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Where do I position the main stereo pair of microphones? I suspect there are as many answers to this question as there are recording engineers. In point of fact there really isn't one answer. A better approach is to understand what affects what the microphone "hears" and adjust the position of the microphone to get the sound you desire. Here we discuss several variables. Distance from the choir. In general, the closer the microphone is placed to something, the louder it sounds. Now the electronics can control the loudness on the recording. What is important therefore is the relative loudness in the microphones. Now the choir's sound is reflected off the walls, ceiling, floors and anything in the room. We call these reflections the reverberation of the room. In a large lively concert hall these reverberant sounds can continue for well past 1 second after the original sound has stopped! When the microphone is close to the choir the original choir sound is apparently larger than the reverberant sound (the choir sounds closer). When the microphone is placed farther away there is more "room" in the sound. In addition some rooms have "dead spots" and places where the reverberant sound doesn't "mix well" with the original sound. Sometimes playing with the location of the microphone can make an important difference in the sound of the recording. Height When we want to move the microphone away from the choir we probably think about moving the microphone toward the audience. However, farther away can also be upwards. When you move the microphone towards the audience, the audience noises also become louder! However when you move the microphone upwards the audience noises go down! Think of it this way, the fellow that sat next to you at a concert and hummed along with the choir all during the concert was a real distraction to you. If you had sat 10 feet further away, he wouldn't be as loud. Now that 10 feet could have been 10 feet higher! Microphone orientation and the separation between the microphones The basic idea of two microphones is to record stereo. For this to work the microphones have to hear different sounds (like your ears do). The microphones should be placed so that when the recording is finished you "hear" the location of the various instruments and sounds like you hear them in the concert. There have been numerous approaches all which have strengths and weaknesses. Typically as the microphones are moved farther apart, their orientation is more straight ahead. When they are right on top of each other, they point in decidedly different directions. Some approaches put objects between the microphones (to simulate your head). You can adjust the spacing and orientation to achieve various degrees of "stereo separation" (how far apart you hear sound sources). Specifications of the Microphone. There are many many different types of microphones. Some of these specifications detail in what direction the microphones are most sensitive. We want our microphones to be more sensitive to the choir in front of them then the audience is behind them! Other specifications detail what sounds the microphone is most sensitive to. It is very difficult to make a microphone that is equally sensitive to all sounds. In the past, microphones were made to "color" (alter) the sound to make it more pleasing. In fact some very expensive microphones are famous for how they "color" the sound. It is much easier to color the sound in the electronics today than it was just several decades ago. Therefore another approach is to have the microphone record the sound as accurately as possible and then color the sound in the electronics. In this approach you pay more for a microphone that colors the sound less. This is the approach that I take. It allows you to determine the "color" of the sound after the concert is over. Thus you can "play" with the sound. The KSM 32 and Rhodes NT-1A are both fairly flat (uncolored) over the range of frequencies we can hear. There are specifications as to how loud a sound a microphone can handle. Other specification deal with the electronic noise that all microphones make (the Rhodes NT-1A is very quiet). I should note that the "color" of a microphone can change depending on the orientation of the microphone to the sound! Summary There are many factors that go into the selection of a microphone and how it is placed relative to the choir. There is no one right answer for all situations. This is one of the areas that is a combination of technical knowledge, experience, experimentation and artistry. Different recording engineers may have difference solutions, resulting in different sounds. This is perhaps why you should listen to a sample of someone's work. To make sure that their "style" is compatible with your own.
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