SPS - Week 2

What many people do not know about me is that I am a pianist.  I am self-taught and have been practicing for 14 years.  I can tell you from personal experience that the piano is one of the most complicated and expressive instruments ever created.  Even more so, as most sound engineers have come to find, it is one of the most difficult instruments to mic.  Most people default to the mindset that a complex instrument needs several microphones.  But is there a possibility that less is more?  This week’s blog post talks about single-microphone techniques used by Pro Sound Web writer Jack Alexander.

Alexander makes a good point of why multi-micing a piano is a norm.  One microphone just can’t bring about the SPL the way a dozen mics can.  It also depends on if monitors are involved too.  One hypersensitive mic would just be more trouble than it’s worth.  But say for example you have a soloist; what better way to mic the piano than with a minimalist approach?

The first method is called the “high hole” method.  Inside the piano on the side furthest from the keys is the bulk of the brass frame with several holes in it.  Different pianos have a different number of holes, but usually the best one to go with is the second or third one counting away from the hammers.  While someone plays, listen to each hole.  One will sound fuller than the rest of them.  That’s the winner.  Take a piece of foam and tap it close to the hole.  Take a microphone and tape it to the foam with the capsule over the center of the whole, off axis by 90º.  Surprisingly, an SM57 works great for this technique.

The second method comes from John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet.  With the lid of the piano fully opened (that is, on a high stick), place a Sennheiser 421 on a boom.  Place the capsule, parallel to the floor, aimed directly into the lid of the piano, 1/8” off, mid way of the body, three-quarters of the way vertical. The result is a flat piano sound without non-linearities.

The third method is one that is usually attempted, and despised, by most engineers at some point or another.  Simply stick a microphone under the piano aimed at the soundboard.  This technique usually gets a bad reputation because it is too biased on the high or low side or just overall too muddy.  But this only comes at lack of understanding how to properly employ the technique.  To find the correct position, get under the piano and tap the soundboard on the high side until you find a place where the upper and lower tones are balanced.  Place the mic on a short boom and get it as close as you can without touching.  The result is very dark and rich tone.  The draw back is a bit of less linearity as compared to the lid technique, but this method is beneficial when sight lines are of importance.  The suggested microphone to use is a Neumann 105, but any condenser (should probably be a high SPL) should do the trick.