Quiet mics for quiet piano works

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Herr Joachim

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The piano has a somewhat spikey treble register and a bit creaky pedals.
I've gotten decent sound with a Røde ntk which smoothed things out,
though using a single mic makes it hard to balance the registers when placed near.
Also, the colour of my ntk (between rose and peach) adds a warmth that doesn't really suit the music i play.
An inherent character of midnight blue would be terrific.
I'm looking for a close focused sound, which weaves textures around the reverberation and decay of notes.
Though it'd be nice to have mics not picking up every bit of mechanical noise, which the ntk does.

It's not crucial that the mics are all silent if the self-noise of the mics has a non-intrusive character.

I could spend max. $1000 on a pair of mics. A local studio has a pair of Gefell um70 for that price. Could those be a good option?

I apologize for the somewhat diffuse wording of the post. Advice is greatly appreciated. Have a nice evening.
 
Herr Joachim said:
The piano has a somewhat spikey treble register and a bit creaky pedals.

I've gotten decent sound with a Røde ntk which smoothed things out,
though using a single mic makes it hard to balance the registers when placed near. Also, the colour of my ntk (between rose and peach) adds a warmth that doesn't really suit the music i play. An inherent character of midnight blue would be terrific.
Click to expand...

Personally, I like the Shure VP-88 (M-S stereo condenser, $689).

That said, in your case, here's what I'd recommend:

WD-40 ($2.89)

:D
 
I'll look it up. Thanks.

Maybe my piano tuner has one of those nifty bottles hidden in his suitcase.
Hopefully i'll move soon and get a more decent piano.
 
Marik said:
And don't forget ribbons.
Click to expand...

Do you mean in the mic or the felt ribbon woven between the ends of the strings to avoid weird overtone problems? :D
 
Thanks for the tip.
But wouldn't ribbons require tons of gain for quiet sources?
Any specific mics? Modded Beyers perhaps?
 
Joachim, if you can get a pair of Gefell UM70's for $1000, that's definitely the way to go. You won't get anywhere near that quality buying a new pair of mics for that price.
 
Herr Joachim said:
I just came across an ad for Beyer M130+M160 for ~$600.
Could these be a good alternative to the Gefells?
Click to expand...

I would buy those on account of the really good deal, but they are going to sound very different. That is, you might be better off with the Gefells, but man those are cheap :o
 
Are you familiar with the sound characteristics of either? I haven't found much info, and honestly graph charts don't tell me too much.
 
Herr Joachim said:
Are you familiar with the sound characteristics of either? I haven't found much info, and honestly graph charts don't tell me too much.
Click to expand...

This is such a basic difference, ribbons vs. condensers, you really ought to try & have a listen. Can you rent some for comparison?

Condensers are more of the standard approach to stereo mic'ing of instruments, and ribbons are the alternative. You just have two great deals in front of you . . . can you take both ? :o
 
Maybe i could rent the um70s. Can't do that with the Beyers, though.
I was thinking perhaps the Beyerdynamics could help tame the treble a little.
But then on the other hand i've seen few descriptions of the um70,
other than it resembles a u87 with less prominent highs and a bit self noise.

Perhaps i should try to rent the um70s and see if they make magic. Thanks for the help so far.
 
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