Depends on the situation. "Front barrier" implies not a tiny club / small stage. What are some specifics of the venue, the stage and PA setup, the music?
Often best to figure it out based on a few observations once there in person, or by having been there previously in the past. Be warry of limited PA coverage in that position, especially if the music features vocals and/or instruments that are not stage-amplified but run only through the PA. Clarity of mid and high frequencies can suffer. However, that may not be a problem if there are fill speakers across the front of stage pointing out at the audience, or to either side of the stage facing toward the center position. When that's the case and they are well mixed, it may be the sweetest spot for recording in the entire room. Walk up front to see what it sounds like, look at the PA setup, look at the on-stage arrangement, consider the nature of the act, the audience, the room. How widely arrayed are the musician's positions as seen from the recording position? Do they all produce sound from their on-stage position? Band onstage with no PA will be different from a small club with a small PA, which will be different from a large stage and PA. In large PA venues sometimes the PA reinforcement up front is from more or less directly overhead. Angle the mics as needed.
Improved PAS is always a good answer for most any taping situation, party because its easy to envision the resulting stereo recording angle because it is always the same as the angle between the mics Whatever the two mics are pointed at will be determine the outer edges of the resulting stereo image with everything in between nicely presented. Pick the Improved PAS angle/spacing combination that points the mics at the outermost musician positions or side front fill PA speakers that are pointed toward the recording position and you can't go badly wrong.
Easy and most compact answer is X/Y, which tends to have a rather wide stereo recording angle which works up close on stage or at stagelip. Even though that isn't always the best choice when used on its own from farther back.
More esoteric setups like spaced mics across the front can work well, but are harder to defend. As long as it sounds good up there its probably best to go with Improved PAS, X/Y, or with whatever near-spaced config you typically use and like.
Topic: Best mic config for front of stage? (Read 1462 times)