13
Piano
You can achieve outstanding results using the CV3 on acoustic piano Several placement approaches can be used
depending on the size of the piano, and the type of sound you are looking to record When miking a Grand Piano, (for
an ambient sound like that used in a classical recital), a single CV3 can be positioned directly in front of the instrument
Open the lid to the full position and place the microphone five to twelve feet in front of the instrument For a more
contemporary sound with better isolation, place two CV3’s inside the piano positioning one over the low strings and
the other over the high strings To achieve a more realistic sound, it’s a good idea to leave some space between the
instrument and the microphone, especially if you are recording a solo instrument Also, keep in mind how the track
ultimately needs to fit into the mix For example, if you are recording a solo performance of Chopin, you would likely
want a very even response and you’d want to capture the left hand sostenuto However, if you are recording rock and
roll or pop music, you may want the piano to sit within the track in a specific frequency range where less bass is desired
Nashville engineers, and other good ones from all over the planet, are famous for building the mix as they track, starting
with the microphone placement You can also try the XY or ORTF stereo mic set-ups described in the following section,
“Stereo Miking Techniques”
Applications Guide
