Piano recording

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patonmj

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Hi,

I have a Kawai RX-2 piano in a fairly nice room (slate floor, high ceilings, open plan) which sounds great. I'd like to do a bit of home recording, but am unsure of what I should be looking for

I have a Macbook Pro (2014 model) with 8GB/256GB SSD
Presumably I'll need some sort of microphone/ stand/ audio interface combo? I don't want to spend a fortune as this will be an infrequent hobby rather than a major interest

Any help appreciated!
 
You'll need an audio interface and lots of mics...
It would be difficult cause you said you'll need multiple mics and multiple combos to get a full sound out of it (direct mics, room mics, good room etc)

If you want to record piano and save some money while getting a professional piano sound I highly recommend you
get this: Synthogy | Ivory II Grand Pianos

I know that the feeling of a MIDI piano won't match this of a real piano, but you would get correct results with high quality piano sound,
and you'll save ton of money experimenting with lots of mics (IF your room is good for room piano mics).

So an audio interface + midi keyboard + professional recorded piano libraries might work better:
Synthogy | Ivory II Grand Pianos

Hope this helps
 
Be aware that if you get 50 replies you get 50 different theories on the best way to record a piano.

The on definite is that you'll need an external audio interface with AT LEAST two mic inputs and probably more.

Once you have that you'll need microphones and here the debate will start over the number of mics needed, the best type and the best placements.

My personal favourite is to use a cardioid stereo pair of SDC mics on a bracket I have, with the mics positioned less than 2 feet apart, angled 45 degrees downwards and at the pianist.

Room mic? Great idea if you have a great room...but, for me useless in the average home room.

Let the arguments start.
 
patonmj said:
Hi,

I have a Kawai RX-2 piano in a fairly nice room (slate floor, high ceilings, open plan) which sounds great. I'd like to do a bit of home recording, but am unsure of what I should be looking for

I have a Macbook Pro (2014 model) with 8GB/256GB SSD
Presumably I'll need some sort of microphone/ stand/ audio interface combo? I don't want to spend a fortune as this will be an infrequent hobby rather than a major interest

Any help appreciated!
Click to expand...

OK ... recording piano is what I do most and what I specialise in ...

A pair of omni mics will capture the low end of a grand piano that a directional mic. will miss. I normally position these about 20cm apart and at the point where you get the best balance between the piano and the room - I normally start at 2m distance and adjust from there to suit the piano and the room. I only ever use 2 mics to record a piano and get the balance by best placement (I only ever used more when the client insisted on room mics - but I got the sound with the main pair and the room mics were not needed).

To get a good result on a budget I would get a pair of Line Audio OM1 microphones - these cost only 999SK each (sounds a lot but it's only €107 / $116 / £78).

Get a stereo bar (the K&M one is good and also very cheap), get a standard upright stand (again I would go for K&M), a couple of XLR cables and a USB interface - the Focusrite 2i2 would be a good affordable choice.

The whole kit will cost about £300 in the UK and would enable you to make excellent recordings at a very low cost.

The OM1 punch well above their weight with quality for price as does also the 2i2.

I think this would be the best kit for what you said you wanted to do.

Yes, you can spend a lot more money (all my mics are well over £1k each and I spent a lot more on the recorder), but what I suggested above will give you excellent quality that you won't believe you paid so little for.
 
Wow! The voice of reason.

Folks - listen closely, as this is an endangered species.

Thanks, John.
 
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