AKG Acoustics C414 XLII manual Backing vocals/technique, Solo violin, Large string sections, Viola

4 Using Your Microphone

To record large mixed choirs, we recommend using one stereo mi- crophone plus one spot microphone each for the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sections.

In rooms with good acoustics, a sin- gle stereo microphone or two matched mono microphones will often do the trick.

Backing vocals/technique 1:

If you have enough tracks available, we recommend overdubbing each voice separately (refer to section 4.6.1 Lead Vocals above).

Backing vocals/technique 2:

If you use a separate microphone for each of several vocalists simul- taneously, set each microphone to

hypercardioid to prevent crosstalk, particularly if the microphones are closely spaced.

Backing vocals/technique 3:

If you use a single microphone for the entire group, select the cardioid or omni pattern and place the vocalists in a semicircle in front of the microphone.

Solo violin:

Direct the microphone to the f holes from a height of 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.5 m) above the floor.

Large string sections:

Use a combination of a main micro- phone in an XY, MS, ORTF, or other stereo configuration and close-in spot microphones.

Viola:

Direct the microphone to the f holes from a height of 7 to 10 feet (2.2 to 3 m) above the floor.

C 414 XLS / XLII

4.6.2 Choir, Backing Vocals

Fig. 5: Backing vocalists shar- ing a single microphone (technique 3).

4.6.3 Violin, Viola

Fig. 6: Violin.

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