs, but with a little work you can find some to match. The connection for the cable can be pretty tight and hard to connect all the way on mine. I would Highly recomend these to anyone, you cant beat the the quality for the price.

Setup = 1981 Taylor 610 acoustic with Marshall AS50R amp. Mic is very quiet with volume set at approximately 4 and master volume around 1-2. Re-strung
the Taylor and got the most crisp, clear sound I've ever heard. For the 20+ years of owning the Taylor, I've used a early prototype of a Craig Anderton pickup.
With the Marshall, got too much gain noise from the pickup for my satisfaction. Decided to mic it and bought the Oktava on the recommendation of a music
store pro sound guy. Glad I did!!.

Very easy to use if you've ever hooked up a mic before. Requires phantom power like most/all condensers, which was not included in the design of the Marshall
AS50R (Acoustic soloist 50 watt w/reverb). Purchased the power and it's off and running. The manual was in Russian since it's a Russian manufactured mic.
Play around with placement in proximity to acoustic guitar, vocal, etc. to get optimum sound.

So far it's performing flawlessly and yes, at this stage, I would consider using it on a gig without backup, but actually I'm too cautious for that regardless of the
mic. I would probably carry a backup in case of an accident/breakage.


Play classic rock, blues, etc. on my electrics and acoustic tunes also. This mic was a great match for the Taylor.

Wind screen is a must, handling noise is high, pop filter in addition to wind screen needed for vocals. Somewhat fragile.

Very good value if you aren't afriad of trying a few and buying the one(s) you like. I've bought more. Nice general purpose mic that excels in certain applications. Very good bang-for-the-$. Be sure and check out a wind screen (about $4).

Good sounding mic. Nice for acoustic guitar, surprisingly good on female vocals. Well known to be good as drum/percussion overhead. I like it as the "far mic" when 2-mic'ing electric guitar. Sound can vary from on mic to another, but have yet to hear one that sounded bad, only different. All three capsules sound good on mine.

Build quality is inconsistent. Threads for capsule fragile. Seems reliable if you get a good one to begin with, mine still going after a couple of years.

Depends on who you contact and who you bought from. Sound Room is very rude if you didn't buy from them, even for paid service. GC has no support other than exchange in the first 45 days. I was able to contact the factory for a schematic and they were nice people.

Wind screen is a must, handling noise is high, pop filter in addition to wind screen needed for vocals. Somewhat fragile.

Good sounding mic. Nice for acoustic guitar, surprisingly good on female vocals. Well known to be good as drum/percussion overhead. I like it as the "far mic" when 2-mic'ing electric guitar. Sound can vary from on mic to another, but have yet to hear one that sounded bad, only different. All three capsules sound good on mine.

Build quality is inconsistent. Threads for capsule fragile. Seems reliable if you get a good one to begin with, mine still going after a couple of years.

Custom support - Depends on who you contact and who you bought from. Sound Room is very rude if you didn't buy from them, even for paid service. GC has no support other than exchange in the first 45 days. I was able to contact the factory for a schematic and they were nice people.

Very good value if you aren't afriad of trying a few and buying the one(s) you like. I've bought more. Nice general purpose mic that excels in certain applications. Very good bang-for-the-$. Be sure and check out a wind screen (about $4).