The Song Fight Bulletin Board

We're video taping a musical variety show at my Moms retirement community. The consumer/retail video camera mics don't do much for sound recording quality, so we tapped into the mix board to record just stereo main-out onto a computer.

Tonight they had a dress rehearsal and we realized that the cool little 3 piece group that plays during intermission and seating isn't mic'd so we won't get them recorded to the laptop.

The group consists of a standup acoustic bass, an upright piano, and a clarinet. They play on the floor, side stage, during intermission and seating. They stand about 3 feet apart while playing. I would like record them with just one mic.

The guy in charge will let me have a track on the mixer if I supply the mic. I just have a SM58 (no right?).

What mic should I buy at Guitar Sinner tomorrow? does it need to be unidirectional? how far do I place it from the bass... the clarinet? Is there a mic I can pickup tomorrow for less then $300 dollars, use for this application and still have use for it in my retarded little home studio?

Thanks

I guess the nicest Studio Projects mic you can afford. The trick is going to be placing the mic where the group sounds balanced. What brands does GC carry these days? Just get a nice condenser and put it in front of the group so it sounds balanced.

Ken

get a condenser and put it in the room, somewhere the band sounds nice to your ears, and where nobody is going to be talking near the mic.