mic set up for grand piano

[stick]

Thanks guys... Never messed with PZMs, Ern. Well, other than the PZM mic fader in BFD. HA! That's a cool idea though!

[vicky]

Stick,thanks for that song....very cool....and fantastic piano mic-ing.....Vicky

[stick]

Thanks Vicky,And FWIW, though my mic pres are really good (Millennia HV-3D), the 4 mics I used for that recording total under $1000. ADK A6Oktava MK-012BTW, I've never bought from Front End... they just happened to have both with decent prices.

[ernstinen]

Quote:Never messed with PZMs, Ern. Well, other than the PZM mic fader in BFD. HA! That's a cool idea though!I've heard engineers swear they get great recordings by taping PZMs on the underside of the piano lid. Then the studio owners swear at them for using duct tape on their prized Steinway! Ern

[stick]

Yeah, you see contact mics a lot on live pianos... I dunno about in the studio though... I'm sure it would totally work. Especially with the lid down so the mics are right there by the strings. Probably a pretty punchy sound.

[avillaronga]

Quote:Yeah, you see contact mics a lot on live pianos... I dunno about in the studio though... I'm sure it would totally work. Especially with the lid down so the mics are right there by the strings. Probably a pretty punchy sound. When I worked doing live sound we used to mic pianos with a PZM and the lid down. I have never done that in studio recording, I feel it takes some of the "space" away from the sound, wouldn't get that nice "wide open" sound that Stick got with the 4 mics by using a PZM, IMHO. Antonio

[normbowler]

Vicky -- I take a very low-tech approach to micing, and I think I get good "less is more" results. Either that, or my ears are crap. Going with a tricky multi-mic setup leads to problems with bleed, phasing, weird blends etc. that you avoid with a simpler approach.Here's what I did the last time I mic'd a grand. I used a pair of small diaphragm condensers (same make and model but not a factory-matched pair). I put them on a double mic bracket (2 mics side by side 6 inches apart on a single stand; available almost anywhere for under $20) and used an X/Y coincident pair configuration. The cool thing about coincident pair micing is that it is guaranteed to have zero phasing problems, even if you sum to mono.We opened the lid of the piano and tried 2 or 3 positions for the stereo pair until we found one we liked. Rather than trying to balance multiple mics, the only variable here is the position and orientation of the X/Y pair. Simple and effective! This also makes for shorter setup time and keeps the client / musicians happy.The only other mic was a cardioid dynamic mic on a straight stand about 6 ft high and 6-8 ft away from the piano, angled up with the rear of the mic pointing at the piano. We were in an empty church sanctuary which had some great liveliness, and I used this mic to get room reflections, rejecting the main piano sound as much as possible.I got a good sound with the stero pair, then brought up the ambience mic to find a blend. The stereo condensers were recorded flat; I think I rolled off some low end on the room mic. My client was very happy with the results, which were solo classical piano. The stereo pair was panned left and right and I think I panned the room mic slightly off-center to add width to the sound.The stero pair was the meat and potatoes and got me a good basic sound. the room mic was the gravy and turned a good recording into a great one in my opinion. I was using mid-priced condensers (MXL 900 series) and an EV stage vocal mic, so I was working with about $300 worth of mics. You don't need Neumans to get a good sound!hit this google search if you are new to X/Y micing technique:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=st ... t+pairNorm Bowlerwww.normbowler.com

[vicky]

very cool....the wheels are turning....my mics aren't very fancy, but I'll have a chance to experiment in the next week..vtbp