How many mics for this venue?

[6079]

Here's the room that I will be videotaping from the center of the seating section. I will have a pretty hi-end stereo mic that comes with this pro camcorder.

I'd really like to make a good tape, though, so I was wondering if placing an external mic to the left and right would be a good idea. The band is a 5 piece, quiet, semi-acoustic act, and seeing as how the space is so small, I want to ask if one center mic vs. two externally spaced mics would be much of a difference? I believe those two speakers pictured are the only sound source.

My other question is the odds of me fucking the recording up, because it would be the first time I used external mics and not just a simple MD or Edirol flash recorder, with packaged/internal mics. The way I could see myself messing it up with my inexperience would be placing the external mics too close to the speakers, or just overloading the sound somehow. I don't know.

Is it worth it? And is it difficult to pull off for a first timer?

[Strungup]

How much freedom do you have with this venue? do you have access to a small mixer ? ( I have an AT 822 Stereo mic that I use for Acoustic situations like this and have not been dissapointed ) but if you want a really good sound I see that the room has some oddities that would let clamp some mics in Out of the way places that would be acoustically Very usefull .

You have a pic facing the front , show a pic facing the back, taken from the Center of the stage . Th upper part of the back wall in particular .

Secondly , if you clamp two small mic stands right at the front of the stage ( See the little ledge that sticks over the edge ) usins a pair of Drum mic Clamps . The Mics would be behind the sound system , and in front of the performers ( a more Acousitc sound)

Mics at the Back wall up at the top will give a more studio sound , the processing of the Sound system , and Audience together .

I see also cubbies on the sides of the room at the top of the walls , a Mic in the cubbie hole on the left side of the room , and the right side of the room , would give a very open sound with a fair bass response and a nice stereo spread .

If you have cubbies on both sides , A small table stand mic clip , in each of those would be optimum , you would get the sound of the room itself . From the size of the room and the fact that it isnt square , but has a lot of reflective angles , I think I would go with those Cubbies that I see ( Right above the door the lady is walking thru )

Cables down the wall and under the chairs to a small mixer to the camera line input . tape the cables to the floor in btween the wal and the chairs .

Make sure to use Omni Directional Mics , if you us Cardioids you might miss alot of the dynamics from an Acoustic group , If it is going to be Loud then Cardioids might be usefull for a more focused sound .

A pair of Audio Technica 3032's would be very good here , spread out left side / right side of the room

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mi...e27e/index.html ...............The mics I speak of

Edited September 22, 2007 by Guitarfxr

[6079]

Thanks alot for that thoughtful reply. I wish I had access to a mixer and several mics so I could go all out, but I'll be lucky to get a couple mics loaned to me through taperssection.com. It really would be a lot of fun to just get any equipment you needed and some time before the show to set up any configuration you want, soundboard, etc. I really like this band, and this may be the last time I get a chance like this.

You seem familiar with what goes into making a full, great recording, but just out of curiosity, if there is a practical way to answer this - if I just have my good stereo camcorder mic in the center, will there be a significant difference between that and one of the processes you described with multiple mics? Keep in mind, the stage setup is actually different now, I have learned. The stage has been reversed in that picture, and the stage is almost level with the seats:

Edited September 22, 2007 by 6079

[Strungup]

It will b a Center field sound image , If you have any recording level controls in the menus on the Camera try using them, to get good but not over the top levels.

[A440]

Some one-point stereo mics give a surprisingly good stereo spread. Some don't. Set up your current mic and walk across the room in front of it. Do you hear your changing position when you play back?

I recorded my first concerts with the dinky one-point microphone that came with a cassette recorder. It was essentially like recording in mono, and the difference when I switched to a stereo pair separated by six inches was enormous, not just in the microphone quality but in the spatial richness of the recording. But better one-point mics can mimic stereo separation.

Check out King Ghidora's post (#2) in this thread, where he recorded a bluegrass band with a one-point mic. The second "here" link works.

(KG does some camcorder recording, so you might also search some of his other posts with "camcorder" in them.)

Also, is the sound in the room primarily from the PA or from the instruments on stage? With sound from the PA, you'd want to point mics at the speakers (and if you're too close, you might miss whatever is coming from the PA because it's pointed over your heard--though that's more a problem when recording a full-on rock concert from close to the stage). The basic situation is simple: the microphone(s) should be placed where the music sounds best.

Whether you'd screw it up is a serious question but hard to answer. Can you see levels on the camcorder while you record? Since your band doesn't play at brutal rock-club volume, can you try a practice run with your home stereo? You don't want your very first try at a new setup to be a crucial one. But a few practice runs should get you used to it.

You should find the users' group for your camcorder--there has to be one somewhere.

Edited September 26, 2007 by A440