On Wed, 4 Aug 2004 13:39:20 +0100 tim hall <tech@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Last Tuesday 03 August 2004 21:13, Mark Knecht was like: > > On the low-end, but dodgy > > reliability, are these Octavia mics you see so much of these days. I have a pair of the Oktava MK-319's and I have to say that I'm very happy with them, within limits. What limits? Well, the bodies can be rather resonant, adding a ringing tone to the recording if they're mounted with no consideration for shock absorption, and I absolutely cannot use them in conjunction with my Behringer T1953 tube preamp - the sound is far to brittle when I use the 2 of them together. I like the 319's for some vocals, some acoustic instruments, as drum overheads, and for live stereo recording, which I do a fair amount of. > Also worth having a pair of PZMs around if you can still get hold of them ;) > Great for cheap drum overheads. PZMs are certainly still available; Crown sells them for a relatively low amount of money. I like them for drum overheads, but one trick I found is that if I'm recording drums in my basement, which is relatively small, I'll set up the kit to face a wall and be 4-5 feet back from it, and I'll hang a PZM on that wall. While there's no stereo separation to it, it gives me a good signal to mix in for a different kind of ambience that isn't given by the overheads - it's got more of the kick drum than the overheads will pick up, which can be a Good Thing sometimes. -- ====================================================================== Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh@xxxxxxxxxxxx Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa