Hi

I'm not a pro
But the Oktava MK012 (with all capsules) work for me
and are within your budget
I personally prefer them to Rode nt4 or nt5
Haven't tried the c541b.

I'm sure someone more knowlegdeable will chime in pretty soon :)

Cheers

We use the Rode NT 4 and find it to be a very good one point microphone.

What ever microphones you decide on try and record the group using the microphones and find out how they sound. Hopefully you can do this BEFORE you purchase them. The reason most stores don't want to return microphones is because someone will buy them and spray them with spit durning the recording and try and return them which is against the health laws in most states or they will use a very expensive microphone for a recording session and then return it afterwards. If you expain to the shop what you are going to be using the microphones for (distant miking of a choir) they maybe a tad more willing to take them back after you have tried them out especially if you are on good terms with the store.

As to MS microphones any cardioid and figure eight microphone can be used as an MS microphone setup. The mounting has to be so that the capsules are in close proximity and the micrphones should be matched so a pair of C414s would work well. Set one on Cardioid and one on figure 8.

Best of luck!

There's no chance of try before buy as I'm on a small island where I'd just get ripped off even if I could find the mics here in the first place.

Is the incidence angle on the NT4 adjustable or is it fixed at 90°?

The NT4 seemed like a great idea, basically getting 2 into 1, but having read the [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.rycote.c…"]Stereophonic Zoom[/]="http://www.rycote.c…"]Stereophonic Zoom[/] article I'm rather more inclined to go for a seperate pair which I can adjust.

There seems to be a couple of submodels of C414 all of which are well outside my budget, which did you mean?

I've become rather keen on the Oktava MK-012 mentioned above, coming with cardioid, hypercardioid & omnidirectional capsules makes them a bit more versatile.

One version comes with a large diaphragm cap, what's the difference?

Shure Makes a lovely and affordable MS stereo condenser/capacitor microphone. It is also small and unobtrusive. It's always a "Shure" bet to go with that one.

I also enjoy using the Beyer M160 cardioid and M130 figure 8 ribbon microphones in an MS configurations, with applicable mounting hardware, especially for recording choir voices! They run approximately $700 US for the pair so its probably with in your budget?

RemyRAD wrote: Shure Makes a lovely and affordable MS stereo condenser/capacitor microphone. It is also small and unobtrusive. It's always a "Shure" bet to go with that one.

Hrm, do you mean the [="http://www.shuredistribution.co.uk/products_shure/product-shr-472-56-44.htm"]VP88[/]="http://www.shuredis…"]VP88[/]? As the best price I can find on that is a couple of hundred out of my reach.

RemyRAD wrote: I also enjoy using the Beyer M160 cardioid and M130 figure 8 ribbon microphones in an MS configurations, with applicable mounting hardware, especially for recording choir voices! They run approximately $700 US for the pair so its probably with in your budget?

Is MS that much better? It certainly seems to cost alot more. I've checked the prices on those mics and the best I can do is about $600 bucks each, unless you can point me in a better direction.

So far I'm thinking of getting the Oktava [[url=http://="http://www.oktava-s…"]MK-012-10 black MSP8[/]="http://www.oktava-s…"]MK-012-10 black MSP8[/] since they are a matched pair and come with 4 different heads so I can try stereo omni too, and use them for other stuff. The price should also allow me to have enough left for the stereo bar, shock mounts and a decently high stand.

I have a pair of Oktava MC012 and I must say, that for the price they are really very nice. I also own pairs of Neumann KM84s and Schoeps CMC54s. These are of course better (not at all six times better if you compare prices) but you can get really professional sounding recordings with the Oktavas. I used them for a series of choir recordings "on the road" during this sommer and the results were fine. In the last years I made these recordings in the same rooms on tour with the Neumanns and the difference is only obvious when you listen at the recordings directly one after the other. These are professional tools!
Regards
Hermann

The only problem I have with the Octavas is their quality control. You can take a half dozen Octavas out the box plug them in and they will all sound slightly different when you check them out. So if you are going to buy the Octavas I would arrange to demo them in the show room and check to make sure that the ones you get sound similar. This topic has been covered elsewhere on this forum a couple of times. They also sell "matched pairs" which may mean that they do the checking for you.

The other problem with Octavas is that you cannot ever use them up close without them popping badly. I believe it is poor design on Octavas part and has to do the design and spacing of the diaphram.

We use a pair of Octavas on a bell choir and they worked very well.

just to comfort EvilOverlord:

msp stands for matched stereo pair so they are well, uhm
matched

the msp-8 comes with 2 large diaphragm capsules as well
for recording choir alone I would go for msp-6
you can allways buy another set of msp-2

and yes,
the mk012 does pop badly
don't have them infront of a stream of air,
so no: close up vocal, or anywhere near the end of a woodwind (which isn't a good position anyway)

cheers

Yeah that's why I was looking at the MSP ones :-)

Will a pop shield not alleviate the problem?

What's the difference between the large & small diaphragm? Is the large one just more sensitive?

Thanks you for all your contributions :D

Well I bought the Oktava [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.oktava-s…"]MK-012-10 black MSP8[/]="http://www.oktava-s…"]MK-012-10 black MSP8[/] and I'm pleased with them, they sound fab! The stereo bar isn't the best quality item, but another one of those isn't expensive.

The only trouble seems to be the output from them is very quiet, which I can fix post, but I'd like to get it up a bit. Do I need a mic preamp? If so is it possible to get ones that run off phantom power as I really can't do with having loads of things to plug in for the situations I have to record in. Something that is tube shaped and could be plugged into the back of the mic would be great.

p.s. I still can't work out what the large diaphram cap can do that the small one can't.

silly question maybe, but

does the recording unit have 48V phantom?

recording choir

I have great results with Avenson mikes direct on Sebatron pre, very natural sound, in december I record a choir and I used a Jeklin disc suppose to give a better sound

Yes to phantom power, though I assume it's a standard 48V since the manual doesn't state anywhere what the PhPw voltage is and that it's suitable for condsenser microphones.

I highly recommend using the Audio-Technica AT825
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/665bdf92967733dc/index.html

stereo condenser mic. It might be out of price range but you can always re-sell or rent it.

Its a professional mic, good price, and has excellent stereo depth with virtually no phase problems (which you might get if using 2 seperate mics in stereo setup). I've used this mic before, very nice for voice. Once you hear the stereo imaging you'll be very happy you went with it. - especially for choir (large ensemble, in ambient room). Well worth the $350 or so.

(Oh - it also has a small battery pack so you don't need to use phantom powering)