digital piano recording

[trephination]

how can I get my digital piano to sound real? I am using a firepod with cubase le. just looking for some tips...

 

[DonF]

Check out my "Piano Test" recording at http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2839&alid=662, and tell me what you like or don't like about it. Then I think I might be able to answer you.

 

[trephination]

sounds great...we are really looking an old-timey upright feel. right now we have 2 mics set up around a keyboard amp. are going about this in exactly the wrong way? with this set up we are getting a very distant sound with a very "hanging" digital sound. any help would be great.

 

[grn]

you probably can't. but what you can do is maybe make it sound slightly better than it does by double tracking the part (record it once perfectly, then record another track on top of that). then maybe bring that second track down in volume to mix well. then use some EQ (look up EQ Primer on google) to make it sound more "bright" or more "real" and then compress... and add a hint of delay or reverb.

it'll probably still sound digital/synthesized/bad. you'll have to experiment.

 

[grn]

you could also try micing the piano amp as well as plugging it directly in. mix both of those.

edit: just try to create the sound you want before you record it. fixing it later sucks.

 

[DonF]

we are really looking an old-timey upright feel. right now we have 2 mics set up around a keyboard amp.

Is the piano/amp combination capable of producing the sound you want? How about the piano itself, without the amp? If the answer to both of these is "no", we'll have to figure out what can be done to the sound to make it closer to what you want. To me, "old-timey upright feel" means slighly out-of-tune (some notes more so than others), and bright, even a little harsh and tinny. This shouldn't be too difficult to achieve. The key is to get the piano (or piano & amp) as close as possible to the sound you want before recording. That makes the rest of the job much easier.

 

[trephination]

I would settle with the actual sound of the piano itself captured, we can mess with the levels in cubase to change the quality of sound we want. Right now, I just want a basic, non digital sound.

 

[DonF]

I'm having a little difficulty with your use of the term "digital" to describe the sound. I assume you mean "dull", "sterile", and "bland". Is there more to it than that? Regardless of how your recording sounds, does the piano/amp combination sound good to your ears when you hear it "live"? If not, you're fighting an uphill battle.

Also, you mention that the sound is "distant". Micing an amp can be tricky. You may be hearing the effects of phase cancellation between the mics. Does either mic sound OK on its own?

 

[leddy]

DonF is right. You can have access to the best recording gear in the world and if your piano sounds bad, it will still record bad.

What keyboard are you using?

I've spent a lot of time looking for realistic piano sounds as I don't have the budget for a 9' Steinway. I've had acceptable results with a Yamaha P120 going through a Yamaha MG board into my DAW. There was a HUGE difference without the MG. The output of the P120 was kind of low, and the pres on my Tascam 788 are not great. The MG brought out a lot of detail in the sound. Use compression as little as possible.

 

[trephination]

the piano i am using is a casio cleviano. it has a great sound through a monitor with a tube pre amp...we are having trouble capturing the sound from the monitor.

 

[DonF]

Sounds like it's just a matter of playing with the mic placement, then. Experiment!