SMWTMS MEETING - September 17, 2016

Comparison of Studio Microphone Techniques

Order CDs at the bottom of this page!

Links to the Video lower on this page!

The program featured a talk reviewing aspects of microphone placement and microphone types, how distance affects the sound, plus a live recording session leading to a five way shootout between the five microphone techniques. Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 was performed on a Steinway Model D 9-foot Concert Grand for the comparison. Five pairs of microphones connected to identical mic pre-amplifiers were recorded at 24-bit on Sequoia 11 by Magix. No EQ or compression was used. The microphone techniques compared are:
  • ORTF Pair – The AKG Tube – variable pattern condenser with vacuum tube
  • Spaced Omni-directional Pair – B&K 4007 omnidirectional electret condenser
  • Spaced Omni-directional Pair – Crown PZM 6LP hemispherical electret condenser
  • XY Pair – Gefell M930 cardioid condenser
  • ORTF Pair – Sony C-500P cardioid condenser
Pianist Susan Ostreicher.

Watch Videos of the Presentation and Shootout.

Professional recording engineer David Lau explains five microphone techniques for the piano, records a live studio performance of a Steinway D with all techniques recorded simultaneously, followed by playback and discussion.
NOTE: The piano recordings are completely free from processing and compression, so you must turn your volume control up a bit for these videos. YouTube audio quality is a variable. If you are lucky the piano will sound fabulous. If not you may hear distortion from the low data rate. If you hear distortion and have a high speed connection, please try again later.

Order CDs of the Piano Recording from SMWTMS.

The audio you hear on the YouTube video is from each mic being demonstrated and completely free from processing and compression effects, but due to data reduction the audio quality on YouTube is variable. If you are lucky the piano will sound fine. To hear the recording properly, order the CD from SMWTMS. SMWTMS member Dennis Green is making CDs available of the piano recordings. Buying the CD will allow hearing the uncompressed unprocessed sound of each mic set up. The CDs are derived directly from the original 24-bit studio recordings. The audio levels on the CD are normalized to approximate the same subjective loudness in two different ways, RMS and Peak, so there are a total of ten tracks on the CD.
Dennis Green is offering the CD for $5 and shipping for $4. Dennis accepts checks and PayPal.
Click here to submit an order to Dennis Green.
Keyboard Photograph © David Carlstrom. Mic Photographs © David Lau. Susan Ostreicher Photograph © Susan Ostreicher. Web Page Created by David Carlstrom. Last Modified: 4/1/2017