Barbershop quartet

[BradLyons]

An all female barbershop quartet? That sounds interesting! As to miking----PERSONALLY SPEAKING with that kind of group, I find it best to let them do what they do---and that is blend themselves. If you record each person individually, it's just not the same. Of course you can do it if you wish, doesn't mean you have to keep those tracks later----but this is where I prefer a Figure 8 microphone (or Omni), have them stand in their normal place, and just sing----let them interact with each other, play off each other, make their own level changes, etc. Capture the essence directly this way.

[thismercifulfate]

Have you got the right mics to pull of a blumlein?

[Matti]

Matti

[mcgruff]

AEA R88 (or two 84s) with AEA TRP pre.

[Matti]

Getting even better

Matti

[ObiK]

I agree with Brad, 1 nice on them to get the overall feeling of hearing them perform together.

[thepilgrimsdream]

I would just have fun and use all your mics all over the room and blend them

[MrCrowbar]

I'd use one cardioid LDC and just let them sing together, preferably only one with monitoring headphones on and just on one ear. If you can do without artist monitoring, go for it, sounds way more natural and inhibited, just like rehearsing or singing it on the street.

I would add a spaced pair of SDCs in the room just for that sense of space. Ignore the 3:1 rule, look for the sweet spot with the LDC muted. When mixing, just slap a sample delay on the SDC tracks and tweak until it sounds right with all mics on. It might even be that it sounds best with the SDC muted, but it'll have done an important job: give the singers something to sing into and not instinctively aiming for one of the SDCs.

[AcousticMuse]

Originally Posted by Fizzyhair

So I've now been booked to record an all female barbershop quartet. The group are very tight so I was going to put a pair of NTKs on them and then another LDC maybe the NT1000 a few feet back for some air.

Is this sufficient? Or do I need to get a mic on each vocalist and then a stereo pair in the room?

I have lots of good mics so no issues there and ill obviously play about a bit on the setup but it'd be nice to get a starting point.

I must admit I would go for your second suggestion. The stereo pair will get the feel, the air and then you can get a little more accurate balancing the individuals if need be. Stand them in a circle, with the NTK or NT2 in the middle or in a semi-circle with maybe the NT4 for the room and a cardioid facing each singer for the fine balance if needed. Best of both worlds. No artist monitoring needed, you capture a performance..