Best way to mic a soft singer in a live situation

[springs]

Dear people. Have you any recommendations on how to mic and mix someone who sings quite softly (think Erlend Oye as a contemporary, even softer than that sometimes, like just above a whisper) in a live situation?

Jim Toth recommended a headset mic (brand names/models welcome, please!) so the singer doesn't have to think about being up on the mic all the time. He also said a compressor could actually cause more harm than good if the mic is gained up. I'm primarily worried about the guu being heard without feeding back, shitty sound, or being drowned out by the somewhat incongrous backing tracks (electronic pop/dance music off a laptop, and a string octet...also a female backing singer to double many of his lines)

As someone who dwells in studio world, I figured I might get help here from those of you doing both studio and live recording. I know it's not called liveslutz but I'll probably have to buy some gear, so...

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[aussie_techie]

forget gear tell them to sing louder. there is no other solution
best advise i can give in regards to setup is make sure the system is properly EQ and turn down their fold back so they sing louder. you may want to consider IEM so there are no wedges to feedback
only gear recommendations would be to use a beta58a (or b57a) for its hotter output and the tighter pickup pattern will pick up less background noise. condensers tend to cause more feedback and pick up alot of background noise although if using IEM some super-cardioid or even hyper cardioid mics can work

[ghellquist]

This can be difficult. I think there are a few things worth trying.

- check a few different microphones. There are a number of new on-stage condensor mics that might have better properties for what they are doing. Maybe check the Neumann KMS 105 (be sure to test before buying though, I am not sure about this path).
- work on microphone technique. Real close is part of the answer.
- check that your preamps has enough gain, they do differ. It might help to EQ out the top and bottom frequencys, not much singing going on there.
- a headworn mic. I would say one of the DPA-microphones, either on a headband or taped to the head like they do in the musicals. For full freedom, wireless might be the way to go even when it opens a whole new can of worms with interference and allowed frequencys.
http://www.dpamicrophones.com/
- going for in-ear monitors instead of wedges. This will allow you to have more gain without feedback.

Good luck

Gunnar

[Fletcher]

Turn them down in the headphones/monitors and they'll subconsiously start singing louder... one of the oldest tricks in the book.

[springs]

Thanks for the answers, keep 'em coming if anyone else has personal experience. Even though we are typically studio hounds with limited live experience, we want to bring some ideas to the table for the sound engineer, so all this is very helpful.

[vtone]

the advice to "tell the singer to sing louder" doesn't seem appropriate. quiet vocals over rock music is quite popular these days.

unless I'm the band's producer, I don't tell people how to play their instruments-- our job is to capture audio and inspire the artist to be comfortable and creative.

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by vtone

the advice to "tell the singer to sing louder" doesn't seem appropriate. quiet vocals over rock music is quite popular these days.

have you tried mixing an incredibly loud band with a singer that whispers? all you get is bleed from everything else. simply if its to quite you cant capture it in the first place
singing louder does not have to change the character of the voice, although a singer may need time to build their confidence.
the stage is a very different enviroment and despit what some people think these days not everything can be achomplished with special gear, or mabey this guy just needs a magic 'N' lightning bolt

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by vtone

I don't tell people how ....

[vtone]

I once had to mic a loud drummer that whispered over certain sections of a song... it was an awful experience admittedly, but that was the nature of the song.

in the end we all decided a headset mic coupled with an expander and gate was the only way to go. it worked to a certain extent, the whispers weren't near as present as I would have liked, but no one complained.

[Jeff16years]

a good head set is the DPA 4065. they sound great but the monitor engineer had better know what thier doing and have some time before to ring it out. those dpa's sound great and they're flexable to get the close to the mouth.
you could also use in ear monitors and take them out of the wedges completly.

of course singing louder is the obvious answer but it is NOT!! usually the engineers place to tell the talent that (depending on the situation)

for example Michael Jackson is not a very loud singer but if you want to keep your gig I wouldn't suggest telling him to sing louder.

[Farfensound]

Well there is one thing that must happen before throwing gear at it.

The band must play as an ensemble!!!! If the vocalist’s style is soft then the band must play softer. If the style of the band is loud and rockin' then the vocalist must be loud and rockin'.

Too many times in live situations I've seen a bunch of musicians playing a song on stage. but they hardly ever seem to play with each other listening to each other. Not only will it aleaveate the soft vocal problem they will also start to play better.

Now on the gear side of things. Stage volume is your enemy so IEMs, IEMs, IEMs, IEMs, IEMs, IEMs. check out the Aviom system. it will make your job easier and will make them happier. http://www.aviom.com/

For the drums...cleansonic drum shield with the acoustic tiles. The drum shield screws with the drum sound a bit, but it's one of the trade offs for live audio.

Hope this helps.