Microphones
Hanging Choir Microphones vs Handheld on Stands
Quick answer
Hanging condensers win for any choir over about eight voices. Plan one hanging microphone per 15 to 20 singers (the Shure figure for a cardioid choir mic), hung two to four feet above and two to three feet in front of the front row. Handhelds on stands only work for a small ensemble that will stand close to them.
Audio-Technica U853R Cardioid Condenser Hanging Microphone 250 Ohms, Low Profile Design
Under $250A low-profile hanging cardioid condenser, available in colours that disappear against a ceiling, designed to cover a section of risers from above.
Best for: Choir coverage where the microphones must not be visible from the pews
Check price on Amazon
Shure SM58 Pro XLR Dynamic Vocal Microphone
Under $250The microphone most churches already own, on a boom stand in front of the choir. Cheap, familiar, and covering far fewer singers than people assume.
Best for: Every vocal position that does not need to be wireless
Check price on AmazonFor a choir of more than about eight voices, hang proper condensers and stop trying to make handhelds work. A cardioid dynamic on a stand covers the two or three singers directly in front of it and almost nobody else, which is why choirs miked this way always sound like a few loud voices and a distant crowd.
The trade is honest and worth stating: hanging condensers are sensitive microphones several feet from quiet sources in a reverberant room, which is the hardest gain before feedback problem in church audio. You will get a natural, blended choir sound and you will not get much level out of it. The choir guide covers the full geometry and the choir position page covers the channel setup.
Side by side
| Model | Budget | Microphone type | Polar pattern | Needs phantom power | Frequency range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica U853R Cardioid Condenser Hanging Microphone 250 Ohms, Low Profile Design | Under $250 | Condenser | Cardioid | Yes | - |
| Shure SM58 Pro XLR Dynamic Vocal Microphone | Under $250 | Dynamic | Cardioid | No | 50 Hz to 15 kHz |
How many hanging microphones a choir needs
Count singers, not risers. Then check the spacing against the three to one rule, which is what stops adjacent microphones cancelling each other.
Plan one hanging microphone per 15 to 20 singers, hung 2 to 4 feet above and 2 to 3 feet in front of the front row and aimed at the back row.
| Choir size | Rows | Hanging microphones | Spacing | Height above front row |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 20 | 1 to 2 | 1 | N/A | 2 to 3 ft |
| 21 to 40 | 2 to 3 | 2 | About 8 ft apart | 2 to 3 ft |
| 41 to 60 | 3 | 3 | About 8 ft apart | 3 ft |
| 61 to 80 | 3 to 4 | 4 | About 8 to 10 ft apart | 3 to 4 ft |
| 81 and over | 4 or more | One per 15 to 20 singers | About 10 ft apart | 4 ft |
Aim each microphone at the back row rather than straight down, so the furthest singers are on axis and the nearest are off axis. That single adjustment evens out a choir mix more than any equalisation will.
Choose hanging condensers for any real choir
Above about eight voices, hanging condensers are the only approach that covers everybody. The U853R at under $250 is low profile and available in colours that vanish against a ceiling, the Shure MX202 at under $500 is the install standard, and the PRO 45W at under $250 puts three real choir microphones in reach of a small budget.
Placement is the whole job and it is worth repeating: two to four feet above the front row, one to two feet in front of it, aimed at the back row, and spaced so that adjacent microphones are at least three times as far apart as each is from its nearest singer. That three to one rule is what prevents the hollow, phasey sound that comes from two microphones hearing the same voices at slightly different times.
Accept the gain ceiling honestly. These are sensitive capsules pointed into a room that also contains your loudspeakers, so there is a hard limit to how loud the choir can be in the house before the system rings. If the choir needs to compete with a band, the answer is lowering everything else rather than pushing the choir channel, and a processor such as the dbx AFS2 at under $500 buys a few decibels of headroom rather than solving it.
Choose handhelds on stands only for a small, close ensemble
There is a legitimate case for stand-mounted microphones, and it is a vocal ensemble of six or fewer who will genuinely stand close to them. A worship team singing in a semicircle around two or three SM58s at under $250 will get more level and far more gain before feedback than any hanging system, because the capsules are inches away rather than feet.
It is also the right answer for a portable church, a rented room or anywhere nothing may be attached to the ceiling. A heavy-duty boom stand at under $100 holds a long boom over a group without drooping through the service, and the whole rig packs away.
What it cannot do is cover a choir on risers. A cardioid dynamic three feet from the front row hears the front row, and the singers two rows back are ten or fifteen decibels down. Adding more stands does not fix it, because you run into the same three to one spacing problem with none of the height that makes hanging microphones work. If the group is on risers and there are more than about eight of them, this approach is the wrong tool.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How many singers does one hanging microphone cover?
Plan on 8 to 12 voices per microphone for a typical church choir on two or three rows. Fewer if the choir is wide and shallow, more if it is deep and tightly packed. Counting singers rather than counting risers is the reliable method, because a wide front row needs more microphones than a deep block of the same number.
What is the three to one rule and why does it matter for a choir?
Adjacent microphones should be at least three times as far apart as each is from its nearest source. With a microphone three feet above the front row, that means at least nine feet between microphones. Break it and the same voices arrive at two microphones at slightly different times, which cancels frequencies and produces a hollow, phasey choir sound.
Why is our choir so quiet in the house?
Because a sensitive microphone several feet from quiet singers in a reverberant room runs out of gain before feedback quickly. Fix it by getting the microphones closer and lower, aiming them at the back row, and reducing everything competing with the choir rather than by pushing that channel harder. A ceiling that is too high is a room problem, not a microphone problem.
Can we use hanging microphones for drama and readings too?
They will pick up a speaker who stands underneath them, but not well. A hanging cardioid several feet up hears the room as much as the voice, so speech comes back thin and distant. For drama, a handheld, a headworn microphone or a boundary microphone at the front of the platform will all outperform the choir system.
Do hanging choir microphones need phantom power?
Yes. They are condensers and need 48 volt phantom power from the console on every channel, supplied down the same XLR cable that carries the audio. Any digital mixer and most analog mixers provide it per channel. Switch phantom off before patching, because a cable fault with phantom live can put a loud thump through the loudspeakers.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Sound system design, rigging loudspeakers overhead, and any electrical work are jobs for a qualified professional: have flown loudspeakers and their attachment points signed off by a structural engineer or a certified rigger, and have all wiring done by a licensed electrician to your local code. Wireless microphone rules change, so confirm the current FCC position before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
