[Obsidian Dragon]

I record choirs all the time so hopefully this will help. The choirs that I record prefer to sing together (all sections at the same time). It helps them stay together and harmonize with each other while singing. The problem with using the four mic (one per section) approach is the bleeding of one section into another. If you put partitions between them that helps the bleeding problem but then they complain about net hearing each other too well while singing.

Start with the room. Keep it natural but avoid obvious reflections and slap back echos. Don't over deaden the room as the natural reverb is part of what makes a choir sound the way it does.

With luck, you can convince them to try to record one section at a time. The sections that aren't singing usually get bored waiting so be careful. It is a good idea to have someone, (the director) sing or play the part on the piano to one track (or maybe a click track) and then feed this track to the headphones for the group to sing along with. This helps to ensure that each section is isolated to one track. With accapella singing it is also necessary to enaure a good reference pitch therefore a piano track is excellent for a reference track. If the piano track contains all the parts, it can be reused for each section. While tracking each section, punching in is easier because only that section need to be fixed. The choir will alo be less tired as it is much easier to have four people sing right at the same time versus 16.

Now micing is a different issue. Select the mic that best suits the vocal range and use it. I've tried stereo recording with some success but often go back to mono. I'll pan them in the mixing process. I set a condensor about 4-6 feet away so no individual sticks out in the track. I usually have it about two feet higher than their heads in a high room to avoid reflection from the ceiling. I track relatively straight in (no compression, no EQ, etc. unless albolutely needed.) This is not rock or pop where everything seems to be slammed against a compressor. The Digi002 pres (and DigiMax LE) are fine for this application where you simply want a clean natural sound. Expensive pres are great to give the sound the color you want but in this case, accuracy is what I was going for. I add Compression, EQ, and reverbs as needed in the mix.

I hope this gets you going.