Recording a Choir!?

Recording 30 people singing, each with their own headphones is usually only possible at studios that are set up for such a thing.

So my first question... is it in the budget to go to one of these studios for a couple of hours? Are there any near you? Aside from the headphones, there's usually ample parking, refreshments, etc... which is SO worth it...

However, if that isn't an option...

I have had success before recording a group of singers that large, by hooking up a set of speakers in the studio. Then wiring the speakers out of phase.

So you would set the singers up facing the speakers. Keep the speakers fairly close together (so they aren't spread apart as wide as the group). Reverse the speaker leads to one of the speakers.

Then make sure your mic set up takes advantage of the null point of the mics, so that the back of the mics are facing the speakers.

This was technique was shown to me years ago, and actually works quite well. It won't totally eliminate the speaker bleed, but it severally limits it, and in the track, you never hear it at all.

I have had success before recording a group of
singers that large, by hooking up a set of speakers
in the studio. Then wiring the speakers out of
phase.

So you would set the singers up facing the speakers.
Keep the speakers fairly close together (so they
aren't spread apart as wide as the group). Reverse
the speaker leads to one of the speakers.
Then make sure your mic set up takes advantage of the
null point of the mics, so that the back of the mics
are facing the speakers.
This was technique was shown to me years ago, and
actually works quite well. It won't totally eliminate
the speaker bleed, but it severally limits it, and in
the track, you never hear it at all.

That's awesome. What a great idea.

The only other option I could think of aside from the multiple headphones is ... use the four head phones available as follows: One on a conductor. The other three given to leaders of three of the four (?) sections. With a strong conductor and section leaders the others can get there sense of pitching and timing.

Dee

"The only other option I could think of aside from the multiple headphones is ... use the four head phones available as follows: One on a conductor. The other three given to leaders of three of the four (?) sections. With a strong conductor and section leaders the others can get there sense of pitching and timing. "

I've had good results like this in the past. Choirs are normally well used to tuning from one another or a pitch reference and following a conductor as that's how they normally work. Give the conductor a call or the leader of the choir and see if they think their singers are up to it, they should be able to tell.

or have a very quiet monitor in the room, or have one which you can control the volume of between phrases just for a reference on pitch and timing, of course don't turn it up when the choir are still singing!!!!

You are very welcome.
Dee

Changing the phase on one speaker is used all the time in studios when artists want to hear themselves without headphones. Imagine standing in the middle of two monitors like this:

l----O----l

The "l" being the speaker facing inward. At the artists head there will be complete cancellation. He'll still hear it though.

Jim,

I remembered this thread and looked it up, as I'll be recording a choir tomorrow. Singers won't be using headphones, just the conductor. Great idea regarding the out-of-phase speakers; hope you don't mind if I "borrow" it...

: - )

I remembered this thread and looked it up, as I'll be recording a choir tomorrow. Singers won't be using headphones, just the conductor. Great idea regarding the out-of-phase speakers; hope you don't mind if I "borrow" it...

Hey great! No, I don't mind if you "borrow it"... seeing how everything I do is borrowed in one way or the other... : )

If you get a chance, post back and let us know how it goes...

Session starts in a few hours. I'll certainly post back and let you know how it goes.

Cheers!

-=iS=-

Well, the session went very well! I ended up taking my vocal contractor's advice and setting up the singers in a semi-circle and putting a single mic on each group (S/A/T/B). I used two Shure KSM-27's and two Blue Dragonflies. I got a good degree of separation and a recording that's very mono compatible.

We experimented putting the monitors both in and out of phase; due to the placement of the speakers combined with the relatively low playback level it seems that there was very little bleed regardless of the phase setting. But I'll be able to assess the situation better once the engineer finishes FTP'ing the files to me.

In any event, I'm glad that this thread, and two others like it that I found during my search, made their appearance here in the Logic forum.

Cheers!