Recording - May 2016 - 24

into the piano, but still a good 2 or 3 feet
above the strings. As you move toward the
strings, you'll find more distinction: certain
strings will be emphasized more. This isn't
always good, so you'll want to play with placement and think about where the song is mostly
played.
Another technique is to use an XY pair in the middle of the
piano, using cardioid patterns. The directionality of the cardioid
pickup in this situation can pick out the high and low strings.
Recently I put an omni 414 deep into the piano, about 6
inches above the low strings and 3 inches behind the
dampers, to emphasize a line that was played only on the lowest octave. This track I centered in mono, but there were 3
other tracks to mix with: a 414 a foot above the highest
strings, and a spaced pair at the edge of the case. The latter
three were for overdubs higher on the piano, but I recorded all
the tracks on all three takes.
All of these placements use an open lid, and I've used both
cardioid and omni patterns to great effect. With a half stick lid,
shoving mics inside gets trickier, but this might be preferable
when other players are in the room. It's also typical to use blankets to help isolate from the rest of the band. Half-closing the lid
changes the acoustics inside the piano, but not that much.
Closing the piano entirely is another story. First off, you can't
stick booms inside a closed piano, and as I mentioned, roommiking a closed piano doesn't work. A traditional solution is
PZM mics taped to the underside of the lid. With care, you
can get cabling out of there without too much disturbance, and
you can even pile on more blankets for isolation. The problem
with putting PZMs inside a closed piano is a boxy sound. The
inside of the piano is an insane place acoustically with the lid
closed! Decent PZMs do an okay job, but we can do better.

The PianoMic
There is a solution for that dilemma that I've
come to really like. It's the Earthworks Audio
PianoMic (reviewed in the September 2011
issue). The PianoMic mounts inside the piano
(Figure 5), allowing the lid to fully close. The
mics attached to the adjustable boom are what's
called "random incidence" mics, which means they "don't care
where the sound is coming from". Basically, they're "super-duperomnidirectional". This matters because sound inside the piano
comes from all directions, making locating a specific source difficult.
Earthworks was kind enough to loan me a PianoMic for this
article, and I did some testing in an environment not ideal for
recording: a showroom. Alex Boggs at 88 Keys Piano
Warehouse here in Albuquerque (88KeysPianoWarehouse.com)
generously lent me their space, where I installed the PianoMic
on a baby Yamaha. The environment was relatively noisy due to
street traffic and air conditioner noise, and I was curious how
well I could isolate by closing the lid. I also tested with the lid
open and at half stick. The playing masked the room and traffic
noise, so isolation became less of a question.
I really liked the sound; I did notice that with the lid closed, it
was slightly darker and boxier, but less than I expected. What
impresses me about the PianoMic is that it takes out any guesswork! The mics sit on tiny goosenecks so there is some play
(Figure 6 on page 26), but really not that much in the grand
scheme of things. This makes miking the piano less overwhelming.
You sacrifice some flexibility, but I like the efficiency. I especially
like that notion for live situations, and lo and behold, Earthworks
makes a touring version of the PianoMic which breaks down compactly for easier transport. Even with great mics, a closed lid is the
least desirable scenario, but when you must close the lid, I like the
PianoMic a lot.

http://www.88KeysPianoWarehouse.com http://www.RibbonMics.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2016