Piano Mics

[samlin7]

Hi I need to purchase mics for my church grand piano. Are PZM mics the way to go or piezo's??? I prefer not to go with condensors in case we need the piano lid closed. Any recommendation on what mics to purchase???

[ricknbokker]

PZM-PZM-PZM!!! Obviously, I can't say it enough! I use a PZM to mic the concert grand piano that my choir director uses, and the sound is only equaled with a condenser. Even non-musicians have brought up the fact that it sounds so good. PZM's are historically a very expensive proposition, however, once again our friends at Radio Shack have come to the rescue. They carry an excellent PZM for the insane price of $49.95. The next price I found for ANY other PZM was in the nieghborhood of $160. If you ask around, you will find that everyone that has used this mic will say the same thing--AMAZING VALUE! Unfortunately, the 'Shack' has once again changed the design of this amazing mic, and while the changes don't affect the performance, they have made it a lot more difficult to use.This includes having to us a watch battery as a power source, and an 1/8th" plug. If you have more money to spend, then the sky's the limit! Good luck!

[David W]

God bless Radio Shack! The PZM was easy to rewire with an XLR connector and I heard that the AA battery could be replaced with a substitute but that is ripe for this forum. I have used the Shure SM 91's taped to the lid over the hammers with good results but because they are very bright you may need to roll off the top end a bit.Also the small clip-on mics like the AT-35's can be used on the soundboard to give you the midrange with isolation. This is not the classical way, just a quick fix for the the closed lid problem.