Choice of Show Relay Mic

[CharlieH]

I am running sound for a small concert in a month or so, and also have to supply the equipment (I have been given no budget). I own a cr@ppy set of Behringer speakers that will do for this, and a nice Behringer digital mixer, FoH multi, some mics and DIs etc, so have the necessary gear for a small PA.

 

The performers are going to be using a nearby room as a greenroom, however need a show relay of sorts so they know when to come to the stage. I am probably going to run this off an Aux from the main desk as I haven't got anything else spare, and going into a pair of computer speakers in the greenroom. I may even patch a talkback mic into the Aux and use it for announcements into the greenroom (5 minute call etc) if necessary.

 

My only problem is what mic to use for the show relay. The only mics I have spare are a pair of Behringer C4s, an sE X1 (probably not suitable), a cheap Studiospares large diaphragm condenser mic (again, probably not suitable), and a set of T-Bone drum mics (dynamic, so again maybe not quite right). At the moment I am leaning towards the Behringer's somewhere inconspicuous, either in the 'wings' or possibly on floor mounts at the foot of the stage, as they are condenser and so will pick up form much farther away than the others. I have some much nicer mics (AKG Bluelines) however these are going to be used for main PA, and can't be spared http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif

 

So my question is am I going about this the right way? We haven't really got any crew, so can't go with a runner, so as far as I can see this is the only way.

Many Thanks,

Charlie

[Andrew C]

Anything*. It really doesn't matter. They only need to hear what is going on, you don't even need lo-fi.

 

 

 

*Maybe not a C1000. B-)

[Shez]

Considering that a lot of venues get by with a battered, antique dynamic mic up in the roof, I think you may be over-egging this particular pudding...

Assuming that all the action on stage is happening in front of mics, is there any reason why you couldn't just send a copy of the FoH mix? It may not be perfectly balanced in the absence of the sound coming acoustically off the stage, but for a show relay feed, should be more than adequate. If for some reason you can't do that, one of your C4s in whichever wing the stagebox is in, patched through a compressor in the desk for a bit of levelling seeing as you'll have that facility available, should be fine.

[CharlieH]

Thank you both. I thought the C4 would be the best way to go. Not all of the performers are being mic'd - There are a few choirs and instrument groups (string quartets etc) that won't need amplification as its a very small hall, and therefore they won't be coming through the desk, hence the need for a relay. Didn't think of the compression though - thanks for that! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[Mushypeas]

Considering that a lot of venues get by with a battered, antique dynamic mic up in the roof.

 

You must be psychic Shez.

 

The old antique covered, and I mean caked in crap, mic is still there hanging on the same rusty bracket from god knows how long ago. Even since the refit when we got the choir mics I still haven't taken it down. On it's own it still gives out enough to stop the Dressing Room Club from complaining.

[mutley]

If you're not able to rig a mic above the stage and leave it, (eg; if you use different venues, or if you hire the venue), you could use one of these, positioned front of stage, (at least 30cm from front edge works best).

 

We used a similar (but older) version of these at my local Am-Dram group for years! (The one we used was a "Realistic" (Tandy) PZM )

 

In fact, this mic was also fed to the hearing aid loop system. (Acoustics were so good in the small theatre that mics weren't often needed, so no FOH dialogue feed)