AT2020 USB+ sounds muffled, any hope for this recording being fixed?

J3rsdm5

New member
Hi,
Hope this is the correct place.
I'm recording an acoustic piano with a recently purchased AT2020 USB+, and I'm having some issues with quality after the fact. I suppose for the sake of simplicity I'll paste my email to Audio Technica support here; I'm sure the people here have probably seen this before. :)

Hello!
I received my microphone certified refurbished from Amazon about a month ago. At the moment, I am making a recording of a Yamaha grand piano. Based off of videos/comments on the internet, I believe my current setup does not produce a quality of audio that the microphone should probably be capable of.

Right off the bat, I need to mention that I am recording in Mono (one microphone), so this may affect quality.
I asked a friend with prior audio experience to describe the issue. After listening through my ATH-M50X headphones, he notes that the recording sounds muffled and low fidelity, the piano's sound is missing its brilliance/shimmer, and there there is a lack of overtones; all combined, it sounds as if there were a blanket in front of the mic. He mentioned that recording in stereo would most definitely improve the sound, but the microphone should probably not be producing that sound. I'm unable to record in stereo for now (budget) but I plan to in the future. He asked if the mic came with any EQ software, or any way to adjust it. He also listened through the live headphone jack monitor and noted that the mic is extremely sensitive, so he suspects it could be some sort of driver issue. I uninstalled and reinstalled the Windows USB Mic Driver just to be sure.

I record using Audacity, and have made sure that all recording settings match. (Windows properties and Audacity are both set to 48000hz, 2 channel, 16 bit.) I also followed the official Audio-Technica guide to microphone placement, and have optimized my placement based off of what it instructs.

Is there anything I'm missing that would improve audio quality?
Thanks!

Anyone have any ideas? I can rerecord if any settings need to be changed, but it would be inconvenient.
Is there any way I can fix the audio with Audacity or Adobe Audition?

I could post the raw audio, but the forum won't allow it until I post more. Just search Soundcloud (dot com) for "Joel Johnson Sample AT2020" and it should pop up.

Thank you all so much!
 
It certainly doesn't sound "wonderful" or anything, but for a single mic (especially a USB mic), it really doesn't sound --- "defective" (for lack of a better term).
 
I think it sounds fairly good, perhaps a bit lacking in lows. I might be hearing the room adding some midrange coloration, like a reflection from a nearby wall or ceiling. What is the room like, and where are the piano and mic in the room?

Try moving the mic around. There's more than one way to mic a piano. Close, far, over under. Try stuff.

Once the placement is optimized the other things to do are eq (cut some 400Hz?) and reverb.
 
The is room square, about 12 feet to a side.

Edit: I sent my more experienced friend the WAV file and he played it on a few different devices. Turns out the audio quality from my PC is the thing causing the issues, and perhaps the lack of low end was my placement. Thanks all!

Here's a pic:
hIaC7kr.jpg
 
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Yep, get the mic away from that wall. The shelf probably isn't helping either.

Maybe turn the piano's left side parallel to the wall on the left so the mic has more space. Also try other mic positions.
 
Looks like a difficult space with a lot of hard surfaces. How does the piano sound where you sit? Maybe try the mic over your shoulder so it's not between a close wall and the hard parts of the piano? If the floor is carpeted I'd even try something down low, though you might get a lot of pedal noise.

You can try EQ on the track, but there's just a lot of room in there.

Good luck.
 
To record a grand piano well, you need a good room. That's why everyone uses virtual instruments these days.
 
Indeed - We've been recording pianos for some years now, and just recently discovered one of our recordings we were all positive was the real grand turned out not to be! I thought the recording sounded fine - were there some peaks that were a tiny bit distorted? Needs watching with a USB mic as over level performance often suffers as the gain inside is fixed.
 
Yeah, with the pic, I'd say you chose the 2nd worst spot in the entire room to put the mic. I'm actually surprised it sounds as good as it does, considering.

12' square room - assuming an 8' ceiling - You're in an epic acoustic nightmare.

I would put the mic 4.5' from one wall 4' from another and move the piano until the mic is in position. Short-stick it - You're not going to get a decent room sound no matter what (short of ripping all the drywall down). So go for the best direct sound you can. If that's a C5 (can't tell by photo) try going just beyond the 3rd port (the first in the 3-set) just over the rim, pointed towards middle C about halfway up the strings. That should give you a reasonable relationship between hammers & soundboard. Tip up for more hammer, down for more board. Sideways on the mic if not obvious. If a bit muddy, more into or out of the cavity.

The room is still going to be an issue - And this is a more "live jazz ensemble" single mic method - but considering the space, it's probably more of what you're looking for.
 
The square room comment says it all. The piano would not sound good in that room even before the mic was placed.

Alan.
 
All I know is it's not a C5, it's GBK something... I'll have a go at moving things around for a second go at it, thanks all for the good advice!
 
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