Oktava Mic Question- Difference between an MC and an MK 012

The Stevesy

Active member
I'm having some trouble understanding this. I have the MC. Is it a chinese knockoff? It came with a pad and has the similar screw pattern as the MK. I'm just very confused.
 
Also not in that link that some things changed over the years. So for instance I have three Russian ones. None have serial numbers as shown. The first two probably because they are too old and the last is a black one so maybe the paint is covering it? If your buying new get it from The Sound Room. Not only do you get the real deal but you can get a DVX User discount. And they are just great to deal with.
 
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This is the Oktava I have. I bought it used. But I'm still not sure. If it's in English, I'm guessing it's Chinese and not Russian. Also, that last sentence may have just confused me more.

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Actually if you went to that site you would see that you probably have the Russian mic.
 
The Chinese counterfeits were only made for a while and are not longer available (except second-hand). I believe the Chinese counterfeits had the Russian bear logo, but there are several discussions about real vs. counterfeit Oktava microphones which one can discover by spending a few quality milliseconds with Google.

Note that the electronics (base) of the Chinese counterfeits are reputed to be better quality than the original Russian product. Because the Chinese are better at quality control and using the right components etc. Scott Dorsey says that the Chinese manufacturer actually incorporated his famous Oktava modifications into the Chinese version. Of course, the Chinese being who they are, Mr. Dorsey was simply ripped-off.

OTOH, the original Russian capsules (the business-end of the microphone) are reputed to be better than the Chinese counterfeits because the Russians invented the process and the Chinese only attempt to reproduce the product, not the process of making it.
 
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