recording piano with one SM58

Y

ykarkason

New member
hi,
i recently had a rock session that required recording piano,
even though that the piano is one of the most important instruments in the song, i had to record it mono (there wasn't another input on the interface),
and i had to record it with one SM58 becuase there was no other mic possible.
i've putten the mic inside the soundboard(via openning the lid),
it was more to the treble strings but i realized it after the recording,
i tried using the spreader preset on "izotope ozone 4" for fake-stereo, but it didn't get well on the recording mix,
so i left it mono(paning it different than the bass),
i used izotope ozone 4 exciter on the low frequencies of the piano so it'll have a nice full bass range.
is this a common thing to do?
should I replace it with an overdub and a different technique?

thanks for you all!
 
ykarkason said:
hi,

i tried using the spreader preset on "izotope ozone 4" for fake-stereo, but it didn't get well on the recording mix,
so i left it mono(paning it different than the bass),
i used izotope ozone 4 exciter on the low frequencies of the piano so it'll have a nice full bass range.
is this a common thing to do?
should I replace it with an overdub and a different technique?
Click to expand...
Do you want the piano to have full bass range, given that you have a bass on the song ? I remember many years ago reading an article in which the writer felt that keyboardists in rock/pop type line ups needed to reassess the way they played, playing higher up the board and not utilizing the bass notes so much if there was a bass guitarist (not so much a upright bassist). I know what they meant. I've played with keyboardists who were so bass hand heavy that I felt that as a bass player I may as well not have been there ! Recently, my friend was doing some piano parts for me and she used the bass notes "too" much. Another friend on a different session was doing likewise and I had to tell him to go easy on the low notes. They were in danger of clashing with the bass.
But that's a bit of a sidetrack. The main thing I wanted to say was, it's not important whether the techniques you used are common or unusual. What matters is - are you happy with the sound ? Does it sound good to you ? Are you content to hear that for the rest of your days ?
 
Ain't nothing wrong with a mono piano. You might find that a bit of eqing and stereo verb opens it up just fine. I think all that "stereo widener, multiband exciter" stuff is just going to make a mess. You've only got mono info to begin with! You could also play with panning a short, low-pass filtered delay & see if that gives a compelling image.

Or just rerecord a stereo overdub.

Live, listen, & learn!
 
grimtraveller said:
Do you want the piano to have full bass range, given that you have a bass on the song ? I remember many years ago reading an article in which the writer felt that keyboardists in rock/pop type line ups needed to reassess the way they played, playing higher up the board and not utilizing the bass notes so much if there was a bass guitarist (not so much a upright bassist). I know what they meant. I've played with keyboardists who were so bass hand heavy that I felt that as a bass player I may as well not have been there ! Recently, my friend was doing some piano parts for me and she used the bass notes "too" much. Another friend on a different session was doing likewise and I had to tell him to go easy on the low notes. They were in danger of clashing with the bass.
But that's a bit of a sidetrack. The main thing I wanted to say was, it's not important whether the techniques you used are common or unusual. What matters is - are you happy with the sound ? Does it sound good to you ? Does it bear repeated listening ? Are you content to hear that for the rest of your days ?
Click to expand...
I really disagree your idea,
the piano is a separate instrument from the bass,
I would never tell a band (while recording) to lay off some of the bass notes on the piano.
they do share wide frequencies range,
but it is almost "nothing" from the range of the piano,
I see the piano as an instrument of his own, with his part of the whole thing that magicly matches together, let the pianist of the band, to do his part, and if the band is good enough to make sure that the bass doesn't clashes with the piano, then it wouldn't.
However, in mixing I will do some low end cut to the piano, so it will be in the right "spot" on the mix.

well, now I do happy with my sound.
I'm pretty sure that if I would be in 20 years from now, then I'm gonna laugh hardly, but that's beacuse that my vocals now will probably sound stupid against my future vocals.
even though, I am satisfied with my piano sound.

still,I do wish to know if this is a noraml or common way to record a one mic (mostly dynamic), upright piano?

p.c. I have recorded the entire song by myself(mostly via multitracking), so I speak as a pianist, basist, guitarist,and even drumer in some way.
 
And good for you !
When I used to record the upright piano, I used to use just one dynamic mic. It worked out fine.
By the way, I was remembering something I read in Miles Davies' autobiography about the problems he had with piano players and how their way of playing often clashed with other instruments. The piano has such a full range that if a pianist is too bass hand heavy (and I stress too) then the bass guitar can be forced up the range which can almost defeat the point of it being there. Hey, but we live and learn. The important thing here is that you're happy with what you've recorded.
 
A piano player with an overactive left hand is the undoing of a song with a bass player that plays something different. Something has to give, or else you end up with a lot of low end clutter. I believe that's what was being said.

I used to play with a keyboard player like that. Even a good band could find it hard to cover that kind of nonsense.
 
because of the physical length of the soundboard on piano, using one mic will yield louder volume in the range where the mic is located and lesser volume everywhere else. Most of the time its mic'd with more than one mic behind the piano. Puttin a mic inside will pick up alot of mechanical noise of the hammers and other moving parts..........tried it.........not good. But I guess with a dynamic 58 it would hide some of the noise. With a condensor inside it would be really clunky sounding. :spank:
 
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