May 2009
by David Morgan and Bill Evans
Accurately miking an acoustic piano and doing it consistently is one of the eternal challenges of live audio (and recording for what that’s worth). Over the past year plus, FOH has covered at least a handful of approaches at prices ranging from downright cheap (the Helpenstill pickup system) to compromise (standard miking coupled with control of a MIDI piano module for John Legend) to proprietary and expensive (Tom Young’s custom Scheops array that he carries with him for every Tony Bennett gig). The problems are well known. It is not just a case of accurately reproducing the sound, although that is a challenge in itself. The job is made a lot harder by considerations like gain-before-feedback, bleed from other sound sources into the piano mic or mics and even the aesthetics of multiple mic stands surrounding that beautiful grand piano. More artists and venues have simply given up and placed a digital keyboard into a fiberglass piano shaped shell.
Tags: pianomic
"The best musicians in the world use finely crafted instruments to transmit every nuance of their...