Hello. A bit of experienced advice would be appreciated please.
Scenario: School orchestra, 60 musicians, polished gymnasium floor. I am using a school performance to trial some microphones. I only get one shot at positioning mics etc.

On floor in front of orchestra, in +/- ORTF i will trial x2 Bartlett TM-125c floor mics. I know the predominance will be front of ensemble, i just want to 'hear' them this time round. (there will also be a small Cello quartet)

Above/in front of orchestra, DIY hanging rig or ambient boom pole: ORTF Beyer MC930 (experimenting with postioning in this venue in respect of orchestra 'depth' and direct/reverberation sound & a worrying 'slap back' off side walls. I seek the full orchestral sound as a unit but with good localised images as the results may be used for OCN archives/submissions.

My question: i want to use/trial x2 AKG 1000m hanging modules with either CK31/32 capsules (cardioid/omni)...i will probably go for omni capsule this time.

I would like to think i can position the AKG's as either a spaced pair from same position as ORTF/MC930's to see how they compare....or....as x2 spots above the orchestra proper (10/20 ft apart)to get some of the rear instruments and mix them in with the ORTF/MC930's...is it a bad idea to consider adding omni spots to the ortf main pair? would CK31/cardiod be better?

Would the omni's work as a spaced pair (2/3 ft apart) above mid orchestra/or much much closer/or much much further back than ORTF/MC930's and on central axis and mixed with ORTF/MC930's.

I need to be visually unobtrusive and i do not want more mics than needed in a final rig for this venue/orchestra

any help appreciated
cheers

Quote sabletones:

---

I would like to think i can position the AKG's as either a spaced pair from same position as ORTF/MC930's to see how they compare....or....as x2 spots above the orchestra proper (10/20 ft apart)to get some of the rear instruments and mix them in with the ORTF/MC930's...is it a bad idea to consider adding omni spots to the ortf main pair? would CK31/cardiod be better?

Would the omni's work as a spaced pair (2/3 ft apart) above mid orchestra/or much much closer/or much much further back than ORTF/MC930's and on central axis and mixed with ORTF/MC930's.

I need to be visually unobtrusive and i do not want more mics than needed in a final rig for this venue/orchestra

any help appreciated
cheers

---

You have several options. You could use a quad stereo bar to get the best of both worlds: MC930s in X/Y for stereo imaging and and AKG omnis as A/B to blend in some more warmth/bloom. You could also use the omnis as proper outriggers to the cardioids but this would require two extra stands, unless you can hang the AKGs further apart.

You could also use one pair of mics as a main pair and then strategically position the other pair as spot mics. If you used the omnis as spots I'd keep them higher and instead of trying to highlight one particular orchestral desk use them more loosely to capture say brass and woodwind. I wouldn't use the AKGs as cardioids because you'll shave off the low end (which isn't helpful when trying to capture a full orchestra with minimal miking).

My preference in this situation would probably be using the omnis as a main pair -- ideally with a Jecklin disk, or A/B about 40-50cm apart -- and really concentrate on getting a good, full orchestral sound. You could angle them outwards slightly to improve high freq imaging. Then use the beyers to add some brightness/detail to stuff that's further back and lacking (harp? woodwind?).

Good luck!