Micing A Grand Piano

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JacobShah

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Hola all,

Quick question, what is the best way to mic a live grand piano beside a 12 piece orchestra? I was thinking 2x Superlux SMK-H8K's, but I've gotten some bad feedback on them. Maybe SM81's? Any suggestions? They will be used to record live services by the way. Thanks in advance
 
There are many ways to mic a grand piano and different producers / engineers have different favourite ways of doing it. Here is a very good article on ways of going about it.

Cheers

Alan
 
Many ways. Live has it's issues. SM81's nice in some instances. Beyer MC930's also nice. Various mics and techniques. Depending on your needs. Closed top? open top? Close mic? distant mic? stereo? Piped back to PA, or record ONLY?
 
JacobShah said:
Hola all,

Quick question, what is the best way to mic a live grand piano beside a 12 piece orchestra? I was thinking 2x Superlux SMK-H8K's, but I've gotten some bad feedback on them. Maybe SM81's? Any suggestions? They will be used to record live services by the way. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

What are the mics at your disposal? Or what is your budget for used/new mics?
 
JacobShah said:
Hola all,

Quick question, what is the best way to mic a live grand piano beside a 12 piece orchestra? I was thinking 2x Superlux SMK-H8K's, but I've gotten some bad feedback on them. Maybe SM81's? Any suggestions? They will be used to record live services by the way. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...


It looks like a classical gig. What is the piece, how the orchestra seated, what is the piano, and where it is placed? How many channels in your recorder?

All those details will greatly help to find the best solution.

Best, M
 
It is actually for a church! :) We have an 12 piece ensemble for accompaniment. We have 32 channels from our 2x Studio Live 16.4.2 (PreSonus). It is mostly for getting a recording of it, not for sound reinforcement. It is actually a closed lid. And we're budgeting for all new mics. Right now just using a vocal mic under the piano. Getting nothing but distortion, though. (Poor Mic Positioning) That's where I come in. :-) I like the idea of 2x LDC's. SM81's? SM57's?
 
Yo Jacob! The main reason they are asking whether this is for live sound reinforcement or for recording is because the sensitivity and detail that is so desirable for recording is a feedback pit for live sound. You say you like the idea of 2 LDC's, and then say ? SM81 and ?SM57, neither of which is an LDC. First, if it were me, I would *open that lid*! Then I would use 3 mics. Two identical small or large diaphragm condensers (either one will work) as a spaced overhead stereo pair, and a dedicated low frequency mic under the bass third of the soundboard, underneath the piano. Get a good stereo mix with the overheads, and then mix in a little of the bass mic until the feeling is right. For the overheads- SM57? No. SM81? That would be just fine. Or- AKG C451, C535, or C2000B, Rode NT5, Studio Projects C4. For more money, better options would be Josephson C42, Neumann TLM102 (no, not TLM103, although they would work fine also, for more money), Neumann KM184. To die for- Schoeps CM6- unfortunately, if your church can afford those, get out now, it's a cult.

For the low frequency mic, I would use AKG D112, a dedicated low frequency dynamic. I have mic'd grands and baby grands that way, using C2000B or KM184, and the D112, and gotten results that were appreciated by professional concert pianists. Of course, doing live studio recording (with everybody playing together) you *will* get mic bleed. That is, the overheads will pick up a fair amount of the rest of the group. Embrace the bleed. It is unavoidable in that scenario. I would, however, place the overheads pretty close to the piano, not more than 24", so you can turn them down a bit and reduce the bleed. The D112 is a close mic, like 4" from the bottom of the piano. Good luck.-Richie
 
If you have to have live sound and record I would have 1 set of mics set up for the recording in the best possible position for the recording quality. Then set up a second set of mics for the live sound which are set up for no feedback etc.

Cheers

Alan.
 
Id second that...2 shure KSM32 mics in an x-y pattern 18" from the long end of the harp to record with...a PZM under the lid for live sound.
 
Honestly? If you're getting lots of feedback, that probably means everything else is too loud and you're going to have trouble with almost any typical mic. My advice? Contact mic directly on the sound board and EQ the crap out of it.... :D

Oh, you mean feedback like bad opinions. My bad. :D :D :D

For recording only, you say? Depending on the sound you're looking for, short stick with a VP-88 inside for a close-miked sound, or tall stick with either a pair of nice cardioid SDCs in an X/Y or a VP-88 a few feet out for a more natural, classical sound.

On the cheap side, I also really like the close miked sound from a pair of Naiant omni mics placed inside opposite sides of the piano.

Put one mic inside the left side of the piano (from the player's perspective) just above the metal frame of the piano. You can place it just under the front edge of the lid or right in front of that (behind the music rack). Point it roughly sideways across the strings, and maybe sightly back.

Put the other mic inside the right side in the curve of the piano. Again, put it a couple inches below the rim of the piano, roughly below the thick part of the lid (the part that sticks up a few inches above the top when the lid is open). Angle this mic a bit more towards the tail end of the piano (away from the player)---say towards an imaginary mark halfway to two-thirds the way to the end of the piano.
 
I ran FOH at my church for just under 2 years.
I mic'd our concert steinway with a large diaphragm sE Z3300A centered just above the strings behind the music stand/holder/whatever ;).
Awesome sound.
 
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