
Default Mics: AKG C414 XLS, ORTF Stereo Position: 2 ft off the side lip at the curve of the piano. Qualities: Balanced piano/room tone with a beautiful twinkly high register and tamed low end. Vibrant and hearty with enough air space to breathe. pic Close Mics: Neumann U87, A/B Stereo (Omni) Position: 6 in off the strings Qualities: Extremely intimate and warm with very little room ambience. Rich with string reverberance while capturing all the subtle mechanical sounds. pic Hammer Mics: Superlux S241/U3, X/Y Stereo Position: 1 ft above pointed directly at the hammers. Qualities: Punchy and percussive dynamics, great for pop/rock music. pic Room Mics: Schoeps CMC 6, A/B Stereo (Cardioid) Position: 6 ft away 8ft high, pointing towards the inside of the lid from the audience perspective. Qualities: More room ambience and reverb coloration while allowing the piano to fully resonate into the room. Great for achieving a traditional/classical sound in a concert hall or recital setting. pic Wide Perspective Mics: Modified Oktava Mk012, A/B Stereo (Omni) Position: 1 ft from the piano at the player’s perspective, spaced at the full width of the keyboard. Qualities: An experimental mic pair capturing an ultra-wide stereo image with a unique and enveloping character. pic Binaural Perspective Mics: Stereo binaural dummy head (affectionately named Bruce) Position: 2ft from the the keyboard at the player’s perspective. Qualities: Realistic spatialization, especially when listened through headphones. pic