I arrived here because, after a lengthy thread on the choral
conductors' newsgroup, someone was well-informed enough to suggest
that we see what the pros had to say.

Even before the questions, I'm impressed by the amount of time people
in this group are willing to give to those of us who are starting out.

And, yes, before writing this, I did try to read the FAQ at
josephson.com, but got an error message saying that it's not
available.

The situation
I will be recording for two reasons:
1) I need to make practice tapes or CDs for my choir members. The
choir member, say an alto, needs to hear the accompaniment and the
other three voices, but have her voice foregrounded so that it's
easier to learn. The 4 vocal parts on the practice tapes or CDs will
be sung by soloists.

2) I want to record choir rehearsals and, eventually, concerts.

Venues:
Rehearsals are held in a choir loft and are accompanied by a pipe
organ. Practice recordings are made in a home with paino
accompaniment.

A friend has recommended recording direct to computer instead of a
DAW. This would mean having to carry a computer and screen around to
rehearsals.

I had a helpful sales rep at Solotech Montreal who suggested the
following components for the chain:

Mics: 2 x Apex 430 large diaphragm condenser
DAW: Marantz PMD670 (uses flash memory) - a new product I think
Speakers: pair of Alesis M1ActiveMK2
Phones: Stanton DJPRO-2000S

Conversation with a friend in television sound suggested
1) changing the phones for SONY 7506
2) checking out Fostex VF-80 or VF 160 and TASCAM 788 instead of the
Marantz (he suggested that getting Marantz equipment repaired in
Canada or the US is a problem)
3) replacing the APEX mics with Shure-SM-58 and (budget permitting)
purchasing a RODE NT-4 (stereo condenser).

Finally, someone in this group suggested EBay as a source for mics etc
-- is this a serious suggestion?

Any and all comments gratefully accepted. Thanks

Jim Copland