What settings Zoom H2n for live theatre

Question

I am using my Zoom H2n recorder for recording live theatre (mostly musicals) for our regional company. It's mostly for the cast/archiving.

What is the best settings for H2n WITHOUT patching the soundboard directly? The sound guy is not really helpful since we are doing half playback (live singing but pre-recorded music).

My main problem is that it picks up the chairs movement and so on, which I would like to omit. I was trying to use the limiter but so far no luck. I am using the MS setup for the recordings and auto-gain for concert, but in general the result is either very quiet or with the annoying "floor" sounds.

Answer 1

To use a stereo pattern like MS (Mid-Side) you'd need to be very close to the stage, ideally it would be mounted directly above the stage. Otherwise this pattern will just pick up unwanted audience sound.

I recommend using the XY pattern and getting as close to the stage as possible.

Recording from the sound booth just isn't ideal without a "shotgun" style mic (And that brings it's own problems), and there's no benefit if the sound tech won't even give you a feed.

The pick-up pattern settings won't do anything to omit certain frequencies so placement is your only real hope there.