Hi !
Thanks . I will listen to this.
I think I will buy 2 or 3 of their mics.

Thanks again. Nick

wiggins wrote:OKay! so I've bid on an Octava ML-19, and, having used the search function, couldn't find a thread about these mics here.

Anybody know anything about these?

i own a consecutive pair. they are really special because unlike most ribbon mics, they have a cardiod polar pattern (similar to the RCA BK5).
They are significantly birghter than most ribbon mic as well. They are slightly "honky" in the mid-range. However, you can remove the metal u-shaped "wind-screen" which will greatly improve the sound.

However, to make these microphones glorious, send them to Stephen Sank. He re-ribboned mine and actually took them apart and re-shaped the chamber in the back of the mic. I could not believe how much better they sounded when I got them back. Like a new microphone. I use them on gtr cabs, overheads and male vocals regularly.

mtar

wiggins wrote:Behringer MX-3000 at the moment. I'm about to buy a preamp somehow here in the next couple of weeks. Pehaps a kit from PAiA.

Any that you'd recommend? I'll look around here some more for a "cheap 2 channel pre" thread.

Hey wiggins, I had this same problem as well when I was using my old tascam m-30 mixer. I then switched to the presonus firestation I had at that point....the gain was there, but with the gain came the noise. So high gain + low noise works well for the ribbon.

I too have a sytek mpx-4aii, and absolutely love it.

Fender deluxe reverb set up in my guest bathroom ---> Oktava ML-52 ---> sytek b.b. channel = greatness.

Can't think of any *cheap* two channel pre's that would fit the bill, but if I do, I'll post back here.

unarmedman wrote:

wiggins wrote:Behringer MX-3000 at the moment. I'm about to buy a preamp somehow here in the next couple of weeks. Pehaps a kit from PAiA.

Any that you'd recommend? I'll look around here some more for a "cheap 2 channel pre" thread.

Hey wiggins, I had this same problem as well when I was using my old tascam m-30 mixer. I then switched to the presonus firestation I had at that point....the gain was there, but with the gain came the noise. So high gain + low noise works well for the ribbon.

I too have a sytek mpx-4aii, and absolutely love it.

Fender deluxe reverb set up in my guest bathroom ---> Oktava ML-52 ---> sytek b.b. channel = greatness.

Can't think of any *cheap* two channel pre's that would fit the bill, but if I do, I'll post back here.

Yeah, I found an Aphex 107 pre on Craigslist for $100, but something tells me I'll just want to get rid of it in 6 or 8 months anyway. I'll be looking around for a Sytek, but I'm not sure what I'll do in the interim. I still have bands to record and I don't have a mic pre... Maybe I'll get the Aphex just to "get the job done" in the meantime?

Thanks everybody!