« crisp sound »

The Oktava ML-52 is a great mic to add to your cabinet, for not a lot of money. Have I found it great on everything? No. However, on some sources it has been perfect. I used a Neumann TLM-103 on a bassier male vocalist and it sounded absolutely terrible, but with the Oktava ML-52 the vocals were perfect with some eq added. Easily the best sounding vocals I have ever recorded. I don't love it on guitar amps like some have said, but for certain voices it is really, really great. I especially like it with the built in eq boost turned on. On hi hats it had a cool sound, not crisp and detailed, but a little rawer, more vintage sound that with the right eq was pretty cool. Make sure and have a preamp with a good amount of gain, 60 db seems the minimum for quieter singers. I feel it is a must have for anyone interested in having more than one good mic, and at the price it makes expanding your mic collection with good mics that will last a long time, a real possibility.

OVERALL OPINION

For home recording., this is the mic you need. Eliminates all background noise and electronic interference. Ideal for deeper voices and spoken word/ hip-hop, but also just a great all-around vocal mic you need not worry about isolating. If I must complain about something, it's that the bracket is very difficult to switch from it's shipped boom-stand position to floor stand, but I'm over it. For the price you really cant beat it, with everything you get with this mic. The overall great sound, crisp hi’s and not over exaggerated lows. The price with this mic had me on the fence with it but after hearing it it’s a no brainer. Look around online and see if you can come across a cheap one.