Michael Joly Engineering / Oktavamod - Microphone Modifications and New Boutique Mics

Quick Answers -

Hello from Michael Joly! Here are some quick answers to popular questions.

Shipping: Help us communicate with you - please include all of your email addresses, stage name, real name, phone number and address when you ship a mic to us. You must identify mics being sent us with the info above - especially if they are being sent by an eBay seller. We ship via US Postal Service Priority Mail signature required (US) or US Postal Service International Express (worldwide). You can use the calculator found at www.usps.com to determine your international shipping charge from our location at postal code 02668.

International Duties - International clients must pay import duties assessed by your country's Customs Offics. If you are sending a mic you already own to us to be modified you will not pay duties, IF, you indicate the following on your export form: "Contents: Shipper's own microphone being sent for servicing in the USA and will be returned to country of origin. Please do not charge "new goods" or VAT upon entry into USA or upon return to country of origin". Please do not ask us to send new mics declared as a "gift" with a low value.

Communication - The best way to reach me is by email: Michael@oktavamod.com. In the past I was often able to respond to email within three hours. But due to the wonderful support of folks like you I often experience an "email avalanche" so there is a possibility your question might get buried for a business day or so, but I will respond as soon as practically possible. I try to prioritize bench work in order to ship client mics on the day they are scheduled - so email responses generally get made after a day at the bench.

Ordering - You can place a secure order for modifications to existing mics, or order new modified microphones on this site. When you place an order you will receive an immediate automated confirmation email that has our shipping address.

Lead and Delivery Time - We have many new, mod'd mics on the shelf ready to ship. For mics being sent to us, turn-around is quick - three days to mod, burn-in and ship. But due to high (and growing demand) we do have a lead time for modifications to customer-supplied mics and some new, modified mics. This is about 1 week as of 9 March 2013. Your order will be modified on the date specified, burned-in for three days, retested then shipped to you.

Payment - We accept major credit and debit cards via PayPal for secure order processing. Just follow all instructions as they appear.

Warrantee - All modified mics are warranted for five years. Ribbon mics include one no-charge re-ribbon service to the original owner only. In the unlikely event a problem should develop please contact michael@oktavamod.com to arrange shipping and repair.

Rode Mic Mods - While I don't have dedicated pages yet for all the Rode mics I modify, I do modify the NTK, NT1, NT1000, NT2, NT2a etc. Please use my "MJE-K47H mod suite" to order: http://www.oktavamodshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_46&products_id=133 I'll make the appropriate mods to the specific mic you send in.

MK-219 vs. MK-319 - Both the 219 and 319 use the same capsule and electronic circuit but have different headbaskets. The MK-219 has more lower midrange presence while the MK-319 is a bit more open sounding.

Russian vs. Chinese origin of Oktava mics - There is a very rare, but extremely poor copy of an MK-319. This copy is bluish/grey in color instead of matte black, has a chrome XLR connector without serial number instead of a matte pewter color with serial number, different switches and poor LDC capsule that is easily identified by the absence of the characteristic perforated resonance disc in front of the diaphragm. Avoid this type of knock-off MK-319. There are no MK-219 fakes. On MK-012s just look for the three silver, slotted screws around the circumfrence of the mic body near the XLR end. Forget everything else - just go by the screws.

Mics Not Accepted for Modification - I do not accept mics that have been previously worked on. I stand behind my mods 100% and can only do this if I am the only person who has worked on your mic. If a mic has seen multiple modifications it is impossible to determine responsibility should a problem develop in the future. Also, I have seen a number of DIY mod jobs that have been quite poor in concept and execution - often omitting important steps.

NT1 vs NT1a - The original NT1 uses discrete, through-hole components that are a tiny bit smoother sounding than the NT1a surface mount parts - though the NT1a has a lower self noise floor by a few dB.

MK-012 set differences - In short - MSP2 is two "matched stereo pair" cardioid capsules, MSP6 is two each of cardioid, omni and hypercardioid capsules, the '01 is a single body / single cardioid and the '03 is a single body with three capsules. No differences between black or silver sets.

VO mic recommendation - Quite a few VO talents have been getting my modified Rode NT1a - Exceptionally low self-noise and sounds like a U 87 for 1/5 the price: http://www.oktavamodshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=145

You can hear it on read at that link.

Ribbon Mics - Please see my deep backgraound article "Chinese Ribbon Microphone Buyer's Guide".

http://recordinghacks.com/2008/11/01/chinese-ribbon-microphone-designs/

AKG C12 type mics - Very simple answer. I don't offer them. I really prefer the mid-range focused "Neumann-esque" sound that I tweak to be sibilance-free on top. If you're looking for a C12 type mic please talk to my colleague Dave Thomas at Advanced Audio microphones.