miking an actual piano vs. using synthesizer "piano" sounds

gringojosh

New member
I am setting up a home recording studio and am trying to decide between using an actual piano for my "piano" sound or using a keyboard. Would it be better to put a couple mikes in a baby grand, or use a high-quality sampled sound?
 
Depends on what you're going for.

My Korg M50 has great piano sounds, but it lacks enough dynamics for playing true classical or anything like that. Can't quite get enough FF, but on the other hand it sounds pristine.

A mic'd piano will just sound more.... Real. If you can record it well enough you'll get more nuances and real-ness out of it, but recorded badly it'll subtract.

If you've got the money heres the best solution:
Pianoteq - Virtual piano, physically modelled acoustic and electric pianos

It's a modelling VSTi, no samples, but my god it sounds realer than some pianos I've played. You can control every part of it and you would never know it's not real. Try the demo if you want.
 
Like SourIce said, it depends. If your playing chords to a pop song, a synth will do just fine. To me, the sound of the synth actually fits the genre even more than a real piano. But if your playing classical, or just something complicated, don't even think about this. A real piano is what you should get.
 
I am setting up a home recording studio and am trying to decide between using an actual piano for my "piano" sound or using a keyboard. Would it be better to put a couple mikes in a baby grand, or use a high-quality sampled sound?

I bounce back-n-forth between my Kurzweil electric and my upright Wurly piano.
Depends on the song...
 
Not only does it depend on the type of music you are playing, but how you mic the piano can make a world of differnce and that is a complicated thing - room dynamics, mic types and placement, etc.
 
Yep. Agreed to all of the above. Another factor to add to the above would be to do with the mic'ing option.

For me personally, choosing to mic my piano would come with caveat that I don't trust I'd have the skills to get a good sound straight off - it may take some time/experimentation, time and effort.

If you're across the mic'ing thing, then cool. If you're new to it, perhaps don't assume you'll get a fantastic result fist time.

Cheers,
FM
 
An acoustic piano is a very large acoustic-mechanical device that at all times , when being played, has notes, harmonics, sub-harmonics, sympathetic vibrations, and pure mechanical noises emanating from it in all directions at once, is loud enough to excite any room nodes there might be present, has enough bass response to build up standing waves in untreated areas, and thats just the good stuff. It also demonstrates an entirely different set of parameters when the top is in each relative position including half open, open and removed completely. It requires some heighth to the area it sits in and moving it around changes everything again.

BUT. If you're going to build out your room, and you provide a specific area for whatever certain piano you are going to be using....and make no mistake they are every one of them as different as acoustic guitars... AND you have a decent piano thats kept in condition and tune, it will pay for its spot in your studio.

You will have to devote a budget to this specifically and you'll have to learn to mic it with whatever mics the piano likes.

Since you're asking, perhaps you are a piano player and you can relate to what I'm saying.

Piano players, once they find a studio with a piano they like, and one thats kept up correctly and is properly mic'd , will continue to use that as their recorded piano sounds.

There have been famous pianos throughout recorded music history that are as infamous to that genre as the room itself has been to all other aspects of record making.

Having a dedicated acoustic piano space can be a very good and lucrative endeavor. But it has to be done right.
 
If you don't need that HUGE grand piano vibe, but want to mic a real piano, try using a single ribbon, set the figure-8 sideways left/right across the strings, and just place it where you will be doing the majority of your playing.

Most times, for backing piano, I'm playing a few chords or notes within a 1-2 octave range, not all over the keyboard.
I tried the ribbon mic and loved how it mellowed out the strident vibe when miking near the strings with the top open (this was on an upright).
 
I have tons of decent piano samples/VSTis. Some of the ones in Sampletank and Miroslav philharmonik are lovely. But I'd trade them in tomorrow for a 'piano' piano. I used to have an upright piano. I don't regret selling it because with a kid on the way at the time, we needed the room. But I loved recording it, the sound was better than any virtual one I've yet come across. Luckilly I'm not precious about these things.
All I can say is if you have a piano at your fingertips, use it.
 
Like others have said, if you have a piano, use it. But if you're deciding between buying a piano and a synth, I might suggest going with the synth/MIDI controller + VSTi's. You'd be surprised just how detailed some of them are, and it keeps your options open.
 
I'd want both. For me, the biggest advantage to a keyboard over a piano is that I can practice late at night without pissing off the world. But a real piano is more fun most of the time. Plus, the size/upkeep/loudness of a real piano makes it more work than a keyboard.
 
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