CloseRevolutionary Piano Miking!
The Earthworks PianoMic Rig is poised to change the way we look at miking pianos on stage and in the studio. As engineers we know the special set of challenges that arise when miking a piano. From striking the perfect balance between the treble and bass to the sheer inconvenience of placing a microphone on the instrument, a piano is one of the most difficult instruments to microphone. The PianoMic Rig is a dream come true for live sound and recording jobs. If you've ever struggled miking a piano, look to the PianoMic System!Earthworks PianoMic System at a Glance:
- Random Incidence High Definition Microphones
- Incredible Gain Before Feedback
- Quick and Really simple to Set Up
- Virtually No Bleed
Random Incidence High Definition Microphones
The heart of the PianoMic System is two omnidirectional 40kHz High Definition Microphones with a frequency response from 9Hz to 40kHz, incredible impulse response and completely short diaphragm settling time. The 40kHz High Definition Microphones have been designed for random incidence pickup. When microphones are placed inside a piano they are within a sound field that has multiple sound sources: i.e. every string, the soundboard, multiple reflections of the sound from the sound board, the sides and the lid of the piano. All these sound sources and reflections produce sound waves that arrive at the microphones from all directions. This is called a diffused sound field, and the PianoMic System High Definition Random Incidence Microphones are designed to hit the stage optimally within such diffused sound field. In addition, these omni microphones have no proximity effect and the sound will remain the same (no increase or decrease in low frequency levels) no matter how close or how far the microphones are from the piano strings or sound board. This system rocks exceptional sound quality with the piano lid either up or down.
Incredible Gain Before Feedback
The large amount of gain before feedback is achieved because the microphones are placed completely close to the sound source and are within the sound field of the piano. The PianoMic System is able to make a piano sound louder than a loud pipe organ, and with a sweet deal more gain available before reaching feedback.
Virtually No Bleed
You might be asking yourself, "How can you use omni microphones and have essentially no leakage of sounds from outside the piano?" There are two important elements in the answer: (1) the microphones are placed inside the piano shell and are somewhat isolated from sounds outside the piano; (2) microphones are placed 3 to 6 inches above the piano strings, making the sound level of the piano picked up by the microphones phenomenally louder than sounds coming from outside the piano. Therefore any outside leakage picked up in the piano microphones is dramatically lower in level than the sound of the piano itself.
Quick and Simple to Set Up
The PianoMic System uses an tweakable telescoping tube that is supported by the sides of the piano case. The telescoping tube can be adjusted to any length from 46 to 64 inches to easily accommodate any type of grand piano. The support arms that sit on the side of the piano case are smooth with a protective coating that will not harm the finish of the piano. They are less than 1/8-inch thick, so the piano lid can be easily closed on top of them with absolutely no danger of stressing the piano lid hinge. The telescoping tube spans across the piano over the strings and can be moved so the two microphones can be placed close to the hammers or further away from the hammers. The telescoping tube can be placed on the piano with the microphones facing the keyboard or with the microphones facing away from the keyboard. This flexibility allows a bunch of microphone placement options using the PianoMic System. As various makes and models of pianos differ in their size and construction, the highly adaptable PianoMic System will provide you with optimum results on any grand piano. The center section of the tube can be moved as much as eight inches to the left or the right if you desire to favor either the low or high strings of the piano. In addition, the flex arms allow the microphone heads to move approximately four inches to the left or right plus up or down (closer or further from the strings).
Earthworks PianoMic System Features:
- Frequency Response: 9Hz - 40kHz
- Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional (random incidence)
- Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa (-36 dBV/Pa)
- Power requirements: 48V Phantom, 10mA
- Peak Acoustic Output: 148 dB SPL
- Output: XLR-3 (pin 2+)
- Min. Output Load: 600 ohms between pins 2 & 3
- Noise: 22dBA
- Microphone Gooseneck Length: 4.875" (12cm)
- Dimensions: 64" fully extended, 46" fully collapsed
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