choir recording

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antofants

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hey all,
You've all been so helpful in the past I'd thought I'd throw another question your direction in regards to your mics of choice for recording choirs and maybe some chamber music. I'm looking at getting a pair of mics that I can also use for various studio applications (ovhead drum mics, hopefully recording vox, ac. guit. etc.). My leaning is towards a pair of 414 (probably TLIIs) and sytek preamps seem to be getting some high marks for precision. I've used 414s twice but it was about 10 years ago so I don't have a terrific reference for them any more other than remembering they sounded good. A friend has been allowing me to borrow his AT4033 for a while and, though I dig the sound for certain apps., I'm not certain how a pair would take on a choir. Any recommendations or experiences?
 
I think you'll get better results out of a stereo pair of small diaphram condensers. To me they give a more focused and tight sound. They are also less prone to clipping (as a stereo pair). If you are micing choirs you might think about:

Neumann Km184's
AKG C451b's
Shure Sm81
Rode Nt5
Studio Project C4
MXL 603's

I have gotten good results from a stereo pair of large diaphrams but the levels can get out of control on you in a hurry. I think the 4033's might do pretty good and are versatile at many other things, but so are all the mics above too.

Beezoboy
 
i would also suggest a nice pair of SD condensers in ORTF for choir work - i use a pair of km184s or gefell M300s for this application. the 184s are also probably the single most versatile and reasonably-priced mic i know of for general acoustic work inthe studio. OTOH, i know a few guys, especially over in england, who use pairs of 414s for classical work as their main stereo pair, and i believe they would work out fine for you if you like those mics. they are fairly flat response and excellent all-around studio mics - they dont seem to be too popular these days for vocals, as people have become so enamoured of the very hyped contemporary mic designs. from my experience, the AT4033 would be a poor choice for choir work, as i have found it to be quite harsh for most applications.
 
AGREED... Get some Km184's and you'll be set.

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ORTF

I use ortf too for many stereo micing tasks. It is a pretty easy thing to get right, I think. Although my crude ascii version has too small an angle on the mics. I believe the angles on the mics are supposed to be 130 degrees, although I have achieved very good results at roughly 90 degrees. Maybe Jnorman will come around to correct me if I am wrong about this. I don't really pay attention to the angle as much as I just let my ears be the judge.

Beezoboy
 
My answer would be: it depends on the size of the chior- and the size and acoustics of the room. While an XY or ORTF pair will work well for a group of 20 or so singers, a larger chorale (anywhere from about 40 to over 100 voices) would be better captured with some widely spaced omnis, or perhaps a Decca tree configuration, and at least one (or perhaps a pair) spot mic per section (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass). If you need to record a larger group with minimal mics, a blumlein pair will give you the best soundstage, and will capture about as much of the room acoustics as omnis will. I've recorded a number of chiors of various sizes, and each situation is different.

Scott
 
Our Church choir recorded a CD at Christmas time. You can here it here.

We used two AKG 414's. They worked very well IMO. They were placed side by side facing outward at about 60 deg.

Blessings, Terry
 
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