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IRPA/Oktava ML18
IRPA/Oktava ML18
SAAS Museum
Manufacturer: IRPA
Model: ML18
Country of Origin: Russia
Years of Manufacture: 1960's
Type: Ribbon
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Rarity Scale: 10/10
DETAILED DESCRIPTION (click to expand)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION (click to expand)
If you like em Soviet and rare, then this 1966 IRPA (aka the Popov Institute) ML-18 should satisfy your appetite. I believe that less than twenty of these dual-ribbon motor microphones were ever manufactured. They are a Soviet version of one RCA’s rarest mics ever, the BK10a, also known as the Perry Como microphone, of which only 75 were ever made. The ML18 is made up of two individual directional ribbon motors back-to-back inside of one mic, resulting in increased signal to noise ratio and increased directionality with the intention of being used as a boom mic. We are lucky enough to have a pair of these microphones, and our friend Jon at@ulriggribbonsspent a lot of time getting them into good working order for us.
HEAR THE IRPA/Oktava ML18 (click for info)
HEAR THE IRPA/Oktava ML18 (click for info)
You can hear this mic in action by listening to our "proprietary microphone jingle" from the audio player below.
The song was recorded using a pair ML18s for every instrument. If you'd like the original multitrack files, and to hear this recording in the other polar patterns, please reach out.
The pair was used on drums with one positioned about 3 ft above the snare, and one positioned in front of the kick, raised about 6” above the top of it, pointed at the snare. We then used a single one for each amp and vocal. Everything was recorded at modest levels through our Sphere Eclipse console preamps into a Burl A/D without any processing whatsoever.
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