Piano Mics (my question = upright)

[Stephen Airy]

Hmm.. sounds interesting...

My question is...

Where do some of you guys think is a good place for
microphone placement on an upright (assuming the piano
is backed up against a wall)?  (I'm thinking the
microphones would be placed on either side of the
piano player.)  Basically, the sound I would like is
to have the lowest bass notes almost all the way in
the left ear (at least 75%), the highest treble notes
to be almost all the way in the right ear (at least
75%), Middle C / the temperament to be in the middle,
and there to be a smooth progression in pan from bass
to treble, with 2 microphones.  Anyone know how to do
this?  I have sometimes been able to get good
separation, but it's kinda jumpy, and sometimes some
notes will be where they don't belong, like maybe C5
will sound like it's where G2 normally should be...

--- philromano@attglobal.net wrote:
> 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
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals.
http://personals.yahoo.com