I just bought a couple of Crown PCC-160 boundary mics to record live stage theater performances. I've read the application guide on the Crown website.

Now for the silly question: Are these only for acoustic performances? What if the performers are using microphones (e.g. wireless headworn)? If amplification is being used, should I still use the boundary mics and mix it with a feed off the board or mics further back in the room to capture sound from the speakers?

Thanks!

-JP

You should mix it with a feed from the board or a mic front of the speakers.

I would use the boundry mics and record to one channel and take a feed from the board for the other channel and mix the two together in post. I wouldn't mic the speakers unless you don't have an easy way to get a feed from the board.

In post I might add a bit of the boundry mics to get a more ambient sound but mostly use the board feed.

Andy T

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm beginning to doubt if there's much value to using the boundary mics in an amplified venue. Seems like I might be able to just mix a stereo pair of hypers with a feed from the mixer... I'm wondering if people typically only use the boundary mics in an acoustic setting? Or perhaps where the boundary mics are less obtrusive than a stereo pair?

A bit of a late reply... IF, your theater has great coverage with their mics, then a board feed is fine. But boundary mics can fill in gaps. Say an actor is near one mic but turns away from it as part of the staging. Or an actor goes downstage (towards the audience) of their mics. A boundary on the lip of the stage might better pick up applause as well.

There is no 'right answer'. If there is more than one performance, look at and if possible tape the show and if you see and or hear holes in the audio, maybe your boundary mic can help.