Recording Upright-Piano

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jammal

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I'm quite new to recording, so am wondering if anyone could offer advice on recording an upright piano?

I'm using a couple of Se4 mics going into an LE Saffire... The results i get are ok, but not fantastic - the sounds are lacking punch, and feel a little dead.

I'd like the sound to be full and alive, rather than ambient, and i'm too bothered about the sound being very clean (i'm quite happy for it to be a bit rough round the edges so long as it's full). I've been micing the strings closely after taking the front board off - thoughts? Does anyone have any tips on where my gain controls should be? and any EQ tips?

Many thanks in advance!
 
Back off those mics, you could be trying to mic the piano too close.

Just use your ears to find a great sounding spot to put your microphone and I'm pretty sure that place won't be close to strings.
 
It is very much personal choice, but I actually like micing uprights from the back, you get a slightly darker woody sound but to me it sounds more natural. You need to have the mics back a bit not right up against the back, and I always used 2 mics spread across the back.

Alan.
 
I've tried a lot of mic positions on my upright, and there's no one position or specific number of mics, or types of mics that will alwyas work for any style of playing/recording.

If you want to get close to a grand piano sound, with that more fuller, yet airy kind of tone....take off the bottom cover (if possible), and then set up two spaced mics in a stereo pair configuration about foot or so away from the soundboard/strings.

Then add a single mic up over the top roughly centered L/R, or in the position that best captures the main octaves you will be playing. Have the entire piano wide open up top, so the hammers are exposed and the lid is also open, and put the mic about a foot or so above the top of the piano, and about mid-way between the back of the piano and your head.

I set the stereo pair mics in figure-8, front side toward the piano, back side away...and the top mic was set to cardioid.

I recently did a piano track like this and was quite happy with the results. You blend in the top mic to taste.

For other types of piano tracks, I've used stereo mics up over the top, again piano open....then sometimes I've used just a single mic in figure-8 up/down, and positioned it where it was balanced best for the range of the keyboard I would be playing. Sometimes I've also used ribbon mics other times condensers.

It's a lot of trial and playback to find what works best for your piano, your room, and your song. :)
 
Hiya
I have had reasonable success with recording an upright, but the mic setup depends on the sound you're after.

One great way of micing (depends on how quiet your player is) is to set up a pair of mics just above and either side of the player. This captures what the player hears which is a combination of sound from the strings directly behind the front fascia board and the resonance from the space under the keyboard.
You'll get all the pedal squeaks and release thumps that the piano gives off, but that's par for the course.

Dags
 
Thanks so much everyone - that all sounds really valuable! i'll try all that out and see what works best. As you've said - there's a lot of trial and error involved, but those starting blocks will help. cheers!
 
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