The Earthworks PM40 PianoMic™ System is a revolutionary solution for miking grand pianos with no mic stands or booms.
Performance
The PM40 PianoMic™ provides the best of both worlds. A simple piano miking system that takes just minutes to setup and provides incredible results for live performances and studio recordings.
Engineered to allow open or closed lid miking, the PianoMic™ is ideal for a wide range of miking situations. In a recording studio with no other instruments, the PianoMic™ shines with the lid open. When in more crowded settings such as on a concert stage shared with other instruments, merely close the piano lid to isolate the piano and minimize leakage. In both scenarios the PianoMic ™will capture the piano with incredible detail.
At the heart of the PianoMic™ are two random incidence omnidirectional microphones, specifically designed for use inside of a piano, which is a diffuse sound field. This means that sound is coming at the microphones from multiple sources and multiple directions. A random-incidence microphone is designed to be placed within such a diffuse sound field and pick up sounds uniformly, whether they arrive at the front, the sides or the rear of the microphone. The PianoMic™ System achieves much of its remarkable performance through the use of specially designed, 40kHz random-incidence High Definition Microphones™.
Because of the near-perfect omnidirectional polar response of the microphones and extraordinarily tight impulse response, the PianoMic™ picks up every note with consistently. So, the full range of the piano including the high and low strings will be reproduced with no hot spots.
In addition, the microphones exhibit no proximity effect, regardless of their distance from the piano strings or soundboard. The mics, when positioned close to the sound source, also provide incredible gain before feedback and can handle up to 148dB SPL.
Construction
Designed for minimal visibility, the PM40 PianoMic™ system mounts within the piano. The telescoping bar allows the PianoMic™ to be quickly and easily installed in nearly all grand pianos and to place the microphones close to or away from the dampers and get the exact sound desired.
Set on flexible goosenecks, the microphone capsules can be easily repositioned for optimal microphone placement.
A separate output stage box features a 5-pin XLR input and two 3-pin XLR outputs. A leather case with a strap allows the box to be mounted onto a piano leg, so the microphone remains nearly invisible from outside the piano or with the lid closed.