Hi
I saw your church choir youtube demonstration and had a question. I have to use 2
microphones through a
preamp then connected to a digital recorder. My question is with only 2 microphones, would it be better to place them close together in an xy pattern or seperated in an xy pattern? Our church is not very ambient because believe it or not the ceiling is some fabric, the floors are carpeted. The walls are brick and the pews are oak. Well here is a picture of the sanctuary. I was going to set the 2 microphones at about mid high (12 ft?) about 20 ft back from the choir and close together in an crossing xy pattern.
Any thoughts?
Bruce
Thanks for the question.
It does sound like you have the right idea for microphone placement. My only concern would be the pre amp. If it is noisy you would want the microphones as close as possible to the choir so you won't have to turn the pre's up too loud. I would place the microphones above the choir (around 2-4 feet) pointing down towards them. As for placement a good start would be the 3-1 rule. For every foot the microphones are away from the choir, place the microphones 3 times that distance apart. For example, if the microphones are 10 feet away from the choir place the microphones 30 feet apart. This will help with phase problems, even if someone is listening to your recording in mono. I would place the microphones close to both ends of the choir and point them towards the center. With the size and shape of your church I don't believe you could make a perfect XY and keep the 3-1 so try to get as close as you can. The main focus of recording a choir should be .... well... the choir. Do some test recordings and then get the choir to stop singing. Listen back and make sure you have a even recording of the whole group. You might need to try this a few times to get it right. Best of luck, let me know how it ends up.
Adam Smith
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