C414 piano mount brackets

[Dan Gruner]

In need of some C414 microphone brackets for clamping to the frame of a grand piano, enabling the lid to be closed. I have been meening to get some of these for a while now. Any recommendations and places to get them?

 

Thanks, Dan

[showman]

I have used the little K&M 237 Table Clamps for this before as they were in my production case.

(As an aside, OT, they so useful to put a birdie on with a 3/8" - 5/8" mic screw adaptor.)

 

Just a thought?

[Rob_Beech]

<imagines £70,000 Steinway with things screw clamped to it>

[Matt Riley]

If you have a track back through dave rat's blog, he references a new design of piano mic bracket which looks very good. It's on his post about NAMM 08 (or whatever the big lampie trade show was where they had the sound system shootout.)

[risc]

In need of some C414 microphone brackets for clamping to the frame of a grand piano, enabling the lid to be closed. I have been meening to get some of these for a while now. Any recommendations and places to get them?

 

Thanks, Dan

 

I'm with Rob 'clamping' on a grand piano ;)

414's In my dodgy opinion don't like the lid shut. Would shure B91's be a better bet, they could be gaffa'd to the inside the lid ;)

[daveh]

I agree with Dave, 414's with the lid shut are not going to sound nice - boxy & prone to nasty resonant things happening. Though far from a nice sound, you may like to try a PZM taped to the lid or for half the cost of a 414 one of these: http://www.helpinstill.com/page120.html.

Just my too pee

[Gareth Owen]

A number of years back I mixed some shows for BB King. The same bill also included Tony Bennett and his engineer, a guy called Randy Faber (who also used to mix Elvis) showed me a (now well known) method of mic'ing a grand piano using 414s.

 

You simply build a gaffa tape bridge between the sound boards and then gaffa the mics to the top with the condenser pointing towards the strings. It seems to work well with three mics, one in each high / mid / low section of the piano. Ideally keep the lid open on the four inch stalk but also works completly closed. Thrown in a bit of EQ and a spot of panage and your away.

 

I recently spotted a picture of something similar, ironically on the Facebook Dodgy Technicians Page - if only they knew!

 

Slightly OT but the best results I've ever had were using the obscenely expensive Earthworks system : http://www.earthworksaudio.com/77.html

 

There is also a good thread on ProSoundWeb about the Helpinstill system.

 

Finally, a Slovakian freind of mine swears by a round flat mic made by Beyer but I can't for the life of me remember the model.

[Rob_Beech]

The B91 will be a better bet with the lid closed, though you lose alot of the sound quality, I try and avoid closed lids where possible, just allows things to breath a little. My ideal combination is a B91 AND a pair of 414 anyway.

[RustyBrooks]

Can always gaffa a coupe of good cyclindrical condensors to the underside of the lid of the piano, move them around to find the right place for the sound you want, and there you have a nice neat piano with lid down, plenty of weight to the sound, and clarity from the strings and hammers.

[Dan Gruner]

The B91 will be a better bet with the lid closed, though you lose alot of the sound quality, I try and avoid closed lids where possible, just allows things to breath a little. My ideal combination is a B91 AND a pair of 414 anyway.

 

Quite! Concur 100% here. Unfortunately one doesn't always get to have the lid open.

[Rob_Beech]

Can always gaffa a coupe of good cyclindrical condensors to the underside of the lid of the piano, move them around to find the right place for the sound you want, and there you have a nice neat piano with lid down, plenty of weight to the sound, and clarity from the strings and hammers.

 

I find this is fine with a piano that they've picked up out of pile of assorted rubbish in Aldi. I find that you will probably get ###### instantly if you start clamping OR sticking anything to a real piano.