« Oktava ML 52-2 Ribbon Microphone »

After an exhaustive search I took a chance on the Oktava ML 52-2 Ribbon Microphone. I was very pleasantly impressed with the sound of this Mic, far exceeded my hopes, in a word it is a Fantastic Microphone, I put it up against Royer, Rode, sE, and others and the Oktava out preformed those in a big way. I use it in a multiple mic set up along side my Neumann and AKG C 414 Mics and the blend is out of this world, alone it is outstanding as well, all you could hope for in a Ribbon Mic, I place it further out than the other mics to capture the room, I record mostly acoustic guitar but it works killer on amplifiers as well, super warm and articulate. You need a good mic pre and careful set up for best results, impressive in every way, compared to microphones at 5 times the price. You must get the elastic shock mount (47$ US from Oktava, shipped) .The only thing I can think of is the mic is delicate and must be handled gently, but it takes hugh SPL and is wonderful. I use a DBX Tube Pre, Do NOT use phantom power, this is a passive dual ribbon, plus it looks cool as heck, Old School design, I can not say enough about the quality of this Mic, I highly recommend the Lundahl 2911 transformer upgrade as the stock tranny is not so good, you can get the Lundahl from Oktiva or other places, a real must (75$ US) so for under 300$ you get an extraordinary good mic for less than 1/3 the cost of a used Royer, sounds better. Check one out, you will not be sorry, well built and sounds fantastic, cheers,,,