Choir and stage microphone hire — hanging, boundary and floor mics
A chorus cannot be miked one child at a time. When the whole cast sings, or the choir stands four rows deep, you need microphones that cover an area rather than a point. We hire four that do exactly that: two small hanging condensers to rig above a choir, a boundary plate that sits flat on a table or stage, and the Bartlett stage floor mic that school musicals use to lift dialogue and chorus numbers off the deck. All four run on phantom power from your mixing desk down an ordinary XLR line. Hire starts at £4.25 per day.
Hanging microphones suit a group that stays put. The AKG CHM 99, at £5.25 per day, and the Audio-Technica PRO 45, at £4.25, are both miniature cardioid condensers on long attached cables — 10 metres on the AKG, 7.6 on the Audio-Technica — so they rig from a lighting bar, a beam or a ceiling fixing and hang just in front of the choir, a little above head height, angled at the back row. Each capsule weighs under 20 grams: tie line holds it, and the AKG's spring-steel clamp and the PRO 45's steel hanger let you aim it precisely. The choir sees nothing, the audience sees nothing, and there are no stands or cables at floor level for anyone to kick.
The Bartlett Stage Floor Mic-EC, at £14.25 per day, is the specialist of the four: an American-made boundary mic built for one job, picking up actors in drama and musicals from the stage floor. It sits on the deck at the front of the acting area. The supercardioid pattern reaches upstage towards the cast and rejects what is behind it, which in a musical means the pit. Because the capsule sits right at the boundary, reflections off the floor arrive in phase instead of hollowing out the sound, so speech comes up clear rather than phasey, and the thick steel housing takes heavy footsteps without passing on the thud of them. Bartlett's own placement guidance: one mic at centre stage covers a stage up to about six metres wide, and three spaced across the apron cover up to about fifteen.
The Audio-Technica AT871R, at £5 per day, is the general-purpose boundary plate. Set it on any large flat surface — a table, a lectern shelf, a piano lid, the stage apron — and it hears a cardioid hemisphere above that surface, with the surface itself working as part of the microphone: the bigger and flatter, the fuller the sound. It covers a top table at a prize-giving, a panel discussion, a rehearsal you want to record, or speech on a small stage where nothing can be rigged overhead. Response runs from 30 Hz to 20 kHz, and the die-cast body sits on a non-slip pad that keeps floor and table noise out of the signal.
Choosing between them comes down to what moves. A choir in rows wants mics hung above it. A cast moving around the stage wants floor mics along the apron. Speech from a table or lectern wants the boundary plate. All of them are area microphones, which means they hear everything in front of them at a lower level than a close mic would, so speaker placement decides how loud you can go: main speakers ahead of the mic line, pointing away from it. Get that relationship right and area mics sound natural and invisible; get it wrong and any microphone will ring.
Everything on this page plugs into an ordinary desk mic input on balanced XLR and is powered by the desk's 48 volt phantom supply — no batteries, no mains at the microphone. The attached cables extend with standard mic cable to reach any mix position, and we hire as many microphones as the show needs, bringing more in from trusted suppliers for the big jobs. By the day, dry hire or with a technician who will rig, place and balance them.
What you get
The microphone you book, with its cable: 10 m on the AKG, 7.6 m on either Audio-Technica, 1.8 m on the Bartlett
The aiming hardware for the hanging mics: the AKG's spring-steel clamp, the PRO 45's steel hanger and foam windscreen
XLR extension cable to reach your desk — tell us the runs when you book and we will make up the lengths
Not included as standard: a mixing desk with phantom power, speakers, and radio mics for principals. All can be added
An engineer to rig, place and balance the mics, if you would rather not do it yourselves
Good for
School carol concerts and choir showcases, with hanging mics rigged above the risers
School musicals: floor mics along the apron lift chorus numbers and dialogue without a radio mic on every child
Church and chapel choirs, where a hanging mic disappears into the architecture and nothing stands in the aisle
Am-dram and youth theatre, when the budget will not stretch to radio mics for the whole cast
Dance school shows: the Bartlett was designed to capture tap and percussive dance as well as voices
Speech days, panels and prize-givings, with a boundary mic on the top table instead of a handheld being passed along
What you need to know
What they do
Area pickup: one microphone covers a group — a choir under a hanging mic, a zone of acting area in front of a floor mic — instead of a microphone per person.
Phantom power
All four are powered by the desk down the mic cable. The 48 volt phantom switch on any modern desk suits every model; no batteries, no mains at the mic.
Connections
Balanced 3-pin XLR into any desk mic input. Attached cables from 1.8 m to 10 m depending on the model, extendable with standard mic cable.
Where they go
Hanging mics rig from a bar, beam or ceiling fixing — each under 20 g, so tie line holds them. The floor mic and the boundary plate sit flat on the deck or a table.
Who runs it
Anyone who can run a desk. Placement is the skill: get mics and speakers in the right relationship and the rest is faders. We will talk you through it, or send an engineer.
Hire rates
Item
Rate
AKG CHM 99 B Hanging Choral Microphone
£5.25 / day
Audio-Technica PRO Cardioid Condenser Hanging Microphone
£4.25 / day
Audio-Technica AT871R Boundary Microphone
£5 / day
Bartlett Stage Floor Mic-EC
£14.25 / day
Rates are per day and exclude VAT. Ask us about multi-day and show-week rates, delivery, and hiring with a technician.
Check availability
See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.
Full technical specification (7)
AKG CHM 99
Hanging cardioid condenser. 70 Hz - 18 kHz, sensitivity 18 mV/Pa, self noise 21 dB-A, impedance 600 ohms. Phantom power 9-52 V, 3 mA. 10 m attached cable to balanced 3-pin XLR. Capsule 55 mm x 13.5 mm diameter, 0.02 kg. Supplied with a spring-steel hanging clamp for aiming
Audio Technica PRO 45
Hanging cardioid condenser, 120 degree angle of acceptance. 70 Hz - 16 kHz, sensitivity 14.1 mV/Pa, max SPL 134 dB. Phantom power 9-52 V, 2 mA. 7.6 m attached cable to 3-pin XLR. Capsule 56.9 mm x 12 mm diameter, 0.015 kg. Supplied with steel hanger and foam windscreen
Audio Technica AT871 R
UniPlate boundary condenser, half-cardioid (cardioid in the hemisphere above the surface). 30 Hz - 20 kHz, sensitivity 22.4 mV/Pa, max SPL 130 dB, impedance 200 ohms. Phantom power 9-52 V, 2 mA. 7.6 m cable, TA3F at the mic to 3-pin XLR. Die-cast body 145 x 120 x 17 mm, 0.415 kg
Bartlett Stage Floor Mic EC
Supercardioid boundary condenser voiced for stage-floor speech. 80 Hz - 18 kHz, sensitivity 28 mV/Pa, self noise 21 dBA, max SPL 130 dB, impedance 200 ohms. Phantom power 12-48 V, 6 mA. 1.8 m attached cable to 3-pin XLR, extendable with any mic cable. Steel housing 130 x 76 x 23 mm, 0.31 kg
None draw mains. All are phantom powered from the desk: 3 mA (CHM 99), 2 mA (PRO 45 and AT871R), 6 mA (Bartlett)
Dimensions
CHM 99 capsule 55 x 13.5 dia; PRO 45 capsule 56.9 x 12 dia; AT871R 145 x 120 x 17; Bartlett 130 x 76 x 23
Common questions
Start with what moves. A choir that stands in rows wants hanging mics above it. A cast that moves around the stage wants the Bartlett floor mic, or several, along the front edge. Speech from a table or lectern wants the boundary plate. Plenty of shows mix them: hanging mics over the choir or band, floor mics for the acting area. Tell us what the show is and we will spec it honestly.
As a working rule, one hanging condenser covers a block of roughly fifteen to twenty singers, hung just in front of the first row, a little above head height and angled at the back row. A typical school choir needs two; a massed choir needs more. Send us the layout — rows, risers, width — and we will tell you how many, whatever that number turns out to be.
For the chorus, yes — that is what the Bartlett is built for. One at centre stage covers a small school stage, three across the apron cover most halls, and dialogue delivered anywhere near the front comes up clearly. What they will not do is make a quiet principal sound like a West End lead: for named parts with solo lines, a few radio mics on the principals plus floor mics for everyone else is the combination that works, and it costs far less than a radio mic on every child. Bartlett themselves say very quiet young children's choirs are beyond a floor mic, and we agree — for infant voices, hang mics above them instead.
Any microphone will if you push it far enough. Area mics run at lower gain than a close mic because the voices are further away, so the speaker positions decide everything: main speakers ahead of the microphone line and pointing away from it, with the Bartlett's supercardioid pattern rejecting the pit behind it. Rooms differ, so tell us where your speakers can go and we will say what level to expect before you book, not after.
Any mixing desk mic input, on a standard XLR cable. All four run on phantom power from the desk — the 48 volt switch on any modern desk, including every desk we hire, powers all of them. No batteries and no mains at the microphone. If your desk has no phantom power, say so when you book and we will send an inline phantom supply with the mics.
