YYZ Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 I will be recording a vocal quartet in a church and am not sure what type of mics I should use, and how to place them. I would like to capture the accoustics of the church as much as possible. Thanks for your help. Jean Claude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 If your singers blend well by ear, you could go with two mics backed up in the room to taste. Experiment with distance for more or less room sound. If they don't blend so well, maybe one is a bit too loud or one dissappears in the mix, you'd be best micing them like a drum kit. Individual mics for each singer and a couple of room mics for ambience. If you can record six channels at once, this would be the safest way to go as you actually could fix the mix to a degree. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 There are many ways of recording but the main decision I'd want to make early on is do I want to use a mix of spot mics and room mics or do I want to try and get everything down with a stereo pair. The choice will be informed by which mics you have at your disposal (if your bugdet is limited and you're renting mics then 2 good LD condensers in a stereo pair would probably be better than splashing you budget on 4 or more mediocre mics) You'll also have to take the room, the performers and the material into account. If you're new to this then I'd start by experimenting with only two very good mics. You'll have more time to experiment with their positions and the chances of a total screw up is less than with 4 or more incorrectly positioned mics. If you get mics with patter switching, be sure to experiment with omni to get more room sound. Maybe two omnis separated by a screen you give you the sound you're looking for? What pres are you using? What are you recording into? Good luck :) "That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." - Banky Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultravibe Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 I did this once years ago with two Carvin Condensors and got great results. Not the best for SD condensors, but they worked really well. Andrew Mazzocchi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 I approach acapella in a similiar fashion as I do drums. It is not the sum of the parts, but the vision of the whole that makes up the big picture. A good acappella group knows how to create a tonal blend, similiar to how a variety of drums in a set, all tuned differently but in relationship to eachother, create a blend of tones that create a sound that as a whole, is greater than the sum of it's parts. A good sounding room is crutial, as it is with drums. A great acapella group may sound mediocre in a dull sounding, lifeless room. I suspect since you are recording in a church the material is religious in nature. Experiment with different places within the church, chior loft, pulpit, etc. You do not mention what your recording method is, how many available tracks etc., but here are my suggestions. Have them arrange themselves in a comfortable spot in the room in their typical semicircle fashion. Place an omni approx 4 feet in front of them, perhaps an AKG C4000B or C414. this will giver you the full sound of the blending voices with some room. Place a stereo pair in an x-y config either behind that, or directly overhead of them. this will capture the overtones and the room sound. Spot mic with Shure Beta 87's or Sennheiser 865's. You can put them on stands, or even let them use them as hand helds. these will give you definition if you need beyond the area mics. Experiment with positioning, watch phasing, and eventually with a bit of trial and error you'll find the magic combination. It may be the one onmi, a combination of the x-y and the spots, but this method gives you max flexabilty, and requires only 7 tracks. Along with the mics, get yourself good preamps to go with them. Nothing makes a good mic suck faster than a bad preamp!!!!!!! Also, make sure the room is ultra quiet. turn off heating or AC, and anything else that is making background noise. Hope this is helpful. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheolwr Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 Sound advice but with so many mics, if the set up time is tight the potential phasing problems may be more than you could sort out. I'd concentrate on getting the best sound out of a pair but have the rest ready to go if the overall sound came together fast and the group or producer wanted extra control to tweak the natural balance. Best of luck. It's not a successful climb unless you enjoy the journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernest828 Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 How large is the Church space? Carpet or tiled floors? Walls? Stand in the room where they are singing. Place two mics (X-Y) where it sounds good overall. most likely this will be in the 10-20` vacinity. I would steer away from getting mics too close unless they blend amazingly well. Peace, Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 Just to clarify, my above recommendataions were assuming (yea I know never assume...) each mic would be tracked separately for mixing later. Hope this is helpful. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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