Hi fellow slutz,

I'm really interested in buying one of these (they are equally priced on the oktavamod europe shop). The mods really improve the sound! I've heard a lot of examples, but I am unable to test them myself, so I have to rely mostly on online shootouts and examples.

...But I cannot decide between them. Wich of these will be more suitable for male/female singing, in a hiphop/reggae setting?

I'm ftm also looking at a matching pre for that, RNP maybe?

Ps: they are both 259eur here

Dont know about the mods but I would not use this mic as a first choice on voice, I remember buying my 219 around 40 eur, for me its not worth much more really...

Hi UnDeFiNeD,

I have a pair of modded MK-319s and I really like them, they definately fit very nicely in my mic collection. I've only owned them for a couple of months but have found them a pleasure to use.

As far as I understood, the differences between the 219 and 319 are relatively slight, apart from the headbasket design. Just be careful using them on vocals as they only use a single layer mesh and so the capsules are really exposed.

Michael Joly is THE MAN, he is sooo helpful and although I'm in the UK I couldn't get hold of the 319s I wanted and so he hand picked two with similar freq. responses, modded them, burnt them in and sent them to me in under two weeks! I'd direct your questions his way. heh

Cheers, Tim thumbsup

If you want presence on the vocal, the MK105 might be a better choice. Unless your singer has a horribly bright voice, in which case the 319 would smooth it out.

Hi sorry if I come off like a total Microphone-Moron (which I admittedly am).

What does this mic sound good on?
I have an Oktava MK-319 that I've never ever used, brand new in box sitting in my room.
I don't even know what it is particularly good for, drums? vocals? Farts? lol.
I pretty much got it for free a couple yrs ago.
Is it good as-is? Would investing in a Oktava-Mod for it make it a worthwhile piece?

Also, anyone know where I can get the shockmount for it?

(sorry to derail thread.)

I heard the difference between the modded and non-modded edition, and I must say the mod really enhances top, bottom end and transient respons in a drastic way!

I found the MK105 to be too bright and airy in the comparisons, but then again the 319 was a bit too dark, so I'm aiming at the 219 ftm since it has a nice overall character (judging on what I've heard in the tests and examples of course).

If anyone has more to share about these, especially the modded ones, please do

Get a modded 219 or 319 first. Start there, you wont be sorry. If you feel you want to try a brighter model after that, the 105 is beautiful, and the highs are very nice, not glassy or harsh. It is a large sounding mic.

You have to remember though, any samples online are for rough measuring. Your speakers and room have alot to do with judgment calls, so use headphones when you can...they at least level the playing field some, and take out the room.

@Acoustic Cloud
I remember reading that u did samplerecordings on the Oktavamod site, wich ones where they?

My room is dark and quite damped, I'm thinking about setting up a booth, but in the meantime I do the recordings in de CR next to the console and the pc, with a SM57 that was never a problem, but with a condenser I can imagine it will be, is the (room)sensitivity high on the oktavamods?

Tnx

Also consider context. If the samples are a solo voice/instrument not in a mix, they can be deceiving. A flatish mic can sound great by itself, but put it in a mix and it can sound like mud.

that might be true, but in a more hiphop/reggae context like mine, the heavier, more present low/midrange of the 219/319 would really 'buff' up the vocals, much in a way a dynamic mic would, combined with a more sensitive response, also in the higher regions, this would make a good addition to my soon-to-have sm7b.
And I don't mind eq'ing the highs a bit, if the mic can take it well.

I did the modded/unmodded 219 acoustic guitar samples. My room is very dead, and the samples I did on the site have no nothing on them, just pure mic and guitar.

But if your room is quite damped, why set up a booth? To be honest, if you think the 105 is too bright, and the 319 is too dark, you may be looking at a porridge that will never sound right until you get one uvvem!!heh

Undef:

You are contemplating too much, without actually having the old "Hands-on" to be honest.....dont let that get away from you. I think you may just let the SM-7 sit around sometimes, after hearing the 219 or 319. I have had and used both. The SM-7 is a bit of a pain because of the gain it needs.

(After all you did say you havent had delivery of either)

Octava mod is the real deal, and M Joly is a great person to do business with. If you have a 219/319 sitting in the back of your closet, it would be silly not to spend a little to receive such a drastically improved sound

premod 219= very ordinary
post mod= eye opening clarity throughout the eq spectrum

An unmodded MK319 may be dark (murky and cloudy too) but a modded MK319 with the premium electronics is in no way dark at all. I definitely recommend going all the way with the premium electronics.

The OkatavMod MK319 is a great all around mic and works on many, many sources.
It is great on vox and acoustic guitar.
It is very open with a natural sound with just a hint of character.

If the MK319 was my first mic I probably wouldn't have gone through so many.
Mine sat around unused for a couple of years.
Now, it is among the first mics I whip out.
It is a great reference.
It is never harsh sounding.
It has less sibilance than any mic anywhere near as open.
It is a mic that will have a home in your locker no matter what else you might ever buy.

I highly, highly recommend the OktavaMod MK319/219.
I like the MK105 too and it is excellent on acoustic guitar; however, I think the MK319 is easily the best all around Oktava and maybe the best all around mic I've ever used.

I love it.....can you tell?

Mr. Cloud recommended it to me....great advice I must say.....

ok, so u guys did an excelent job convincing me even more of buying one, now i'm def gonna!
Acoustic cloud, your guitarsamples where the ones that truely convinced me that the mod does more than a world of difference to the mics, it's like someone put up a 1000$ more expensive mic in front of your guitar!

But still I haven't decided between the two, how do they differ in character from echother? I'm still angling toworths the MK-219, especcially after hearing the spokenword examples, wich are important if im gonna use a condeser on rap vocals (I normally use dynamics for that)....but the 319 sure looks better

so, how do they compare to eachother?

Tnx

They are the same mics in different housings.
In the original versions, the 219 housing caused lots of problems with the sound.
After getting the OktavaMod treatment that's no longer true.

I'd buy the particular model depending on what I wanted to use it for or what I wanted to look at, that's about it.
EX: the 219 can probably be moved around for instruments more easily as it is a smaller mic. The 319 might look better in front og a vocalist, if that matters.

I happened to have a 319 sitting around, so I used it; however, I would not hesitate to buy either. Also, the 219 will cost less money to buy.

Good luck and enjoy......

It acctually doesn't, 259eur for de 219/319 with mod, 339eur for the 219/319 with mod + PEO. So the 219 it will be, since I acctually don't give a damn how a mic looks, and the singer/rapper will just see a popscreen in front of them so they probably won't riot against me

Does anybody know what the deal is with those "flat top" "dome top" etc mods on the 319?

Mod or no mod, the 319 has a certain honk or growl to it. It also has a significant dip at about 5K. Decent mic though after it's been fixed up a bit, sometimes that 319 honk is just the ticket.

I LOVE my Oktavamod 219, though Michael says the specs were unusual for a 219. Still deciding if I want to keep my 319. Love the sound but it's closer to my Area51TT and Neumann TLM170R, whereas this 219 is unique. I'm a female rock singer who has had trouble finding good recording mics, Oktavamod has been a godsend. Michael Joly is a wonderful guy to work with, I agree. If you search for my thread there's detailed information about our A/B tests with various pres and comps.

Would you guys tell for sure if the 219 and 319 are the same or not?
Do they have the same capsule?
If not, what are the differences in terms of sound?
Thanks

________________
Insomnio

I would say wait for "Dr Mic" to get back from the holidays, he told me the exact difference between them, but I cant remember.

He also posted in GS here, somewhere what the differences are, but I dunno where it is.



They are the same capsule, exactly. Oktava only makes, I think 2 for all their LDC's.

There may be 3, with the ribbons and tube mics being different.

I just love mine to death, thats all I know. (Oh yeah, and my 011 too)

What? No it doesn't. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if I recall you don't even own one of the Octavamod mics, and I do beleive we are talking about those mics, and NOT the ones someone has modded themselves. I'm sure there are some significant differences. The 219 with PE sounds quite nice really. Again, I apologize if I have you mixed up.

I don't own an Oktavamod, I own a 319 with a U47 circuit in it, which is infinitely better than any solid state circuit by anyone... I've owned a pile of them, they all have the honk (or 'growl' as Joly calls it on his website) and the 5K dip, it's in the capsule design not the electronics...

I got some info from Michael. This is what is said about the difference:

"Both the 219 and 319 use the same capsule and electronic circuit. The MK-319 Floating Dome or Flat Top is a better choice for OH or other applications where you want to capture smooth off-axis sound. For close up vocals there is not much difference, though the MK-219 has a tiny bit (1-2dB) more lower midrange presence than the MK-319 due to the different headbasket and grille."

About the flat-top dome-top thing, he explaines that these mods are made to reduce standing waves inside the basket, by removing the upright bars inside.
This is to decrease off-axis coloration.
The bars also act as resonators, much like tuningforks he explaines, so by removing them, the clarity is increased.
The difference between flat-top and floating dome are largely aestatical he concludes.

That answered my questions, if u have some more, mail/pm Michael I would suggest.

I went with it and bought the MK-219 with PEO, and I hope I will be very happy


Pzz & happy newyear to all!

I would imagine you'll enjoy it. You might want to check out a Rane MS1 instead of the RNP. The Rane is built around the INA103 chip which is also used in the Grace. Great sounding box for not much $, one went for $57 on ebay today... I have something similar to the Grace and 319's (modded or not) sound good thru it.

Thanks for the info.
I have two MK012 not modded, and I love them. My next would be two 319 Mod!!

Hey Sekim, you might remember me from "The nothing posts". My name backwards is uaiohohoshshsh.

Sorry, just had to do it!

Yeah, you're the 'infantile post' person...I see nothing has changed.

The Rane uses the INA163. I believe the Grace 101 does as well--at least it used to.

While I don't doubt the quality and value of the Rane, there's more to a preamp than simply the chip, no?

Also, don't the DAV preamps use the same chip?

BTW sekim, kindly share a little more about the circuit you have in the MK319.
What kind of tube are you using, etc?
For that kind of mod, would it not make more sense to take a mic with a similar circuit, mod the circuit with the proper compenents and then put the Okatava capsule in it?