micing a baby grand?

[wjgypsy]

i'm going to be recording my first client in about a week or so and i want to know if you guys have any good ideas about how to get a real basic piano sound. here's what i got:

(2) marshall mxl603s
(1) nady scm900
(1)v-tech nd-series
(1)shure sm57
(1) shure beta 52
fostex vf-16 recorder (eq: hi's and mids are sweepable but the lows are fixed at 100hz)
(1) behringer composer pro (compresser)


anything????



thanks,




zeke

 

[Wil Davis]

In what sort of room will you be recording the piano? (anechoic-chamber? studio? bedroom? living-room? church-hall? cathedral? - it makes quite a difference, and is an important consideration...

- Wil

 

[Michael Jones]

Will's right. The room will have a huge effect on the method and the outcome, but read this thread:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=56685&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Scroll down to where I start talking, and substitute SM81 with MXL 603. (most of the applicable stuff starts on the second page though)

This is note worthy too:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=57456

 

[wjgypsy]

i think that it will be in a small 25' x 20 or 15' room with a carpet floor and wood walls (i think)

 

[Michael Jones]

hmmm, then you're going have waves of nearly every frequency bouncing all around the room.
In that condition, I have found that close miking, and using as little gain as you can get away with works well. You're going to have to try a lot of positioning to get it a good sound.

The only "pair" of mikes you have are the 603's?

I have a pair of those, and while it's not my first choice as a stereo pair, you can get satisfactory results with them.

You say you have about a week or so?

How big is the grand? What kind is it?
Answer these questions first, then there's some other techniques I can turn you on to.

 

[wjgypsy]

well, i don't realy know what brand it is, but it sounds good. size? it's about the useual size for a babygrand (i think). i have recorded this same piano before (when i was a begginer) and the room did not echo much or sound bad. can you use room mics on a piano?

 

[Michael Jones]

Well, yeah, you can, but if the room doesn't sound good.....

I'd think you'd want to do a stereo recording, and use those 603's in a spread.
If the room is too noisy, you can lower the lid to the short stick, and cover the piano in a large comforter to help isolate the sound.

 

[littledog]

Close mic'ing will alleviate room problems, but omnis would be handier for close mic'ing because of lack of proximity effect. Guitar Center has Behringer 8000's at $39/ea.