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Oktava MK-101 Michael Joly Mod - $400 (Woodland Hills)
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"Absolutely beautiful sounding mic. The mic it replaced cost me $2300 and after the first minute of recording I knew I had upgraded. The best part is that I loved Octavamod before the mic even arrived because of the service. A great company and a great product - I'll be a customer for life." - this quote is from 2007
Please note these are the specs on Oktava's site - the mods make it much better.
The MK-101 is large diaphragm condenser microphone with interchangeable capsule. Introduced as a transition from earlier Oktava models, it retains some of the vintage character of the popular MK-219/319 capsule but offers transformerless output clarity.
The Capsule
The Oktava MK-101 uses the successful 26mm 219/319 capsule much loved for its classic midrange presence and sibilance-free top end.
The Headbasket & Body
The MK-101 headbasket features a large open area “forehead” for excellent off-axis response in the vertical as well as horizontal planes. Vertical asymmetry of the headbasket allows the recordist to explore different polar responses when using the mic upright or inverted. The small headbasket and body size make for easy placement and minimal reflection between sound source and microphone body.
The Circuit
Building on the marketplace success of the legendary MK-012, the MK-101 uses the same impedance converter / output circuit and body design made famous by the MK-012.
The Sound
On Axis – The MK-101 offers a powerful midrange presence and natural top end response with excellent rejection of sibilance.
Off-Axis - The MK-101 has moderate attenuation at 90 degrees giving the mic a wide cardioid pick up pattern. 180 degree response has a warm spectral balance with strongest output below 200Hz, smooth amplitude reduction to 3 kHz followed by a moderate high frequency ambient sound presence peak. The MK-101 excels on vocals or guitar cabinets where the recordist wants classic midrange presence, sibilant-free top end and a warm room sound with just a touch of top end room presence.