Traditional songs in a small church

[nhomme]

I am going to record a female singer in a small, wooden church. She's going to perform traditional folk songs for an album. No crowd, just her. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding mic placement? I can record four signals simultaneously....

 

[AGCurry]

You haven't mentioned any instruments, so I will assume there are none; and, you haven't described what equipment is available to you.

If the room is quiet and sounds nice, my first choice would be to use a Blumlein configuration, with your ears telling you at what distance to place the pair.

 

[nhomme]

Sorry, maybe my English isn't perfect... A singer performing folk songs=voice. I'm going to rent microphones, either a pair of Neumann KM184 or Shure KSM44, or both. I'm using a TL Audio Ivory 2 5001 for pre.

I've previously used KM140 in ORTF on a 'solo singer'. Would you recommend a stereo pair, a single mic, one mic in front of her and a stereo pair for ambience??

 

[mshilarious]

Sorry, maybe my English isn't perfect... A singer performing folk songs=voice. I'm going to rent microphones, either a pair of Neumann KM184 or Shure KSM44, or both. I'm using a TL Audio Ivory 2 5001 for pre.

If you have the KSM44 and the Neumanns, set up the KSM44 as normal on the singer (30 to 60cm away), and set up the Neumanns in a stereo pair in the church, back 3 to 10m (depending on size of the church).

 

[TexRoadkill]

one mic in front of her and a stereo pair for ambience??

Probably your best bet. If you have a enough gear then you could even do a mid pair pointed at the singer and a far pair pointed at the back walls. You might not use all the tracks but it will give you the ability to change up the sound a bit for different songs as needed.