Mic'ing grand piano with pennies?
- Thread starter natmj
- Start date
not ideal, but if you are careful, you can get a pretty solid stereo sound using a blend of the two mics and a bit of eq. put the piano lid on the long stick, and position the c1000 just above c6 about 10" above the soundboard up near the hammers, pointing slightly off axis (about toward the players feet or knees). position the sm57 just below c4 in a mirror type orientation to the c1000 (also pointing at about the players knees or so) - maybe give the 57 about +3dB high end boost to get some edge on the bass notes. you can also bump the bottom end on the c1000 a couple of dB if you want the higher notes to be rounder. listen carefully for pedal noises and other mechanical sounds.
If you can score another C1000S, you'll get better results than trying to mix the one you have with an SM57. You could also try to just use one mic and record it in mono ... but that's no fun 
Jnorman gives good advice on mic placement ... don't get them too close to the hammers unless you want a real heavy attack on each note ... 10" should be a good distance.
You could also try an XY pattern (mic capsules close together at a 90º angle pointed toward the corners of the piano) right above middle C. This will help avoid phase cancellation problems while still giving a good stereo image.
If it's easy to do, I'd also take the piano lid off completely to avoid any weird reflections from muddying up the recording.
Stay away from EQ if you can help it. Try to get the sound you're looking for from mic placement alone. If you wind up using the SM57 ... you may need to tweak EQ a little to make it sound more natural, though.
Anyway, good luck!
Jnorman gives good advice on mic placement ... don't get them too close to the hammers unless you want a real heavy attack on each note ... 10" should be a good distance.
You could also try an XY pattern (mic capsules close together at a 90º angle pointed toward the corners of the piano) right above middle C. This will help avoid phase cancellation problems while still giving a good stereo image.
If it's easy to do, I'd also take the piano lid off completely to avoid any weird reflections from muddying up the recording.
Stay away from EQ if you can help it. Try to get the sound you're looking for from mic placement alone. If you wind up using the SM57 ... you may need to tweak EQ a little to make it sound more natural, though.
Anyway, good luck!