Results 1 to 11 of 11
Hanging Microphones is being discussed in the ControlBooth Sound, Music, and Intercom forum; Hi Everyone, We're looking to add some hanging microphones for sound reinforcement of our choir and theater performances. Our choir ...

  1. #1


    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Detroit
    Occupation
    Volunteer
    Posts
    19
    Thanks
    6
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Hanging Microphones

    Hi Everyone,
    We're looking to add some hanging microphones for sound reinforcement of our choir and theater performances. Our choir is about 50 members and we are covering a stage that is 32 feet wide and expecting to purchase 3 microphones. We are current using 2 Crown PCC-160 boundary microphones and would like to add to that.
    We're considering the Audio Technica 853A, Crown CM-31, Sennheiser i30H-S and the EV RE92H.
    Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated
    Mike
    High School Advisor
    As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.
    Mel Brooks

  2. #2

    soundlight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    PA & NJ
    Occupation
    Pro
    Posts
    3,287
    Thanks
    43
    Thanked 144 Times in 132 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    Shure MX-202 Microflex mics. Great hanging mics for choir. I've used them for choir micing and for micing my high school's musicals.
    Jobs: Moving Light Technician, Venue Lighting Director, Venue Production Manager & Crew Chief
    On the side: Lighting & Sound Designer, Sound Engineer, Systems Designer
    Imperial 120V Pirate!
    Nothing is ever "state of the art"...something new comes out the next day.
    "Don't ever grow up. It's over-rated."

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to soundlight For This Useful Post:

    msawyer52 (June 5th, 2007)

  4. #3

    Eboy87's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Occupation
    Pro
    Posts
    1,164
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 31 Times in 29 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    I've used the AT ones, and I'm not really thrilled with them. The handful that I've used were very noisy and hard to position. The Crown ones are nice, I prefer them over the AT. I believe a choral group that came through used a pair of Shure hanging mics that are my favorite. I think they were the MX202. Very nice sound, very little noise. They have a little gooseneck part that beat the pants off the AT wire thingy.

    I've never used the Senni hanging mics (wasn't aware they had any), but Sennhiser is my mic of choice. I'll take an e935 over a 58 any day. Try out a few of the mics you're looking at to see which ones you like. Make sure you can position them the way you want too; it wouldn't do to have one accidentaly pointed at a monitor.
    Ian Garrett

    This is Winston Churchill speaking. If you have a microphone in my room, it is a waste of time. I do not talk in my sleep.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Eboy87 For This Useful Post:

    msawyer52 (June 5th, 2007)

  6. #4
    Senior Team  Premium Member 
    Footer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Saratoga Springs, NY
    Occupation
    Production Coordinator
    Posts
    7,604
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 537 Times in 431 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    CM31's do well. Hanging microphone can be hit or miss, they work well for choirs if you can get the close, for theatre, the work well in some spaces and don't do crap in others. Just depends how much headroom you can get.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Footer For This Useful Post:

    msawyer52 (June 5th, 2007)

  8. #5


    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Delawhere?
    Occupation
    Pro
    Posts
    135
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    I would also recommend the Shure MX-202. Just hung 4 of these in my highschool's theater and they are just fine. They are used mostly for the chorus which ranges from 20 kids to over 100.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Thefoxygranpa For This Useful Post:

    msawyer52 (June 5th, 2007)

  10. #6


    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Detroit
    Occupation
    Volunteer
    Posts
    19
    Thanks
    6
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Thread Starter

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    Thanks all, I was leaning towards the crown units. I like the PCC-160 boundary microphones except when you have too much movement on stage it picks up the foot traffic too well. I'll look at the Shure units again.
    Mike
    High School Advisor
    As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.
    Mel Brooks

  11. #7


    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Edina, MN
    Posts
    97
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    The best hanging reinforcement mics I've used are Earthworks Audio P30/HC and though they're a lot more expensive than other options they work a lot better.

  12. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to BenFranske For This Useful Post:

    jimfellows (September 13th, 2007), msawyer52 (June 6th, 2007)

  13. #8


    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    1,911
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 101 Times in 93 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    there are some tricks to getting the Crowns not to pick up foot traffic
    One is take a think sheet of foam like you get in packing material and place it under the mic, the other approach is to take cotton balls, place them between the mic plate and the floor.


    I tend not to usually follow tradition ;-) so on occasion I use some Oktava 012's hanging. I've made up some wire hangers that can be used to hold them from swinging

    Sharyn

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to SHARYNF For This Useful Post:

    msawyer52 (June 6th, 2007)

  15. #9


    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Michigan
    Occupation
    Freelance
    Posts
    44
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    All I've ever used for choir are AT hanging mics (not by choice - that's just what I had to work with). Placement ALWAYS bugged me with these cause they'd turn to the right or the left and be all weird. THEN...the guy who installed our new system taught me a trick...

    to make the head turn - twist the mic clockwise & counter-clockwise in the holder. I can't remember which direction turned it left and which turned it right, but it worked!
    Support. Encourage. Challenge. the Arts
    [URL="http://www.6ftstudios.com"]www.6ftstudios.com[/URL]

  16. #10


    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Detroit
    Occupation
    Volunteer
    Posts
    19
    Thanks
    6
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Thread Starter

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    I've used foam sheet under the crown mics and that works good on a smooth hard stage. We use a second stage that has a very rough surface and picks up all the actors shuffling their feet. I'm not familiar with Earthworks and will take a look. Thanks
    Mike
    High School Advisor
    As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.
    Mel Brooks

  17. #11


    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    1,911
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 101 Times in 93 Posts

    Default Re: Hanging Microphones

    Some things to consider,
    Many of the Earthworks are omni mics and so you need to be very careful with pa placement. These are very high quality, typically for recording mics that are expensive, and typically out of the range for normal High School use.

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Earthworks

    they make excellent recording mics, many times used with high end APOGEE a to d converters for quality acoustic/classical recording.

    If you try the cotton ball trick it lifts the pcc 160 plate up higher and might work better with the rougher stage. In addition, as odd as it sounds, one option is to get a carpet remnant and use it on the stage to reduce some of the shuffling noise



    Sharyn
    Last edited by SHARYNF; June 7th, 2007 at 01:08 AM.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •