Recording Musical Theatre Recital

[ullanta]

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of an update. I've been in rehersal all last night and all day today.

The purchase of these mics will be primarily for the purposes of recording these recitals, as well as other productions (musicals, and perhaps operas) in the same space for a good amount of time...

It looks like I want to go with a matched pair of the Oktava MK012's. This means I need to choose one of the caps to go with it. Here's the catch: I need to have something that will work in this environment but still provide for other recording opportunities. Which cap would work well for the recital environment? Which for narrative work? Finally, could this setup work in a studio environment to record vocals or piano or guitar, and if so, which cap would be ideal?

Well, you're a bit at odds, unfortunately. Certainly, a pair of cardioids would be most flexible - you can use them for XY and ORTF (coincident and near-coincident) stereo techniques as taint has described; they can work (not perfectly) for boom work, and they can be used as 2 separate mics (rather than a stereo array) in many situations.

However, for staged performances, they may not be optimal.

1) Coincident techniques will have your mics center stage - this means that, unless you hang 'em from the ceiling, the placement is likely to maximally detract from the show. Hanging mics for theatrical performance will involve a lot of interaction with scenery/lighting folks, who may not like the idea, long cable runs (for which the MC012s are not optimal), and probably a lot of extra effort for you. Again, you'll need to investigate all these for your particular situation.

2) Coincident techniques will have a lot more variation as performers move around the stage, due to both distances and off-axis coloration.

3) A detail whose importance will vary depending on other quality factors, but coincident/near coincident recordings can sound a tad thin and clinical.

Spaced omnis (AB), on the other hand, allow you to place the mics in a way that doesn't block the center stage, is a little smoother as performers move around, and a bit more "lush". Issues of phasing effects and problems with mono-compatibility are not likely to be a big deal in the type of work you're recording. By their nature, staged productions involve motion of performers around the stage, which tends to favor omnis over directional mics.

You can indeed use cardioids in an A-B configuration, and get some of the benefits of each.

I mean, when it comes down to it, you'll have to play around in your space and with your material to get the experience with your mics and what works best. What I'm discussing are pretty safe and standard techniques which are especially handy for situations where you have to record a critical live performance, running audio and video (which usually means a set-n-forget audio setup).

I'd suggest the omnis, to which you can add more caps later, for your theatrical plans. But for flexibility, if that's your priority, the cardioids may be better. If you can, make the stretch and get both (or all 3) - you can find some deals on ebay for factory matched 3-capsule sets for under $400 (from European dealers), and I've found these aren't like the GC rejects...

-Barry