MICROPHONE TYPES FOR

RECORDING

Three types of mics that

work well for recording a
choir are the cardioid
condenser, omni condenser,
and stereo condenser mics.
"Cardioid" means that the
mic rejects sound from the
rear. This reduces pickup of
audience noise and room
acoustics. An omni
condenser mic picks up
sound from all around. Its a
good choice if you can record

When you hear a beautiful

recording of a choir, you thrill to
without an audience, and if
the sound and the singing. And
when your choir is clearly heard in
you want the stereo effect to
your house of worship, the
congregation fills with spirit. You
can capture that sweet choral
be blended rather than
sound. To do so, you need to know
a little about microphones and
pinpointed. A stereo
where to place them. In the
suggestions that follow, well
condenser mic combines two
describe how to get the best
sound when miking your choir.
mic capsules in a single
Well provide tips both for
recording and sound
housing for convenience.
reinforcement.
Note that a condenser mic requires a power supply to operate its internal electronics. Some mics use a battery, while others rely
on a phantom power supply. Most large mixers have phantom power built in; all you need to do is switch it on. The mic sends
audio to the mixer, and receives power from the mixer along the same mic cable.

MICROPHONE TYPES FOR PA

The most popular type of choir mic for sound reinforcement is a small hanging type. It is a
condenser mic with a cardioid or supercardioid polar pattern. This tiny microphone hangs from the
ceiling over the choir. It is almost invisible when viewed from the congregation. Many houses of
worship use mini mics both for sound reinforcement and recording.
PLACEMENT FOR RECORDING/BROADCAST
Once youve chosen some suitable mics, you need to know where to place them for the best results.
Lets start with a recording application. In general, recording calls for distant miking; PA requires
close miking. When you record a choir, two mics are sufficient for stereo pickup. They should be the
same model number.

If you have two cardioid condenser mics, place the mics about 12 feet from the choir. Raise the mics
a few feet above the heads of the back-row singers, and aim them down at the choir. The set up
shown in Figure 1 (page 31) provides excellent stereo. For convenience, you might want to mount
both mics on a stereo bar or stereo mic adapter. This device mounts two microphones on a single
stand.
A convenient alternative to a pair of mics is a single stereo microphone. It contains two mic capsules
in a single housing. One stereo mic generally costs more than two mics of comparable quality. A
special type of stereo mic is called "mid-side." It has one mic capsule aiming straight ahead toward
the middle of the choir, and another capsule aiming to the sides. In a mid-side stereo mic, you can
adjust the stereo spread by remote control.
If you have two hanging mics, try to place them about three to six feet
apart and 12 feet back. Now its time to fine-tune the miking distance. The
farther the mics are from the choir, the more room acoustics youll hear in
the recording.
Listen to the microphones signals. You can either use headphones or
loudspeakers in a separate room. If the choir sounds too distant and
muddy, move the mics about a foot closer and listen again. If the choir
sounds too close, without much room sound, move the mics farther away.
Note: if your sanctuary is acoustically "dead" (lacking reverberation), you might prefer to add
artificial reverb. Use a digital reverb unit patched into the effects loop of your mixer. If the organ
overpowers the choir, youll have to mike the choir closer, adding digital reverb if necessary.
Its easier to move the mics if you put them on stands rather than hanging them. Once youve found
a good spot, you might want to hang the mics there. This improves the view during the concert or
worship service. After you hang the mics, attach a nylon fishing-line between the left and right side
walls. The fishing-line should intersect the mics. Attach the fishing-line to the mics to keep them
from rotating.
MIC PLACEMENT FOR SOUND REINFORCEMENT
In recording, you want to pick up the room acoustics, so you mike several feet away. But in sound
reinforcement, you want to reject the sound of the PA speakers, so you
must mike in close.
Use one microphone in the center of every 20-30 foot span of singers. A
choir of 30 to 45 voices should need only two or three mics. Place them
about 1 1/2 feet in front of the first row of singers, and about 1 1/2 feet
above the head height of the back row (Figure 2). The mics are raised so
that the first row is not too loud relative to the back row.
Suppose you are using several choir mics to cover a large choir. You might
want to assign all the choir mics to a single group or buss in your mixer.
Then its easy to adjust the overall choir volume with that group fader.
Monitor loudspeakers can easily feed back into the choir mics. To keep feedback under control, try
not to use monitors near the choir. Turn up the house loudspeakers instead. If the choir insists on
monitor speakers, dont feed a monitor signal of the choir back to
them it will cause feedback with the choir mics. Instead, just feed them some music for

accompaniment.
If the choir members complain they cant hear themselves, maybe the piano, organ, or tape tracks
are too loud in the choir monitor speakers. Have the choir sing a capella, with the air conditioning
turned off. Can they hear themselves? Now turn on the air conditioning. Can they still hear? Turn up
the piano or organ in the choir monitors. Then turn up the tape tracks. At what point can the choir no
longer hear their voices? Turn down the offending sound source.
Sometimes the choir mics pick up too much of the organ. In this case, use supercardioid mics and
aim them toward the middle row of the choir. Since the mics partly reject sound from the side, they
will pick up less of the organ in this configuration.
Some church services feature a small group of singers instead of a choir.
Give each person a mic with a foam pop filter. These mics can be handheld or stand mounted. Set
up floor monitors for the singers.
SIMULTANEOUS PA AND RECORDING
Ideally, you use distant mics for recording and close mics for PA. But suppose youre limited to just
the PA mics. If you use the PA mics for recording, the sound may lack ambience, so it helps to add
some reverb. You want to put the reverb in the recording, but not in the PA. Heres how:
1. Connect busses 1 & 2 to the PA power-amp inputs (or to the graphic EQ inputs). Connect busses 3
& 4 to the recorder line inputs.
2. Assign mics to busses 1, 2, 3 and 4.
3. Connect the reverb returns to busses 3 & 4 in.
4. Turn up the choir mics effects send (to the reverb unit). With this arrangement, the choirs reverb
will go only to tape, not to the PA system.
There you have a few tips on miking your choir. Try them out and feel free to experiment with your
own techniques too. In time, youll reproduce a beautiful choir sound, on tape and on your sound
system.