How to mic a choir?

J

JosephCampbell

New member
It's young question boy again, I am going to be recording a choir in a very dry auditorium. This is something I've never done before. I am going to record each mic on a diffrent track and mix it back with some effects. HOW SHOULD I PLACE THE MICS? I have two MXL 990's, four SM-58s and a SM 57. There will be a small choir with a piano.
 
Try and get most of your sound from the two condesor mics in a stereo pair and put the other mics over each section of soloist in case you need to adjust ballance for presence later.
 
If it were me, I would just set up the 990's in either an ortf or x/y setup centered in front of the choir, or use a spaced pair. But that's just me. Maybe you would want another mic on the piano just to pick that up a little better and give you a little more control. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though, because you say that it is just a small choir.
 
A choir is not a drum kit, and lots of mics will make it worse, not better. They're right. With the mics you have, just use one pair. Coincedent or ORTF is easy, a Jecklin disc works fine. Myself, I would use them as a spaced pair, so I can dial up the amount of stereo separation I want. This is especially helpful on pieces with a soloist or which feature a certain vocal section. Put up a 57 for any soloists, run that through light reverb, and mix it in to taste. Go easy- FX is not what the basic church or school choir needs, but I understand you have a dead room. Good. Track it dry and any FX later, where you can also undo it.-Richie
 
Mic'ing a Chair

I'd put one mic under the chair and one over the chair. If the chair has a good sound, it might stand alone well in the mix if recorded in a good room.

If the chair needs a touch of EQ going in.... ohhhh wait a minute....

Any CHOIR I've seen was mic'd with an XY small diaphragm condenser pair in front of and overhead.
 
northsiderap said:
I'd put one mic under the chair and one over the chair. If the chair has a good sound, it might stand alone well in the mix if recorded in a good room.

If the chair needs a touch of EQ going in.... ohhhh wait a minute....

Any CHOIR I've seen was mic'd with an XY small diaphragm condenser pair in front of and overhead.
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!! once again I think I'll pee myself...that's twice today someone on this site has made me laugh out loud...

Jacob
 
I would run a jecklin disc (omnis).. and throw a pair of cardiods A-B in addition to that. Jecklin Discs are , in my opinion, the best technique for classical recording.

Richard Monroe said:
A choir is not a drum kit, and lots of mics will make it worse, not better. They're right. With the mics you have, just use one pair. Coincedent or ORTF is easy, a Jecklin disc works fine. Myself, I would use them as a spaced pair, so I can dial up the amount of stereo separation I want. This is especially helpful on pieces with a soloist or which feature a certain vocal section. Put up a 57 for any soloists, run that through light reverb, and mix it in to taste. Go easy- FX is not what the basic church or school choir needs, but I understand you have a dead room. Good. Track it dry and any FX later, where you can also undo it.-Richie
Click to expand...
I
 
THanks guys, it's not every day that one mics a choir and these comment's will do more than get me started. What kind of EQ should I be looking for? The MXL 990's do hae a lttle too much highs...
 
JosephCampbell said:
THanks guys, it's not every day that one mics a choir and these comment's will do more than get me started. What kind of EQ should I be looking for? The MXL 990's do hae a lttle too much highs...
Click to expand...
You'll lose some of that extra top end when you pull them back a bit from the choir.
 
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