Helpinstill Piano pickup

[DaveySimps]

Has anyone used the Helpinstill Piano pickups? If so, what did you like and or dislike about it. I am considering buying one (model 120) for our Steinway grand, but wanted to see if anyone else has used them. A local guy has one in a church and loves it, but they are closed for remodeling now, and he cannot get at it. Online reviews so far seem very favorable from what I am reading.

~Dave

[NickJones]

Looks really impressive. But I guess the prices are HIGH. Still it means you don't have to shove mic's into them. Nor risk falling into one. But that's another story....
Nick

[DaveySimps]

Nor risk falling into one. But that's another story....
Nick

I am sensing this is a story we would all be interested in hearing. Share it with us in the What Went wrong, or Off Topic forum.

~Dave

[willbb123]

It looks really cool. Afew of the groups that have came into our space brought that system with them and they seemed to be happy with it.

[BryanG]

My church has been using a Helpinstill pickup for 2-3 years now. I like it because I don't have to physically mic a piano anymore - it gets closed and covered when not in use - and the micing would change from week to week as a result. It is semi-maddening to install and get the pickups into the right place, but once you do, the sound is very consistent. Also, it only picks up the piano; there isn't any bleed from anything else in the room.

Because the design is based on guitar pickup technology, the piano tends to sound a bit twangy without any external fx or reverb. and, even though we have the balanced version, sometimes I pick up some buzz/hum that is audible in the house speakers and when I cue up the input in the headphones.

Other than that, it has been pretty much set it and forget it. I do check the pickups every once in a while to make sure that the vibrations from the piano haven't modified the pickup locations too drastically.

Bry

[DaveySimps]

Thanks Bry. Since they offer a money back guarantee, I took the plunge and ordered it yesterday. I am anxious to see how it does. Thanks for all of the replies.

~Dave

[Bikker2001]

I am considering the helpinstill for our worship center yamaha c-7 and I was wondering how it worked out for you. We do both and Choir/Orchestra service and a Praise Band service. So I hope to get an accurate acoustic sound for the first service, but a clear bright sound that will cut through the mix for the second service.

[DaveySimps]

We have it in our 9' Steinway grand, and I love it. It delivers everything they promise and more. I have had three people like the sound of ours an have went out an got their own. Sometimes we still add a single large diaphragm condenser on a boom stand for the house mix, but that is just for certain types of music. I would absolutely recommend it.

~Dave

[dafunkmonster]

I'm curious, do you have any issues with it sounding too thin, or is it a pretty fair substitute for a microphone setup?

[DaveySimps]

I have not had any issues of the sort, but I would imagine this has a lot to do with your specific piano. Remember, it is reproducing the actual vibration of the instrument, it does not take into account the "room sound" as a mic does. I actually love the way it helps with the low end of our Steinway. This is something I could never get out of any of the mic arrangements we used. Is using just the Helpinstill going to be perfect for every situation? No, but neither would using the same mic set up. In my opinion, it is superior in many ways to a microphone set up.

~Dave