Miking Solo Voices And Instruments- The Mic Choices

Although there are many microphones, from which to choose, you need to consider several important acoustical factors to obtain good results.

- Richard Honeycutt

For many years, there has been a widespread perception that miking for recording is a black art accessible only to a few master recording wizards, and that miking for live sound can be done by any fool with some Shure SM58s and a few XLR cables. This perception has led to idolization of a few recording engineers and disappointing live sound in many venues, especially those that rely on untrained volunteer techs.

There is a story about a renowned concert pianist who was to perform in a venue that required sound reinforcement. When he casually mentioned the upcoming performance to his recording engineer, the engineer was horrified. He insisted on packing up his multi-thousand-dollar studio mics and stands, and accompanying the pianist to the sound check. Once at the venue, the recording engineer firmly instructed the house sound tech that he would mic the piano. He set up his mics as he normally would in a studio and plugged the cables into the stage box. When the system was powered up and the pianist started playing, the house sound tech gently pushed up the fader until the piano could barely be heard. The recording engineer, standing in the middle of the audience area, loudly called for more gain. The house tech complied, and the room was immediately filled with the wail of screaming banshees! In order to save the speakers and everyone’s ears, the house tech brought the gain back down and respectfully, if somewhat smugly, asked the pianist if he could set up his mics—using his own method—on the piano. The pianist wisely agreed. The second sound check was highly satisfactory, and after a little collaboration between the two engineers, everyone was happy, and the concert later proceeded with rave reviews.