Micing Upright Piano

[blinddogblues]

This weekend I will be recording about 15 songs for a church. They want a piano track to use during their service on the occasion that their piano player does not show up. It will be piano only, no other instruments or tracks. It is a typical upright piano. I read in Harvey's tutorial about micing off the sound board (that is the back of the piano, right?), and it says the same thing in Loren Alldrin's book. The book also mentions that many engineers use 4 or even 6 mics to get a good piano sound. Since I will not be recording other tracks, I could actually put alot of mics on this piano if that made sense. My choices of mics are as follows: 2 Octava MC-012s, 2 Marshall 603s, 2 AKG C-1000, 2 Marshall V-67, 1 Audio Technika 4033 and 1 C-1. My gut tells me to start with the Octava's (I have the multiple capsule version, which would be best, omni?), and then add the 603's as an experiment. Put them close to the sound board and spread out? Maybe all 4 on the sound board and 2 more over top? The top of the piano opens, I know that. Maybe a pair of room mics? Any engineering help would really be appreciated.

 

[Prism]

I've heard that the 603s is a good choice for piano. A stereo pair would probably do a nice job. As for positioning them, that'd be up to you. Personally, I like to experiment, but there are some methods out there that seem to be proven to work mostly every time.

Isaiah

 

[flatrockrecordin]

I've had excellent results with lifting the lid, then removing the upper front cover. I position 2 mc012s on separate mic stands pointing one at the bass strings and one at the treble strings and aiming them directly at where the hammers make contact with the strings. This gives me an extremely strong piano sound. Make sure you listen carefully and eliminate any clicks or other odd noises, especially the pedals.