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Seeking recommendation for overhead orchestra mics
Our small (20-30 players) church orchestra sits in a corner with masonry surfaces in our auditorium. It’s hard enough to hear them live but we also feed video/audio of the service to an overflow area as well as closed-circuit TV in the nurseries. I’ve tried micing the orchestra from a distance of 10-15 feet but the room is so live that I don’t get enough direct signal to adequately overcome the reflections.
My current thoughts are to place two overhead mics fairly close to the two halves of the orchestra and pray!
My question is in two parts: Is this an adequate approach (if not, I’m open to other ideas); what mic would you recommend? Keep in mind this is not a professional orchestra and the result is not for broadcast so $2K mics are not warranted! I’m thinking in the $400 each range.
Thanks in advance!
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3 Replies
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[OKSound] “My current thoughts are to place two overhead mics fairly close to the two halves of the orchestra”
Your problem will then be that of hearing the close miked instruments louder than those outside of the mic pattern.
A thick curtain on a track (for moving out of the way when not used) behind the orchestra would be your best bet – and probably help visually as well.
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[Will Salley] “A thick curtain on a track (for moving out of the way when not used) behind the orchestra would be your best bet – and probably help visually as well.”
I’m sure that would help but I don’t know if I could convince “upper management”. I assume you’re talking about some type of thick studio-style curtain?
A little more info: this orchestra is brass-heavy and I wouldn’t mind a little uneven coverage for them!
Thanks!
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There are lots of great mics out there.
Studio condensers are a good choice:
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/s=mics/search/detail/base_pid/273156/
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/R0DE-NT1A-Anniversary-Model-Microphone?sku=271593
It all depends on your budget.
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