Live Music Recording Suggestion...
 

Hello,

I am an ethnomusicologist and I will be doing field work in the Arabian Gulf for about a year. I will be recording traditional ensembles that consist of:

vocals (soloists and chorus)
drums
other percussion (all acoustic instruments)

I hoping to usually be running a video camera (the Panasonic Gs-400)
and am going to buy either the marantz 660, or m-audio microtrack

I already have an i-river 320, but figure that the recording is not high enough to be used as anything but a back-up.

The groups I am working with are a bit traditional and so I am looking for an unobtrusive set up as possible. The way I figure it I have 4 chanels (2 from the camera, 2 from the recorder).

My current idea was to put a stereo mic for the recorder at about 5 feet up, about 15 feet back. Then a shotgun, or unidirectional mic on the camera. That way whatever I am focusing on in the video can be brought out (i.e. a particular drum part, or a vocal solist). Does this make sense?

I am mostly wondering how you guys might set up your equipment. Is 4 chanels more trouble than it is worth? Will having the shotgun mic cause phase issues?

Any suggestions as to mic configurations/placement?

thanks for any help!