Earthworks PM40 (U.S. Free Shipping Product)

The Earthworks® PianoMic™ High Definition Microphones™ do remarkable things with the sound of a piano. You will hear fidelity and detail like never before. Acoustic feedback is no longer a problem.

Our price: 2.743,00 € excl. VAT
3.291,60 € incl. VAT

Regular price: 3.277,31 € excl. VAT
3.932,77 € incl. VAT

Save: 16 %

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Earthworks PM40 (U.S. Free Shipping Product)

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David Blackmer, the brilliant engineer who invented the technologies of dbx, is also the inventor and founder of Earthworks. In the last few years of his life, David developed a number of revolutionary technologies that dramatically improve the quality and performance of microphones. In short, Earthworks High Definition MicrophonesTM will pick up sounds and details that other microphones cannot. These dramatic improvements are in the areas of impulse response, diaphragm settling time and improved polar pattern technologies. Those who have heard Earthworks High Definition MicrophonesTM say that they hear more attack, more subtle detail and a more pristine quality in the sound than with any other microphones regardless of price. Since David’s death in 2002 the Earthworks engineers have continued to develop new innovations in microphone design such as the PianoMic™ System.

PM40 Piano Mic System

For recording studios the PianoMic™ System is a dream. You will never again have to spend the time and effort to mike a piano with stands and booms. Just place the PianoMic™ System inside the piano, position the two microphone heads where you want them and you are done. Anytime you want to record the piano, just plug the PianoMic™ System into your mic inputs and you are ready.

The Earthworks® PianoMic™ High Definition Microphones™ do remarkable things with the sound of a piano. You will hear fidelity and detail like never before. Acoustic feedback is no longer a problem. You can have all of the sound level you want and even more, all you will hear is the pristine sound of the piano. Better yet, there are no visible microphone stands or mic booms in front of the piano. All you see is the piano just like it is in the adjacent photo of a performing arts center while you enjoy its magnificent sound. The PianoMic™ System is also ideal for use in touring sound systems as it is easy to transport, easy to position and it will provide the same pristine sound quality every time. The Earthworks PianoMic™ System is a long-awaited, incredible product for performing arts centers. The PianoMic™ System has it all!

The typical practices for piano miking using conventional microphones will most likely not apply when using the PianoMic™ System. With the PianoMic™ System the rules for miking pianos have changed.

Conventional miking practices suggest that a piano must be miked from outside to achieve a good sound, and that a good piano sound cannot be achieved with closely placed microphones inside the piano, especially with the lid closed. When you listen to the incredible results achieved using the PianoMic™ System (at fullstick, half-stick or lid closed), you will realize how unique and groundbreaking it actually is. As the PianoMic™ System changes many of the conventional rules and methods of miking pianos; we strongly suggest that you start by following our guidelines first. Afterwards, if you want to experiment, you can take it from there. The Earthworks PianoMic™ System incorporates a number of proprietary technologies that allow this method of close-miking pianos to achieve results that have previously not been possible. This improved performance has been accomplished by using specially designed High Definition Microphones created specifically to work inside a piano. These carefully matched Random Incidence omni microphones have extremely fast impulse response, very short diaphragm settling time, extended frequency response (4Hz to 40kHz), near perfect polar response, high current Class A amplifiers and the ability to handle sound pressure levels up to 148dB SPL.

The PianoMic™ System Benefits:

Excellent overall piano sound with uniform level from all strings
Superb sound with the piano lid up or down
Tremendous gain before feedback
Minimal leakage from other instruments surrounding the piano
(with piano lid closed)
Microphones are not visible from outside the piano

People are astonished when they hear the exceptional sound quality of the PianoMic™ System with the piano lid closed. Conventional microphones perform poorly in a closed piano as there is no single dominant direction from which sound arrives at the microphone. Every string is a sound source. The soundboard is a large and complex sound source. In addition, sounds are reflected off the piano sides, the soundboard and the piano lid multiple times with little attenuation. Sounds inside a piano are randomly arriving from every possible direction at similar levels, all at the same time. This is a classic example of a “diffuse sound field” which is defined as a confined area where there are multiple sound sources and multiple reflections arriving at the microphone from every angle at similar levels simultaneously. A microphone that is placed in such a diffuse sound field has to pickup all of the sound with a proper tonal balance. For optimum results,
this task requires a High Definition Random-Incidence Microphone.

Conventional microphones
(i.e. virtually every microphone used for recording and live sound) are “Free Field” microphones, designed to accurately pick up sounds in front of the microphone (direct sound) (See Figure on the right side).

Random-incidence microphones
are designed to respond uniformly to sounds arriving simultaneously from all angles, rather than to the sound coming from a primary source that is in front of the microphone. Random-incidence microphones have exceptional accuracy and tonal balance in a diffuse sound field, where sound arrives from all directions randomly and simultaneously.

Any recording or live sound engineer will tell you that conventional microphones do a poor job inside a piano with the lid closed. Sound engineers were amazed when they heard the exceptional sound quality of the PianoMic™ System used inside a piano with the lid open and at half-stick. But they were absolutely floored upon hearing the fantastic performance with the lid closed. When using a PianoMic™ System for live performance you will achieve the most gain before feedback with the piano lid fully closed. You will also have the least amount of leakage from sounds outside the piano with the piano lid closed.

We know you will be more than pleased with the performance of the PianoMic™ System for both recording and live sound applications.