Serious Piano Tracking

  • Thread starter Thread starter A1A2
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A1A2

A1A2

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I've been searching around here and SAE for piano miking techniques for awhile, and would like to check if anyone has anything else to add. I will have access to a handful of mics/pres, but selecting the right ones and place them in the right spots are my concerns. By the way, the piano is gonna be the main rhythm instrument on top of guitars, drums and female vocal.

What I've gathered so far:

1) Move the piano (upright) away from the wall
2) Give it 3-6 feet for the sound to develop when miking the soundboard
3) coincidential stereo miking
4) can be miked from rear, top, or below the keys

What I'm wondering:

which mics should I use at what spots? Say if I decide to use 1 pair at the sound board, and would like to add another mic below the keys for flexibility during mixing down, which/what kind of mic should they be?

Here is a list of mics I will have access to when tracking:

U87Ai
TLM-193
AKG Solid Tube
AKG C-414B-TLII
AKG C-418
AKG C-4000B
AKG D-112
Earth Works TC-30K x2
Audio-Technica AT825
Audio-Technica AT835ST
CAD E-300
Shure BETA 87
Shure 55SH
57 (dunno how many)
Superlux PRO-238C
Superlux PRO-268AH
Superlux PRO-248S
Superlux PRA-218B
Superlux PRA-228A

Plus my own 58, C1, and AT4041 (probably won't need them...)

thanks in advance
 
*Note*

There "might" be 2 U87s, so stereo miking with them could be possible. Or just one U87 as a room mic is sufficient??


Al
 
Take the front panel off and mic the U87s (or U87, bass- 193 treble) on each side. It's hard to record acoustic piano without the boominess. The less mics, the better. Stick with two mics. I hope others post to this thread with suggestions. I've had the best results with my upright when I used two mics on the strings, on each side, but it usually sounds muddy mixed in with other tracks. But, I don't have Neuman mics (envious). I have a Rode NT1 and two Carvin small diaphrams, and I record with PC and Cool Edit. In most other respects, I get great recordings, but the upright has been a bear. The clearest it has sounded in a mix has been with the NT1 on the bass strings and a small diaphram on the treble.
 
I once played piano for a demo recording of some mediocre female singer (with a rich daddy who paid for a recording in the biggest, most expensive studio in the country). The piano in that place was a Steinway grand, and the engineer used a couple of 414 as a near coincident pair (or one for bass one for trebble. I don't really remember). It sounded great.
The most fun I ever had making money, gotta tell you that... ;)
 
Aren,

were the mics facing straight down or at a 45 degree angle between the player and the strings?

2muchstuff,

so, you suggest AB stereo (I I)?


Thanks alot!!

Al
 
Is the U87 the only pair u have? some engineers like using them on piano but I find them to be lacking a bit presence.

Before recording anything, define the style. That will direct you towards the mic positioning. For example - If you want a more in the face bright in the face sound for a popish song or do you want the more full ambience more detailed sound of a jazz/Classical sound.
When you define the sound you want then you can approach the mic positioning. In Piano it makes a world of a difference.

From your post I'm still not sure on the sound u want to hear.
Also... you recording the piano at the same time as the rest of the band?

Lets take it from there...
 
2muchstuff, Aren, and Shailat:

thanks a milion for the help, but due to some miscommunication, I've just found out that the studio didn't have a real piano, it was an electric piano with speakers and etc.......instead of rescheduling everything, I decided to record the piano via MIDI, and will start my soundfont quest instead of piano miking....

I'm very sorry for wasting your time, but your information was great regardless.

Al
 
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