Piano Mics

[philromano@attglobal.net]

Hi Howard,

Jim harvey wrote a great article in the Journal (3/92 p.12) about recording
the piano. I have since tried to convince several engineers to try his
method but if you think piano techs can get set in their ways, wait until
you bump up against a few recording engineers! Most of the guys (and girls)
that I hav worked with place the mics a few feet back an up off the
soundboard. Ususally there are two mics - one for the bass and one for the
treble ostensibly. This doesn't always end up with the best recorded sound.
As the Harvey article will explain and as we should all know as techs, the
"sweet spot" for either the bass or treble will not necessarily be where you
think it might be. This takes some experimenting as to placement. Tell the
engineer to stick his head in the piano (perhaps with plugs in!) while the
pianist plays. He will soon find a good place to start. Some engineers like
to use two good tube mics for the meat and potatoes and then use maybe a
pair of condenser mics place in an "X-Y" pattern just over the dampers to
get some of the attack. This is sometimes more successful than at other
times largely depending on the piano and how it sounds to begin with.

Recording the piano is a lot like voicing it. It takes a lot of practice and
knowledge to get good results. Experiment, experiment and then experiment
some more! Hope this helps.

Phil Romano
Myrtle Beach, SC

----- Original Message -----
From: "Howard F Jackson" <hjackson8@juno.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2001 4:38 PM
Subject: Piano Mics


> Hello List:
> This is directed to you guys out there that are experts on placement of
> mics in 9' grands for recording and/or sound systems.  Is there a "best"
> spot, or is there a rule of thumb as to where two mics should be placed?
> This is a new Steinway D with a pair of German mics that are supposed to
> be the best you can by for this purpose.
>
> Howard Jackson