I'm no sound engineer, but I have seen a couple of them work. What I have observed: Mike quality: They have a specific "piano mike". I don't know if it's the same as would be used on other instruments, like horn or bass, but it's not the same as used for PA or vocalist. Mike placement: Always near the bridge. If you get it up near the hammers, all you hear is attack. After that, I have to echo what Conrad said: what the sound guy does at the mix board is critical. Every summer I take care of the pianos for a small music festival near here. This past year, through some profound miscommunication, we had a 5'2" grand on stage beside a 9' concert grand, and they were supposed to be played together. The sound guy was an absolute magician. He brought out frequencies in that little piano that I didn't even hear when I was tuning it. They ended up sounding pretty OK together. Given the way you described the sound, my guess is that it happened at the mixing board, not at the piano. Not much you can do about that, unless you want to expand your job description a little. You were getting bored anyway, right? Ready for a new challenge. :-) Regards, Ken Z. On 11/30/05 12:39 PM, "Alan McCoy" <amccoy@mail.ewu.edu> wrote: > Hi Folks, > > The last concert here was the last straw. I don't know how they did it, but > somehow the people who set up the piano for our last big band concert made > our rather warm and mellow S&S D sound like a banjo. An amazing achievement > really. > > One that I'd rather not experience again. :-( > > It can't be rocket science. But it is not something I have any experience > with. Is there anyone who has some expertise in setting up pianos for > concert amplification? What I'm looking for is some nitty gritty details so > if need be I can do it myself. > > Like I said, the last straw! > > The audience's perception is a function of what, the quality of the mic, > speakers, room acoustics, and..... > > Thanks for any help. > > Alan > > > -- Alan McCoy, RPT > Eastern Washington University > amccoy@mail.ewu.edu > 509-359-4627 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives -- Ken Zahringer, RPT Piano Technician MU School of Music 297 Fine Arts 882-1202 cell 489-7529
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