OK, being the self proclaimed hyper freak that I am, I will give you my thoughts on the subject
First off, listen to jlykos. Get your stand at at LEAST head height, as long as the stacks arent low to the ground that is. If you can and the stacks are above head height, raise that sucker to about 8-10'. I normally run my hypers a bit higher than most would to cut down on crowd chatter. My stand is usually at 10-12' high, but never higher than that. You will lose a little lowend w/ your mics higher than head height, but Id MUCH RATHER add a small amount of lowend(bass) in post than have chatter ruin an otherwise great recording. Just remember, you cant take out the crowd noise oince its already in the recording. But you can ALWAYS add a small amount of lowend. And 9 times out of 10, the recording is fine the way it was recorded w/ out any mixing/EQ'ing.
Secondly, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW and stray away from the normal mic configs like DINa/DIN/ORTF/NOS/XY/etc. Especially using hypers. I now have MBHO KwonBars(DINa/DIN/NOS) to do my mic configs but I kept my AT 8415 shocks and my vert bar for those occassions where the normal configs just wont cut it. IOf I am in a very odd or weird location, I will just point my hypers at the stacks and just roll with it. You would be shocked at how well those come out alot of teh time. The imaging and soundstage iusnt as screwed up as one might think, at least IMO. W/ hypers dont ever be afraid to just point at the stacks and call it a day. Their directional characteristics will yield good results in most circumstances. I have run my hypers(483) in a crowded, total redneck bar, doing a live demo for my friends. and that was about 8' back from the stage/stacks, and my mics were only 6-7' high because of the bar and the way i had to set up. well, the 8' space between my mics and the stage/stacks was FILLED w/ drunks dancing and mosatly talking to each other directly in front of my mics, and to tell you teh truth, the live demo came out AMAZINGLY BETTER than I ever thought possible. Theyre no shotguns, but liek I said, youd be amazed at how directional they are compared to a card in the same spot IMO.
Anyway, enough rambling, but dont be afraid to try something new and mess w/ the angle AND spacing. If I am in a weird spot and I know there is going to be alot of chatter, I run my hypers w/ a 3-4" spacing MAX, and alter the angle to where the hypers are pointing straight at the stacks, and that yielded decent results to say the least
Its like a wider XY, but w/ a lot smaller angle on the mics. My fav config in those types of situations is like I said, about 3-4" MAX spacing and an angle of about 45 degrees, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a TAD less. The spacing helps keep things tight that way, and the angle keeps the chatter minimal and keeps the mics focusing on the sound as much as possible. I have always HATED XY because of the shitty imaging and soundstage, and have ALWAYS been a fan of opening up the mics and imaging and running configs like DINa/DIN/NOS/ORTF. well, when I run the 3" spacing and 45* angle, its like a wider XY w/ out the shitty imaging that XY has. So try something new sometimes and dont be afraid to lessen your angle and spacing. You may be pleasantly suprised w/ the results
But 9 out of 10 times, I know the venue/bar layout and I can use my small and convenient KwonBars and run DINa/DIN/NOS. But being a live taper like we are, we have to adapt to each venue on any given night and you must be ready to run ANY config to fit that particular situation. I tried something different and ran my Hypers/NOS for RAQ's NYE show in Knoxville this past year. Here are the links to those 2 shows in Knoxviulle for NYE 2007. On 12/30 I ran Hypers/DINa, and on 12/31, I ran Hypers/NOS from about 3 rows closer than I was on 12/30 if youd like to check them out and see how big of a difference running NOS was and how it really opened up the imaging ALOT more than the 30th. Running the hypers/NOS that nite really opened up the hypersa IMO. They were still VERY FOCUSED towards the stage and music, but at the same time they had this openness that running cards would give you. And the crowd chatter is MINIMAL on both nites and I only ran my stand at about 8-9' high MAX.
RAQ 12/30/2007 [Hypers/DINa]
RAQ 12/31/2007 [Hypers/NOS]
http://www.archive.org/details/raq2007-12-30.ka500.722.flac16http://www.archive.org/details/raq2007-12-31.ka500.722.flac16Id love to know what you think of those 2 recordings. If youd like, shoot me a PM and I'll link you to the recordings where Ive done those weird configs. Just remember, EVERY venue is different, and every night is different. A good taper can and will adapt to ANY situation thrown at them and will pull a recording that doesnt suck, altho alot of the time thats out of our hands and in the hands of the soundman.
And one more tip or advice, is just like what the folks above posted, if I were you, Id NEVER point my mics inward towards each other. There could be some phasing issues, and also I would bet the farm that when you did that, you got more bass(lowend) than you wanted, right? pointing your mics inward like that is just not something I have EVER liked or cared for. See, back before ts.com and the oade boards and all the internet knowledge we all have now, like back in 1999 when I got my 481's and the DMIC-20, I would just sit in my basement for days on end and see which positions I liked my mics to be in. Thius was WAYYYYYYY before I even knew what DIN/DINa/ORTF/NOS were. I have always hated XY and loved wider configs like DINa/DIN/NOS/ORTF. Back in those days when Id sit in my basement for days on end, I tried running my mics inward like that while CRANKING my phish recordings, and when I pointed the mics inward liek that, I not only got ALOT of bass(if my memory serves me correctly) and the overall sound and imaging and all that just didnt sound natural. Looking back on it, im sure it was because of phasing issues, but who knows. I have never been one for the technical aspect of our hobby, I just know what I like and how to get a good recording damn near anywhere
So instead of running them inward like that, try to lessen up your spacing and angle and run the mics outward like you were running DIN/ORTF/etc, just alter the angle and spacing until you find a happy medium
So dont ever listen to anyone person. Youre going to have to try things out for yourself and see which you prefer. And always remember this, just like ANYTHING us humans do, the more you play around and get out and record, the better you will be. I have been doing this for over 10 years now, and I didnt start to get really consistent in this game until the last 5 or 6 years. Before you know it, you'll be walking into a venue youve never been to before, and you'll know exactly where youd like to setup the stand, and as soon as you figure that out, you'll decide what config your going to run to bring home the goods. It will eventually be second nature. At least it is to me nowadays
Good luck and please let us know your results so others can possibly gain some info and knowledge from your experiences