you need to make sure your room itself sounds clear. yes, mic placement comes into play too, b/c you need to capture the sound the right way. But it starts with having the correct source signal in the first place.
A better sounding room yields a better/ clearer product. I thought better equipment would yield a better product. I think we're all guilty of ignoring the obvious. the environment effects the sound entirely too much to ignore. Even if all of these places are dead silent. the choir is going to sound dramatically different depending on if you record them in a elementary school auditorium, a professional concert hall, or in a forest. You may need to construct an isolation space (not just a small booth with some acoustic panels up. you may need to record in a different space all together. it's b/c your room doesn't sound good and you may need to make significant changes that you don't really feel like working on. Some will give you a certain tone or impact you're looking for. Some may just take a little longer to tweak. I'd say at least 90% of the stuff out there, including stock plugins with the DAW, are good enough to get you there completely. As long as you aren't buying from Radio Shack most budget mics and budget interfaces are quality enough to give a clear sound. In my experience, the key to clear recordings is fairly simple.
