Topic: Using cardiod microphones to get the best stereo imaging
As I continue to try to make the most realistic simulated player sound for my upright piano equipped with a MIDI strip, I went from binaural back to the microphones, making sure that there is only one microphone per output channel whith no blending, chich seems to hurt the accuracy of stereo imaging (though perhaps a little bit may help the spread of sound coming off of the soundboard in a real piano, but that hurts the precision of the sound that you hear with your ears imaged off the string that is struck). This time, I placed the microphones at roughly the player position, close together simulating two ears, and just about 90° off, using cardioid microphones so that they are more directional. I seem to like the U87 best, for its clarity, although it actually sounds more precise in some ways than my piano does (as an acoustic piano). The CMC6mk4's are pretty nice as well. Curiously, when I had the microphones centered the way that a player would be facing the keyboard, the vast majority of the sound appeared to be my right. This is not the stereo imaging that I wanted, especially when playing middle C and notes surrounding C also sounded as if they were coming from the right side of the keyboard. (and I do not have a control on my system that creates left-right balance, either correctly or, in this case, incorrectly.)
I first tried to reduce this by reducing the keyboard width. My speakers are outboard of the piano, so I've traditionally run a keyboard width equaling 0.40 for most of the presets that I have used and downloaded. In this case, I reduce the width to 0.10 which seem to help, but still had keys sounding as if they were too far to the right.
Next, I shifted the two microphones about one third to the right, which helped make the sound appeared to be centered on my piano. Then, I thought, maybe it would be more realistic if I just took the microphones and rotated them to the left while leaving them centered. This is what the uploaded preset displays: two U87 – cardioid microphones, placed 90° off, with the right one facing almost directly into the piano, and left one about 90° left of that. It gives me reasonably accurate stereo imaging, but it does reduce my bass response very slightly (which on my piano is not a big deal, as I have a little more bass than I need reflecting in the "box" beneath my keyboard, the floor, and the speakers each to the left and to the right, as well as my subwoofer).
http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/uploads.p...81%29.mfxp
The differences that I find between this and the binaural are the following: 1 – The stereo imaging with this microphone set up is not quite as precise as that of the binaural; 2 – The binaural is a bit more dull – There seems to be less sparkle with the binaural headphone microphone, which also leaves the sound to "finish" too quickly, almost as if somebody's hand is on the piano harp keeping the metal harp from ringing for several seconds after the note is done.
How is the binaural headphone microphone created? Is it a formula based on some of the existing cardioid microphones? Is there a way to change its frequency response and make it a bit livelier? Has anyone had any better success in stereo imaging for a more precise Player setup?