I prefer Sennheiser. They are of high quality and worth the little extra cash.

Check out AudioTechnica (originally German-made, now available from Ohio).  You can check out their website on-line at www.audiotechnica.com.  I use them in my recording business - swear by (not at) 'em!

 

Ron Duquette

Hi, Sarah.

 

This brings up several other questions.  Will the mics be hung permanently, or will they be hung for specific events and then taken down?  Makes a big difference, since some high-quality condenser or electret mics are not designed for rough handling, and of course electrets have to have their batteries replaced.

 

But assuming a fairly typical school auditorium (and NOT a cafegymatoranasium!) with permanent hanging mics, any decent condenser mic will give excellent quality.  They shoud be cardioid pattern, so as to reject feedback from speakers, but not super-cardioid.  And of course any condenser mic requires power, either from your mixing board or from an on-board battery.  Dynamic mics are more often designed for close pickup, and so are a bit less suitable for hung mics. 

 

As to where to hang them, it should be high enough that you don't just pick up the front row, low enough to pick up your singers without having to be turned up to feedback levels, and of course in front of the choir where they will be projecting their voices.

 

One alternative, if you can NOT have them permantently hung, would be pressure-zone mics designed to be placed flat on the floor in front of your choir.

 

In both cases how many to use depends on how large the area of pickp needs to be.  2 might do it.  In our Recital Salon we have 3.  Probably any more than that would invite more feedback unless you have rather sophisticated feedback protection and mixists who know how to use it.

 

If there's a professional audio business anywhere near you, I would certainly advise getting their input on this.  Sure, they'll want to sell you equipment; that's their business!  But they also have the professional expertise to give you good advice.  I'm about 15 years out of date on specific mic models or makers, but most of the good ones are really good these days, and it's a matter of getting all the details balanced up right.

 

All the best,

 

John