'Boundary' Microphones for Live Use or Recording?
- Thread starter arcaxis
- Start date
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
I love boundary mics. Way back in the 90s Radio Shack sold a version of the Crown PZM mic, but with a 1/4" connector instead of the XLR. There's a mod to retrofit them with the original XLR, made easy by the fact that the balanced wiring was used on the RS version, just not connected to the plug. Then they discontinued them and a friend of mine bought out the local store.
They're a great way to pick up an upright piano that's against a wall. Just pull the piano out two feet and hang a pair of PZMs on the wall about 2.5' off the floor and 3' apart. I've heard of them being taped to the underside of a grand piano lid, which is similar.
Some people will mic a kick drum by laying the mic on the damping. In a low room you can use them as overheads that eliminate the reflection off the ceiling. You can tape a pair to a kick drum, one higher on the snare side, one lower on the toms side, for a simple, low profile live mic setup.
They're a great way to pick up an upright piano that's against a wall. Just pull the piano out two feet and hang a pair of PZMs on the wall about 2.5' off the floor and 3' apart. I've heard of them being taped to the underside of a grand piano lid, which is similar.
Some people will mic a kick drum by laying the mic on the damping. In a low room you can use them as overheads that eliminate the reflection off the ceiling. You can tape a pair to a kick drum, one higher on the snare side, one lower on the toms side, for a simple, low profile live mic setup.
rob aylestone
Moderator
I use them for stage stuff all the time, but have even taped a couple to the lid of grand pianos, and in front of choirs. They're also pretty good taped to the wall near a drummer if you want that open unprocessed sound from the 50s and 60s. Well worth differing with. For theatre use we used to use Crown PC160s, but Bruce Bartlett who designed the Crown ones now sells them himself under his own brand and has some optimised for record rather than live sound. About Us - Bartlett Audio - Bartlett Audio
witzendoz
Senior Member
I still have 2 x Realistic (Radio Shack) PZM's Don't use them much any more, but I do remember when I started the studio in the 1980's and was short of mics I used to tape one to a thin piece of ply wood and record acoustic guitars with it, even vocals. These old recordings still sound pretty good today. If you have one get adventurous.
There are Boundary type kick drum mics on the market too, Like the Sennheiser e901, and specialised grand piano mics. Like the Sennheiser e901.
Alan.
There are Boundary type kick drum mics on the market too, Like the Sennheiser e901, and specialised grand piano mics. Like the Sennheiser e901.
Alan.
