Micing tap dance ?

[JSFox]

A school I'm helping out does 2 or 3 events each year that include tap dance routines, usually with the jazz/blues band or orchestra. They've complained that in the past the tappers get drowned out by the band. The floor is made up of 3' x 3' masonite like material over plywood over cement. Trying to figure out the best way to mic the taps without getting too much of the band.

PZM's taped to the floor?

A couple of shotguns, one from each side?

??

Thanks,

[taylorjacobs]

they make actual floor mics for this purpose they are pretty inexpensive to rent

[soundlight]

We've actually had to do this twice this year. PCC-160's from the front, overhead hanging choir-style mics pointed straight down if needed (with pattern that will restrict orchestra pickup), and PCC-160's from the back of the dance part of the floor if feasible.

[stantonsound]

My favorites for tap dance are Crown PCC-160, Crown PZM 30-D, or the Shure Beta 91 PZM.

As stated before, these can be rented from most any proaudio house or from another school/college.

[Van]

I've always had real good luck with 2-4 PZMs on the apron. When you say taped I hope you mean gaffing the PZM directly to the floor. I had to trouble shoot for a guy once, he couldn't figure out why the sound was so muted. I found he had used foam double stick tape on the underside of the mic to mount them to 1x1 pieces of masonite. The tape acted like a little shock absorber for sound.

[jonhirsh]

Wireless mics right on the shoes work really well.

JH

[Schniapereli]

I just finished worked on our school musical "Crazy for You" (which is a tap show, if you anyone may not have heard of it...I hadn't) (That is also why I haven't posted for a while.)

We used 2 of the Crown PCC 160's, and they worked very nicely. It was mentioned here before that someone talked to a tech for 42nd street, who told them that they actually implant mics in their shoes.
I talked to another sound guy, and heard that they just use the MKE-2, and ran the cord up their fishnet stockings. They only miked one shoe of most of the cast, but the leads had both shoes miked. (I'm not exactly sure how you are supposed to spell mic-ed without it looking like mice-ed...)

[jwl868]

Maybe the band just needs to back off on their volume.


Joe

[mbenonis]

Finally, a use for PCC's!

[CURLS]

I've had great luck with 91's right across the front of the stage and yes i have used them directionally pointed towards there feet tilted up on a plexiglass material which worked wonderfully. Also if you have a shotgun or two pointing one on little mic stand on the sides of the stage pointing across the stage work for good isolation.

Yea yet another use for pcc's among so many others.