Mic advice for musical in concert style

I am producing You're A Good Man Charlie Brown in a "concert" style and I would like to purchase 6 wired microphones to place on stands appox. 4 feet from each other with a 180 degree pick up off the back of the mic the bulk of the 4 ft. distance. I would also love for these mics to have a vintage look and warm tone. Any suggestions? I am going to be doing "in concert" style musicals frequently so would like to make these an investment that will last. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
My first instincts here are SM-58s, they're relatively inexpensive and rugged, and they can pass for "vintage."
 
Shure has a page of classic mics. For a real vintage look you might try a 55SHII. Its a bit more expensive than the 58, but definitely a classic styled mic. The SM 58 is probably one of the most common and requested mics so you can't go wrong with that choice in my opinion. It may also be more useful in future events.
 
The big problem with this idea is comb filtering. Anytime two or more mics pick up a source at near equal levels, cancellation of some frequencies occurs. The result is hollow sound that changes as the actors move around. On top of that, you'll have reflections off the stage floor causing similar issues.

The 3 to 1 rule helps prevent this. For every foot of distance between the mic and the source, the mics need to be spaced apart 3 feet. If your actors are up to 4 feet behind the mics, space the mics 12 feet apart. Anything less than that will compromise sound quality.

I suggest borrowing some matched, cardioid mics and testing the plan out before you buy anything. It doesn't matter what the mics look like for the test. If you discover the result isn't to your liking, then I would use the usual wireless mics on the actors and use stand mics for props.
 
For any distance more than 3 feet away, I try and use condenser mics for choirs. I have a pile of SDCs and LDCs that I use for the purpose - most are cheap (MXL 993s were on sale on day), and some are midrange products like the AKG C214. Haven't been able to justify a C414, but maybe someday.

If you can justify them, a pair of C214s will do the job quite nicely. I would recommend an XY stereo pair, but if you're looking for vintage, you might be better off with a good 'ol AB pair. Useful for soloists and definitely looks more "classic." For 900 USD down, you'll get mics you can use on a bunch of stuff, and probably sell if you don't need them down the road.
 

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