c.cam108 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hi all I've got a couple of questions about microphones for the Christmas Eve carol service in my church: 1: I'm looking to hire out 5 radio mics for a drama at the service. They don't need to be spectacular. A range of about 25m as all that is needed. We usually get away without them, but this time we don't want to risk the people at the back not hearing properly. I'm a bit concerned about trying to hire on that specific evening. I'm guessing that either I won't be able to get any, or I'll have to pay a full week's rate due to the holidays. Can anyone recommend what to get? I'm thinking about headworn mics, as I'm worried about noise from moving or bashing from a tie-clip style. 2: We will have a small choir of 5 people (2M, 3F) on a small platform in front of the stage. How should I mic them up? I'm split between going for 2 small mics hanging in front of them or just giving them an SM58 each. I will probably buy mics for this if they aren't too expensive. We already have 3 58s, which we use for all vocals normally and I'm very familiar with them. 2 performance songs will each be led by a female vocalist, and the main carol singing will be led by one of the male vocalists. Colin C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Individual mics are always going to give the best results with regard to Gain before feedback, but only if they're used right. An SM58 a piece is not alot to hire or something similar but cheaper is not alot to buy, but if they hold them by their waist then you may aswell switch them off. Also, pm sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Can anyone recommend what to get? I'm thinking about headworn mics, as I'm worried about noise from moving or bashing from a tie-clip style. You'll have a much easier time with headworn mics - far more gain before feedback, and the mic position stays consistent to the mouth even if the actors are moving their heads around. 2: We will have a small choir of 5 people (2M, 3F) on a small platform in front of the stage. How should I mic them up? Probably easiest to give them all individual vocal mics - if you just float a condenser or two above them it'll be difficult to adjust the balance between the singers. +1 to Rob's comments about mic technique. I've often found that "backing singers" in a situation like this are quite keen that they're not heard too loudly in the mix and if left to their own devices will stay as far away from the mic as possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pisquee Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Some hire companies will only charge you for the period of the hire where the equipment will be used - i.e. just the one day, others may charge you for the whole time it is out of the warehouse - be good to shop around on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solstace Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I can echo the suggestion of using head-worn mics for the radio mics. For those five singers, if you're considering a cabled handheld mic to give to each of them, I would also wonder if a cabled version of the head-worn radio mics might work well? At least then you'd have less potential for problems with handheld mics drooping away from their mouths! That said, in my church I'd be giving the singers handhelds - but then again I know that all of our singers have been trained to some extent. I might be over-analysing or going too far back to basics here, but from your post this appears to be something new either for you or your church - in which case I'd suggest a lengthly sound check to get yourself and your muso's familiar with the mics and how best to use them. If they have a conductor you can use him/her to help you get the balance right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy jim Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 If you're hiring out the 5 radio mics anyway, why not mic up your choir with those...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound Man Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 1: I'm looking to hire out 5 radio mics for a drama at the service. Where abouts are you? 2: We will have a small choir of 5 people (2M, 3F) on a small platform in front of the stage. How should I mic them up? I would use two SM58's on stands and get the two males to stand around one of the mics and the three females around the other mic. That way you would be able to adjust the balance between the males and females. A tip here is to make sure that you get your weakest voiced female to stand infront of the mic with the other two either side of her. That way you will be able to hear all of the females together. The two males voices shouldn't be a problem. Usefull tip - Make sure that you take a torch with you to the service, especially if it a candle lit service. It's not good practise to try and fault find with a candle, the wax will get everywhere. Hope this all helps. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berry120 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I really wouldn't resort to using more than one person crowded round a 58. If you do use 58's for the vocals (which would be my preferred way of doing it as long as they use them properly) then at least give them one each! If you've got multiple people crowding round the same one then chances are they'll all stand back and you might just get a bit of one of them if you're lucky, but the two either side will barely be picked up at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Agreed, you only need someone with a much louder voice that will out do the rest. You only need someone my size (think size of small family car) to be in the middle and nobody else will get around. Also, remember how SM58's work. They're not designed for distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.cam108 Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 I might be getting a cheap hire of a nice new set of head-worn radio mics from a local am-dram group. Mate of mine is a member and is going to try and pull a few strings. It is a full pack of 12, so I might use them for both the drama, the speaker and the choir (might sit an SM58 or 2 nearby in case of mic failure). It isn't a candlelit service BTW, and I'm near Glasgow (East Kilbride). This is and isn't new for us. I've done the carol service before but never had to mic up actors. We have had problems in the past with people not hearing what is acted out on stage. Colin C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsound Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 It sounds like you might be sorted for mics now but for future reference for theatrical type mics and radio sets in Glasgow The Warehouse is always a good bet. Or they were 10 years ago when I was based in Glasgow anyway. I think they moved from Anniesland to Govan if memory serves me correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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