SAC-heads;
Long time, no post. I hope all is well with everyone. I have a gig coming up, and need to draw on the collective experience of this forum.
I have an upcoming show doing live sound reinforcement for a vocal quartet competition. I would normally think that this would be a piece of cake, but there are some variables that may make throw some wrenches in the spokes of my otherwise easy gig.
Variables:
1) These are not professional singers. So providing 4 mic's is out of the question. Unpredictable mic techniques will surely wreak havoc with the FOH and monitor mix. I have a feeling that dealing with these varying, horrible mic techniques will be like trying to herd cats. So that's out of the question. Also, a lot of these guys have choreography, which naturally negates being married to a single mic on a stand. I don't have 4, wireless headset mic's.
2) They're going to want a vocal monitor. I don't think the vocal monitor will have to be very loud....probably just loud enough to provide some vocal clarity to the artists.
3) Most quartets stand in a semi-circle. But they may have some choreography that may break them out of the semi-circle.
I have done some research, and it's clear to me that I need to avoid large diaphragm condenser mic's.
The other thing I think I need to avoid is dual mic setups. I've seen dual microphone setups on a single stand, but surely this breaks the 3:1 rule, and would subject the audience to a "thin" sound. Any thoughts on that?
In my mind I'm thinking this is going to be more about mic and monitor placement than the electronics used. I'm probably going to use my MixWizard, but I *may* use a small SAC rig. Last time I tried to use my mini, 8-channel SAC rig, I ran into problems with the RME card (Laptop), so maybe I'll use the full rig...who knows.... But I digress... I also plan on using a pair of K12's for mains and a single K8 for floor wedge. I thought about dual monitors, and I may try that, but methinks a single K8, with it's 105° of coverage, should work nicely.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to use a single mic on a stand...probably high-passed @ 100Hz or so. I'm just not sure if I should use a small diaphragm condenser or dynamic microphone. Methinks the old, trusty 58 should work just fine, but might produce thin results. So then I think a condenser mic is the answer, but that might net feedback problems.
At this point I'm more curious about mic/monitor placement and mic angle. Naturally I'm going to want to keep the monitor in the dip of the microphone's cardioid pattern. Being an "out of the box" thinker, I'm toying with the idea that a LOWER microphone - say 4' high - might facilitate keeping the monitor behind the cardioid pattern, while simultaneously keeping the vocals in the lobe of the cardioid. I've never seen anyone use this technique, but "unconventional" has never stopped me before.
Anyone have experience with mic'ing quartets? Advice? Caveats? Dynamic or condenser?
Regards,
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