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[Jake Kahn]

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of trying to mic a recital in a few weeks. I am by no means an expert, and really have no idea how to approach this.

The venue is a large rehearsal space in a school. There is no PA system, so I have to use amps for everything. There is a small choir of 12 people (SATB) that will be places in front and a little to the side of an 18-piece big band. Someone has recommended using a couple condenser mics placed high and pointing down at the choir, and using a vocal amp per mic. Do you guys think this is the optimal route since there is no PA system? Could I get some recommendations on the exact model of mics that I should rent to do something like this?

Thanks for reading

[Dave Garoutte]

Where are you?
It's more involved than that.
Maybe someone here is nearby and can help you out or rent you the needed stuff.

[Geert Friedhof]

Rent some (12) DPA 4088's and have fun.

[Mike Monte]

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of trying to mic a recital in a few weeks. I am by no means an expert, and really have no idea how to approach this.

The venue is a large rehearsal space in a school. There is no PA system, so I have to use amps for everything. There is a small choir of 12 people (SATB) that will be places in front and a little to the side of an 18-piece big band. Someone has recommended using a couple condenser mics placed high and pointing down at the choir, and using a vocal amp per mic. Do you guys think this is the optimal route since there is no PA system? Could I get some recommendations on the exact model of mics that I should rent to do something like this?

Thanks for reading

I use Shure MX202B/C condenser mics for choral work.
Two of the above mics should do it...

"and using a vocal amp per mic"  I am confused......

[Scott Holtzman]

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of trying to mic a recital in a few weeks. I am by no means an expert, and really have no idea how to approach this.

The venue is a large rehearsal space in a school. There is no PA system, so I have to use amps for everything. There is a small choir of 12 people (SATB) that will be places in front and a little to the side of an 18-piece big band. Someone has recommended using a couple condenser mics placed high and pointing down at the choir, and using a vocal amp per mic. Do you guys think this is the optimal route since there is no PA system? Could I get some recommendations on the exact model of mics that I should rent to do something like this?

Thanks for reading

Count me in as not understanding a "vocal amp per mic" that makes no sense.  Microphones connect to a mixer board that allows you to adjust the level and tonal characteristics of each input to blend them together coherently.    The mixer board feeds a PA system that is of adequate size for the venue. 


This is a fairly decent size production, you need the gear and someone to operate it.


How big is the room?  Is the room highly reverberant (lot's of untreated surfaces, hard to understand conversation) ? How many people will be attending?  What is the budget for the audio portion of the production? 

[Russell Ault]

The venue is a large rehearsal space in a school. There is no PA system, so I have to use amps for everything. There is a small choir of 12 people (SATB) that will be places in front and a little to the side of an 18-piece big band. Someone has recommended using a couple condenser mics placed high and pointing down at the choir, and using a vocal amp per mic. Do you guys think this is the optimal route since there is no PA system? Could I get some recommendations on the exact model of mics that I should rent to do something like this?

There are two major problems with your plan, and they both basically boil down to microphones not being magic.

Setting up two mics the way you describe is callled "area micing" because rather than picking up a specific sound your mics are going to pick up whatever is in the area, and (as with all microphones) loudest wins. In your case, the band will almost certainly be louder than the choir, so the mics will pickup a lot of band and not much choir at all. Turning up the sound from your "choir" mics will only make the band even louder than it already is.

The second problem has to do with feedback. P.A. systems are generally setup to send significantly more sound towards the audience than they do towards the stage. Most stand-alone amplifiers (guitar, bass, keys, or vocal) don't do this at all. Again, loudest at the microphone wins, and when the sound coming out of the P.A./amplifier is louder at the microphone than the sound you are trying to pick up, you get feedback.

If it were me, I'd setup a P.A. and give each singer in the choir their own microphone. At that point you'll need a monitoring solution, and you"ll probably want to consider amplifying the keys, or at least putting them into the monitors. Area mics won't cut it.

-Russ

[Tim McCulloch]

Loudest sound at the mic is the winner.  Your 18 piece band will literally blow away your singers, especially with area micing.

If you can't hear the singers over the band without amplifying the singers, the microphones will pick up the band and IT will be amplified, too.

"If you can't hear Freddy Green, you're playing too loud."  Duke Ellington.

[Mike Monte]

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of trying to mic a recital in a few weeks. I am by no means an expert, and really have no idea how to approach this.

The venue is a large rehearsal space in a school. There is no PA system, so I have to use amps for everything. There is a small choir of 12 people (SATB) that will be places in front and a little to the side of an 18-piece big band. Someone has recommended using a couple condenser mics placed high and pointing down at the choir, and using a vocal amp per mic. Do you guys think this is the optimal route since there is no PA system? Could I get some recommendations on the exact model of mics that I should rent to do something like this?

Thanks for reading

Revisiting your post, since the venue is "in a school" there very well may be choral risers available.....
How about setting up the chorus (mic'd) off to the side of the band
or
maybe better yet, chorus on risers behind the band....(mic'd of course).  This way the chorus / balance will be in control of the director.

[Jake Kahn]

Thank you everyone for your advice and input! It has made me realize this situation is much more complicated than I thought.

There are no risers, no PA system, and not really a budget except for what the student (whose recital this is) will be able to cough up, which will be next to nothing.

From what I'm getting, area mics are a terrible choice for my situation (unless I can get the choir more isolated, and have least amount of band sound bleed through), and probably the best case scenario is to try to find enough vocal amps (the school supposedly carries 6), and just have 2 singers per one cardioid mic. That'll let me mic12 singers. Input on this 2nd plan?

[Dave Garoutte]

As asked previously, what's a vocal amp?
As stated previously, mics go into a mixer which sends out to the PA.

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