Mic for chorus

[andycerrone]

Hey guys, I'm looking for th ebest mic in a reasonable price range/possibly something a friend would have to mic a group vocals thing. Like, 3 girls (1 sop, 2 alto) and 2 guys (1 tenor, 1 bass) and I want it to be preferably done together so they blend a little more and stuff. They are going to be singing choral music, but like, almost blues-y (I.E. Down to the River to Pray). Suggestions?

 

[BigRay]

first you need to determine a budget..

 

[Big Kenny]

CAD M179 set to fig 8, girls on one side etc. or omni

 

[andycerrone]

ok, for a budget. say tops $300.

 

[Innovations]

ok, for a budget. say tops $300.

I've done some recording of this sort of a capella vocal arrangement. What you want is a pair of Large diamater condensers aranged in an ORTF pair with the ensemble arranged in a semicircle. You could instead use a ribbon and a cardiod in a M-S stereo arrangement, but doing that for under 300 would be tricky.

So the next question is what is the best broadrange vocal LDC for under $150?

What I use for this kind of application is the MXL2003. I know that it has a reputation for being a bright, even harsh mic. But I find that it works well with micing ensembles. The qualities that work against it in close micing work for it when further away. I find that it is a mic that sounds like it is nearer to the source than it is. When it is already near the source that is not a good thing, but when it is further away not.

 

[dgatwood]

I've done some recording of this sort of a capella vocal arrangement. What you want is a pair of Large diamater condensers aranged in an ORTF pair with the ensemble arranged in a semicircle. You could instead use a ribbon and a cardiod in a M-S stereo arrangement, but doing that for under 300 would be tricky.

You might consider Mid-side with a pair of LDCs, e.g.

SP B3/C3 in figure-8 mode ($160/$270)
AT2020 or SP B1 (or maybe C1) for the mid ($90/$99/$199)

Not sure how any of those particular combinations sounds on a choir, though. About all I can say is that the B3 and AT2020 work together to give a decent stereo image on acoustic guitar....