Newbie: Record Acoustic Piano & Vocals

[drewrussell2011]

Hi All,

This is my first post on HomeRecording.com. Seems to be a great community. Hope to learn more and contribute in every way that I can.

My question is this:

I have recently purchased a new Bergmann Piano (May 2009), and I would like to know the best way to record. I am looking at going with something fairly inexpensive, as this will just be to get my feet wet.

I would like it to be some kind of a standalone unit (CD-R etc. isn't necessary, just someway to get it off of the device is fine.), that can record both the piano and vocals simultaneously.

I have recently had the privilege of working in a professional studio, and the way we do it there is piano track first, vocals second. At home, I would like the ability to do it both at the same time (even if a little of the vocals gets mixed in the with piano track and vice versa).

Please post back with any recommendations, thoughts, etc.

Thanks!
Drew Russell

 

[DuddyGuy]

any portastudio type device should be able to handle the simultaneous recording bit fine.. as you will only need two tracks (one piano, one vocal), look for something that has at least two xlr inputs and phantom power. You will also want to do some research on what mics your going to want, I dont know your budget and I've never done too much piano work so I can't recommend much. Maybe If you let us know what sort of total budget you plan on working with we can give you some ideas of what all you should get

 

[Simbo]

you might want to search around here for micing acoustic piano

If it's a Grand piano most suggest 2 mic's just for the piano, since there is a big area to mic.

 

[Jeff_D]

Yeah, I don't know much about micing a piano (I wish I could play one), but I think you'll quickly find the short comings of being limited to 2 simultaneous tracks for recording. Any reason you dont want to record straight into the computer?

 

[drewrussell2011]

Personally, I was wanting to spend $300-$500, but that may be going way underbudget.

I'm not against recording to a computer, but a standalone recorder is preferable.

Any thoughts as to mics, equipment, etc?

 

[dastrick]

Stand alone recorder: Fostex MR-8HD $330 It says that you can record 4 tracks simultaneously to the internal hard drive. This will leave you some extra tracks for later down the line when you want to record more than 2 tracks at once.

Mics: For piano I would suggest a LDC like the Behringer C2 $60 or the MXL 990 $70.

For vocal how about a dynamic mic like the GLS-ES58 for $30.

That leaves you with about $50 for 2 mic stands and 2 XLR cables.

Now let me state that I've never used any of those products so I don't know about their build quality or how they sound, but that gets you in right at $500. I do have a couple of GLS-ES57's that I like a lot, but not the 58's.

 

[Jeff_D]

This unit will get you 4 mic-preamped channels into your computer. http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.co...rack-Ultra-USB-2.0-Audio-Interface?sku=241806

I'd actually go with a large diaphragm condenser for your vocals and a pair of small diaphragm condensers for the piano. SOmething like this might get you started on the cheap, but I don't know how they'll sound. A pair of these might be a step up. The AT2020 http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.co...ragm-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone?sku=270620 is a good place to start looking for a LD condernser for your vocals.

You'll need to set up a way to monitor what you are recording. Your home stereo could get you started, but if you are going to stick with this, a set of purpose built studio monitors will make your life much easier (and enjoyable).