Recording a live spoken performance, possibly amplified, possibly not

[hominoid]

Hi all,

A simple question here. I've been asked to help record a performance by an artist in a small space over the weekend. The performance is one long spoken monologue. The artist prefers no PA system, but there is a PA if it's needed. There's money to rent one microphone; a Marantz portable stereo recorder has already been rented.

So my question is, without knowing whether or not the performance will be amplified, which would be the best microphone to use? I'm semi-familiar with mics, and if it was not amplified I'd probably go for a large diaphragm condenser. But I'm guessing that would feedback fairly easily when amplified. Looking into something like a Beta87A/C but thought someone out there might know better! Any suggestions as to a good multipurpose mic that would sound good and work well with or without amplification? I'm not entirely sure of the budget, but I'm guessing it could cover mics in the 300-500 range.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[Armistice]

If you're after a mic for the voice/performance, then an LDC would be fine, but this would be plugged into the recorder, not the PA, so I'm not sure why there'd be feedback.

If you need a mic for the PA, then a dynamic vocal mic is the go, and if that's the case, you can just take a line from the PA straight to the recorder to record the performance, unless you want crowd appreciation noises, that is.. in which case you'll need the LDC again...

All depends on what you're trying to achieve - it's not clear.

If you don't know whether it'll be amplified but that's a possibility, then you need one of each from where I'm standing...

And if you do want crowd noise, a strategically placed omni LDC might be useful..

 

[hominoid]

Thanks for the reply, and apologies for not being clear in my initial post. The main problem was that the budget apparently only covered one microphone - the microphone would run to a mixer, and then be sent to the recorder and possibly the PA system. So this one microphone would have to do double duty for both the recording and the PA system.

As of now I'm thinking the Beta87 seems to be the best choice, as it looks to sound good for recording and would work well through the PA. Any other recommendations would be much appreciated.

Best,
Nick

 

[Armistice]

Sounds like a reasonable solution...

but... .you've been on this board since 2005 (perhaps very quietly...) and you don't own a microphone of any sort?

I'd beg, borrow or steal from anyone you know who has one... gives you much greater flexibility...

luck..