[CAUT] Miking pianos

[Fred Sturm]

Hi Alan,
     I feel your pain. We had Dave Brubeck here a couple years ago.  
He played a D I had just spent a couple days prepping. Sounded like a  
honky tonk. Embarrassing and uncalled for.
     I'm sorry that I don't have good specific advice to offer, but  
the main problem I think is extra close miking, IOW mike placed as  
close to strings as possible. I have often thought that good results  
might be obtained with under the piano placement of mikes, but never  
persuaded anyone to try, other than with contact mikes on the  
board) . And of course there is a wide variety of types of mike, from  
omnis to directionals to contact. Contacts sometimes seem to work  
well, either under the board or attached midway up the lid or so.  
Directionals can be very nice if they have distance from the strings  
- at least 3 to 4 feet. And they can work okay at the same time to  
keep the piano separate from the "rest of the band" for mixing  
purposes, because of the directional control. I'm not sure there is a  
good solution involving omnis, assuming you do need to keep the piano  
on discrete channels for sonic control. Lots of folks like to have  
the lid closed or nearly so, which certainly doesn't help matters -  
leading to my "under the board" suggestion above.
     I'm sure there are others with far more experience and knowledge  
on the list, and hope that some will take the bait and give us some  
pointers. There is a definite need.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.edu



On Nov 30, 2005, at 11:39 AM, Alan McCoy 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
>
>
>
>
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