Mic Archive

Vocal consort

one singer per part

Sources
65 independent: not from a mic maker

What it is

A small group with one singer on each line, singing early music or choral music at "one voice per part" (OVPP). The Hilliard Ensemble was a British male quartet devoted originally to early music. For Bach the one-per-part idea is the Rifkin hypothesis, and SATB choral works then need four singers.9,10

Where the sound comes from

  • voices: Many incoherent voices whose intensities add; a few loud voices dominate fortissimo.7
  • Each voice is close to omnidirectional below about 1 kHz.8
  • Above about 1 kHz each voice is more directional, towards the front.8

Layout

Four or so singers close together either side of the centre, 1-2 m from a stereo pair set higher and looking down (a forum recordist). The quartet in the thread was four women singing Renaissance repertoire in a church.1

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

Playing level
50–90 dBat 20 m; 64-voice ensemble, model: about 90 dB at high frequencies at maximum, about 50 dB at low frequencies at minimum7
Dynamic range

Nothing found.

Recording it

X-Y for clarity with four singers who balance themselves; ORTF if they space out; spaced cardioids widen the image but favour the outer singers; Blumlein ribbons or two C414s in a church with a lovely, musical reverb; record X-Y and A/B together when unsure; poor reverb is better replaced with artificial reverb (forum, same recordist). Another reply: two SM81s side by side with a third pencil mic about 8 ft back.1

Mics

No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.

All the mics sources name, by setting and role (4)

Studio

Main pair or array

Stereo pairBlumlein

Distant

Stereo pair

Contact

Stereo pair

Room

Stereo pair

The 8 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Main pair or array 2 × Shure SM81
    main pair, with a pencil mic about 8 ft back
    "Side by side the SM81s - then maybe the pencil mic in the center about 8 feet back" (female Renaissance quartet, church).1
  • Main pair or array 2 × two ribbons in Blumlein (crossed figure-of-eight), or two C414s
    main pair in a church with a good reverb
    In a church with lovely reverb, "Blumlein stereo with two ribbons or two 414's work for me" (forum reply).1
  • Main pair or array single microphone
    main, one mic for five or fewer singers in a tight semicircle, nearly shoulder to shoulder
    "It's best to use one mic for five or fewer singers and let them find their own blend"2
  • Distant 2 × stereo pair (model not stated)
    pair, simple stereo mic on the far side of the lectern, about 10 ft back from the altar steps in Merton College Chapel (same position still used)
    "There's just one microphone that faces left and one microphone faces right"; "perhaps 10 feet back from the altar steps"3
  • Contact 2 × Sennheiser MKH 800
    pair, primary stereo pickup set far back from the singers and high up, as an omni pair (All Hallows, Gospel Oak)
    "Set far back from the vocalists and high up in the air as an omni pair"4
  • Room 2 × surround pair (model not stated)
    room, surround pair six feet behind the MKH 800s and slightly farther apart
    "Another pair of microphones located six feet behind the Sennheiser mics and slightly farther apart"4
  • Clip-on DPA headset microphone
    close, one headset per singer for an SATB quartet recorded in an anechoic chamber
    "Much like the larger choir, we chose to use the DPA headset microphones to capture the most isolated signal"5
  • Main pair or array Choir advice Royer SF-24 or Royer SF-12
    stereo pair for vocal groups
    "The SF12 and SF-24 are especially useful for recording vocal groups in stereo."6

On stage

Main pair or array

X-Y

The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Main pair or array 2 × matched pair, X-Y or ORTF, 1-2 m away and high, looking down
    main pair on a vertical boom with T-bar
    "For 4 singers, who have a good internal balance, ... classic X/Y, or if they space out, ORTF."1

On stage

  • Small-diaphragm cardioid or supercardioid condensers on stands or hanging, about 45 cm in front of the first row and 45 cm above the back row's heads; or '2x2': 2 ft in front, 2 ft above the tallest singer, for up to 20 singers.
  • About one mic per 6 m of singers; 30-45 voices need two or three.
  • Keep neighbouring mics at least three times as far apart as each is from its singers (3:1); with few mics it can't always be met.
  • Aim a supercardioid at the back row: the front row is then about 60 degrees off axis and the back row 1.4 times further away.
  • Gain before feedback drops fast as mics cover more singers: in DPA's example for 12 singers, six mics lose 17 dB and three mics 25.5 dB against one mic per singer.11,12,13,14

Problems to watch

  • Feedback with monitors behind the choir.
  • Hearing loops pick up dynamic mics and cables: use condensers and route cables away.
  • Comb filtering from too many open mics.13,15

Sources

  1. HomeRecording.com forum: Recording live Renaissance vocal quartet (Feb 2026)forum · homerecording.com
  2. Mix: Speech and Song (Kevin Becka, Nov 2005)magazine · mixonline.com
  3. MusicWeb International Seen and Heard: Gimell interview with Peter Phillips and Steve Smith (2010, Tallis Scholars)engineer · musicweb-international.com
  4. ProSoundWeb: Sennheiser MKH 800 Mics Key Top-Shelf Recording Project Featuring Stile Antico At London Church (Jul 2009, engineer Brad Michel)magazine · prosoundweb.com
  5. University of York Architexture: Recording a choireducational · architexture.york.ac.uk
  6. Royer Labs FAQ: Which Royer mic would you recommend for recording vocals?manufacturer · royerlabs.com
  7. Titze and Maxfield: choir dynamic range model (JASA 142(4), 2464-2468)academic · 2017 · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  8. Katz and d'Alessandro: voice directivity measurements (ICA 2007)academic · 2007 · groupeaa.lisn.upsaclay.fr
  9. Wikipedia, Hilliard Ensemblereference · en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, One voice per partreference · en.wikipedia.org
  11. ProSoundWeb: Church Sound, Effective Microphone Strategies For ChoirsBruce Bartlett · educational · prosoundweb.com
  12. SoundPro: How To Mic a Choir, Best Mics & Placement Tipsretailer · soundpro.com
  13. DPA Mic University: How to mic a choirmanufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
  14. Audio-Technica: ES933 datasheet (hanging choir mic)manufacturer · fullcompass.com
  15. ProSoundWeb: Choir Mic Techniques, Rising To The Challengemagazine · prosoundweb.com