40 piece Choir & big old organ in a church

[pkautzsch]

The most difficult part will be to get the balance between organ and choir right - especially if the organ is beside the choir (and not behind them). And: if they are on a balcony, it might be difficult to get the mics where they would be best.

Depending on the room, I'd choose a spaced pair out of:
- Neumann KM130 or 183 (maybe with SBK eyeballs for a little focus, you can balance choir vs organ by pointing them more towards one or the other)
- Schoeps MK21 (love them as choir spots, give a bit of shine)
- Schoeps MK4 (if too reverberant)
- probably Schoeps MK2S, which I'll compare to KM183 in July.

- others here will recommend Royer which I've never heard and thus won't comment on.

- I don't think I'd use MS for that kind of music. I don't want the image to be very precise, but I want a very spacious sound. That's imho best achieved by spaced setups. Matter of taste.

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by pkautzsch

I don't think I'd use MS for that kind of music. I don't want the image to be very precise, but I want a very spacious sound. That's imho best achieved by spaced setups.

I'll add a little "me, too"-posting here...

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by pkautzsch

- others here will recommend Royer which I've never heard and thus won't comment on.

- I don't think I'd use MS for that kind of music. I don't want the image to be very precise, but I want a very spacious sound. That's imho best achieved by spaced setups. Matter of taste.

I've used the Royer (SF12) on organ and did not like it. It doesn't seem to have the low end weight that an SDC does.

And, as for the (Blumlein or) M/S vs spaced pair comment - throw in my "agree to that"!

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[pkautzsch]

Originally Posted by mrsteaks

I've used the Royer (SF12) on organ and did not like it. It doesn't seem to have the low end weight that an SDC does.

That's obviously right, and it's the old story of pressure transducers vs gradient transducers.

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by pkautzsch

- probably Schoeps MK2S, which I'll compare to KM183 in July.

I am looking forward to your conclusions on this comparsion!

As for pressure vs gradient, profoundly demonstrated to me!

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[sonare]

The SF12 is killer on the choir, as long as the room is not too reverberant, causing you to get so close that the choir spills out the sides, and loses blend. In that case then smooth is the main thing-- Schoeps MK21 or Neuman TLM193.

The organ will definitely need spots, and there pressure mics will get the low end.

Rich

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by sonare

The SF12 is killer on the choir

At the risk of writing just to write, I have to agree completely with Rich. I use it almost exclusively on choir (when in a good room), and it IS killer in that application.

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[willi1203]

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[willi1203]

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