Oktava ML-52 Ribbon Mic

25 years of electronic circuit design for professional products.

This is another great microphone to modify. Removing extra head grille screening and the little metal filters in front of the ribbons will improve HF and LF extension dramaticaly.

A Lundhal or Cinemag transformer installed in place of the stock tranny is well worth the expense and effort.

Been recording for some 6-7 years, pop-rock albums, acoustic stuff and lots of tracking miscellaneous music.
I go directly to PT 24mix. Mix ITB.
Listen through Finnish Genelecs.

Its a cheap ribbon. Mostly intended for use as drumroom mics. If you like the Albini stuff, these will get you started.
I also tried them on electric gtr cabs and they can take a lot of skreeky mids from amps (telecaster sound etc).
Their not Coles's or Royers but pretty good all in all. Definately a good investment for the DAW project studio. They're smooth and very good in the low mids. Plus they can take a lot of EQ.
If you got your average mics: 2xSD cond. 57:s and whatever, I recommend having these for flavor. The only bad thing I can say is that the frequency response is a little different on the two I got. And the output on the other is some 2dB lower. It's not a problem for me though.

These microphones vary from mic to mic in sound and craftsmanship. I have two, and one has a really tight XLR input that I had to file in order to get the plug in all the way. Also the little mounting arm is really thin and bends easily. One of the mounts is really hard to get to stay in place properly. I like to use them in a Blumline setup for drum room mics and it is hard to get them to stay precisely in place.

The ML-52 is relatively tough for a ribbon mic, but I still treat it with extreme care. I keep it in the box whenever it isn?t in use. And I usually keep a wind screen on it when there is any chance of wind hitting it, from a fan or someone brushing next to it.
Windtech makes one called the CT-80. It isn?t made for the ML-52 but it fits perfectly, is super thick, and is specially designed not to mess up your tone. http://www.olsenaudio.com/special.html
If you live in the Los Angeles area you can get the CT-80 from Location Sound in North Hollywood.

This mic sounds like a classic ribbon mic. Very warm with a natural high-end roll off that eliminates harshness. If you want a vintage sound grab the ML-52. If you want a really clean sounding smooth mic grab a Royer. More modern ribbon mics like Royers have a much cleaner, flatter response, where the ML-52 frequency response is all over the place. That is what gives classic ribbon mics their unique sound. On vocals I usually have to eq the track a bit, but like most ribbon mics the ML-52 can take a lot of eq and still sound natural.

The ML-52 is not a mic I use on everything all the time. I have gotten really good results on singers that tend to have a harsh sibilant voice, but on people with smooth voices it sometimes sounds just dull and muddy.
It can sound really fat and smooth on guitar (especially Jazz and Blues tones), but if I am looking for a super thick low, chunky mid, and screaming highs (duel recto with the gain on 11 tone) I will usually pass up the ML-52.
I really love the ML-52 as drum room mics, and on some acoustic guitars. But you really have to play around and experiment with it.

The ML-52 has a lot of character. If you?re an audio purest that looks for flat frequency responses and wants to hear the source and not the mic, don?t buy the ML-52. But if you?re like me and like cool sounding tones and are into the sounds of old recordings the ML-52 is worth adding to your mic locker.


This is a ribbon mic, you have got to be gentle with it, it?s not a SM58! Use a windscreen and keep it away from strong bass and phantom power and it should last a long time.

A fun mic, and a great value. Sometimes a ribbon mic can give a recording a unique edge. If you like the sound of ribbon mics and can?t afford a Royer or AEA get a ML-52.

Pretty simply to hook up just make sure whatever you do...don't use phantom power! I have alot experience with and have owned ribbon mics(rca 77dx, rca 44) but people today have only seen pictures so please be careful

What can I say other than it sounds exactly like an RCA 77DX. I've had stellar results in using it on guitar amps. I wouldn't use it for louds hard rock or metal but I don't play or record that kind of music. But...for 30-50watt amps for country, rockabilly, jazz and blues it recreates exaclty what you hear and you don't have to use nay comprssion or EQ, it's a dream. I also use it on female vocals beacuse it rolls off the highs very well, the same for males with a higher range. If you are into doing modern rock, metal or rap music this probably isn't mic for you. It also makes a great room mic, I used it for a live recording and use the Oktava as the main sound source only using the individual mics to fill up the gaps.

You have to be very careful with any ribbon mic so don't bang it around and especially don't drop it or you'll kill it or damage the ribbon and lose half of your gain.
It has worked for me just fine and is ver consistent.

If you can't afford a coles, beyer or an old rca ribbon then this is the mic that won't set you back in dollars or that much quality. One thing I would warn anyone interested in buying one of these is that they don't all sound the same. I was todl this before I bought mine and went to guitar center and made them fire all four of them up and listed to each one which were all a little diffrerent.

If you know how to use ribbon mics, this thing is great! It IS fragile, like most ribbon mics. Do not apply phantom power (or any power source for that matter) and do not subject the ribbon to extreme air pressure. And be aware that the mic is fairly low output, so use a good preamp with lots of headroom. Treat the mic right and you'll be fine.


This mic is now my ABSOLUTE first choice for electric guitar. And every guitar player I've used it on so far has noticed the difference. Put your ear in front of the speaker (noting distance and direction), find the sweet spot, and put the mic there. I've been hanging mine upside-down in a carpeted room, completely perpendicular to the floor (to avoid the bright coloration inherent in angling ribbon mics). The sound quality is amazing. The control room sounds just like the amp. Patched into an API 512C mic pre, I've been running these signals straight to tape. No EQ, no nothing, unless I need something like 1176 electronics for a little tonal coloration. Guitar players have been going nuts over these sounds. I've also had good luck recording tenor sax with it and it had an interesting quality with one male vocalist. (He liked it, I didn't.) I went out and bought another one. I'll probably get to try it on upright bass soon and I can't wait.

Again, these mics are fragile. And the second one I bought had a slight defect in that the small guide on the side of the input jack didn't quite line up with the pins. So I had to return it and order another one. I would be sure to plug the mic in to a spare XLR end at the store before you take it home. They are REALLY cheap mics after all.

My issue didn't really lead me to having to deal with customer support except that I bought it at Guitar Center, who I hear recently purchased the Oktava line. The guys at Guitar Center were very cool about the whole thing and had me a replacement within days. (They would have flat out exchanged it if they'd had more in.)

Fantastic mic! Even before you consider that it's only $300. I purchased this mic after buying four of the Oktava MC-012s and loving them. I'm a big fan of ribbon mics and have considerable experience with the RCA 77DX, RCA 44, Coles/STC 4038, Royer 121, and Beyer M160. I find this mic to be sonically similar to the RCA 77s that I've used, with slightly higher output. Not a really brilliant top end and nice, smooth low mids. I've always loved the Coles mics, too, but I always try ro buy mics in pairs and I just haven't been able to shell out $2000 for a pair of 4038s yet. As I said I love it on guitar and my favorite setups so far have been a pair of ML-52s about 8" off of each speaker of a 2x12, one ML-52 and an AT 4047, or an ML-52 about a foot back and a pretty audacious room mic (U87, AT 4050, & AT 4047 are faves). This mic is truly a winner. Can't wait to try the tube mics!