eski Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi all. I have been bullied into doing the sound for a musical theater type show next year. Now for the last 18 years I have done live music and pretty much nothing but live music and as such have no boundary mics in stock. My question is could I use condensers on mini stands along the front of the stage ? As you might of guessed there is not a lot of budget for me for the show. For the show its self, for general information, I will have 24 primary's sharing 8ch of Rf and a chorus of 10-15 singing and prancing on stage at anyone time, music is backing tracks on cd, It is in a 500 seat traditional theatre. Any advice will be appreciated many thanks Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Short answer: Yes. I've used C451s across the front of the stage on numerous occasions when for one reason or another I couldn't get PCC160s and results have been good on chorus numbers. In my case, I'd tend to use short extension tubes to get the capsules a foot or two closer to the singers and a bit farther from foot noise (and, at the same time, keep the visual impact small). However, this is just a nicety. FYI, the GBF is probably a bit less than using boundary mics but the sound quality can also be a bit nicer. Two caveats: First, be prepared to actively mix the mics--don't assume you can just turn then all on and leave them. You can get some strange gain and phase effects if the cast move across the stage while all mics are open. Second, I suggest you use an odd number of mics with one of them centre stage and the rest equally spaced out from the middle--a lot of theatre is blocked so the centre mic can be very useful! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 If you do want to add boundaries to your mic stock, there are some cheap ones recommended in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyP1955 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 'Tis often recommended that you use SDCs such that they in effect become boundary mics - you place the diaphragm as close to the floor as possible, usually pointing at the floor at about a 30 degree angle. This prevents nasty sounding comb filtering, as there won't be multiple arrival times from any given sound source. (Some prefer to rest the end of the mic on a thin absorptive pad, figuring that otherwise Murphy will cause the mic to change position and touch the floor.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulsparrow Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Years ago in the West End we used 451's with knuckles in blocks of foam, capsule angled down to floor to pick up reflected sound. It worked for low level reinforcement. I now use AT4041: tight cardioid condensor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyL Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Have a look at this page on the Wiki too... http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Float Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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