amplifying a piano

[soupking]

Hi GS, I'm trying to amplify an upright piano so that I can hear it live while playing with drums and bass.

I've tried a few things, but I feel that I'm not really making the right choices.

Mind you this is not for recording, just rehearsal.

Does anybody have any solutions?

[orange]

The C-ducer tape microphone is most widely used on the Piano with over fifteen thousand systems sold in the past 15 years.

[springer]

Hi Soup,
If your lid is open, then you simply need to locate the gain control switch on the rear panel your drummers' I/O interface...
Oh sorry,that was old school... I forgot we are in the age of LOUD. Yeah - stick a couple of 58's in there send that to a pair of Marshall stacks and crank it up.

I'm sorry as the above is of no real use to your post. FWIW I used to room with a guy who used the Cducer for rock gigs and it worked very well.

Sincerely tired of amplification,
Patrick

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by soupking

Hi GS, I'm trying to amplify an upright piano so that I can hear it live while playing with drums and bass.

I've tried a few things, but I feel that I'm not really making the right choices.

Mind you this is not for recording, just rehearsal.

Does anybody have any solutions?

Who's playing what?

If it's against a wall (which is usually the case) and you're the piano player, if possible, move it away from the wall - otherwise take the fallboard off the front and expose the hammers and strings - much easier to hear, but also exposes the noisiness of it's action...

If you're a bandmate (guitar or drums) move the rear of the upright closer to you - loads of potential volume from the soundboard (rear) so if it's against a wall you're eliminating 1/2 the instrument's volume and dynamics...

Otherwise, stick a 57/58 down the top and be done with it. PZM's taped to the lid also work pretty well. Never heard the C-ducer but have heard Countryman ISOMAX as well as DPA 4060's on concert grands - simply amazing, so I'd imagine a vertical could sound pretty fair as well...

Hope this helps,

[Sound Sorcerer]

Stick one (or two) Crown PCC160 into the piano box... It works all the time.

[soupking]

Thanks guys.

Funny I tried both sm57's and PZM's but I used them on the board instead of inside the top because the hammers were 'klacky'.

I want to get one of those c-ducers, they look bad ass. however, I'll try miking the top of the piano instead.

Thanks everybody!

[big country]

C-ducer - contact microphone, piano, sound reinforcement
thats interesting

I know with the acoustic guitar I longed for the pezeo sound
but like any effect I got tiered of it

imagine putting a stereo pezio set under a piano bridge
piano is in a way a big assed guitar
snappy sound of a good pezio would be a whole new effect

I heard a piano recoded in stereo recorded by some one on GS
bass clef H-left /treble H-r (very cool)

till know the only way I could see that happen would be by building a
piano designed for that application

a little brain exercise
think of all the possibilities of amplifying a piano
kinda fun!

[Cutler]

If you want an unbeatable piano sound, combine a Helpinstill piano pickup with two Neumann KM184 condenser mics ( or if the band's really loud, a couple of 57's ). The Helpinstill works like a guitar pickup. You install the sensors under the strings and you will have absolutely no feedback. I use the condensers more for the upper mids and top, since the pickup does have a bit of a 'rhodes' like quality.
I did the Calgary folk festival last year and had a grand piano up to 112 db measured at 60 feet back from a line array. The bottom end was earthshattering!
Also, helpinstill gives absolutely incredible customer service.
TC

[drtechno]

take a pair of sm81's or at33's (small diaphram condensor mic) and mic the
wood in the back of the piano ( the resonating sound board is where its at). space them evenly apart, close to the wood without toching the resonating board, and pan them a little apart from the center (one a little left and another a little right) and there you go,

plugging a stereo compressor, linked into both channels if you need to punch it a little but don't go over 6:1 ratio; if you do, your dynamics might get squashed too much.