Upright piano?

[Sifunkle]

Hi again everyone,

I'm writing a song at the moment where piano is the featured instrument, and am just looking for tips for my specific situation.

I'm a bit limited in what I can do to the piano I'm recording, as its owners won't want me moving it, or pulling panels off or anything like that (although I'm sure I can lift the top panel to open the chamber). It's settled against the wall, with its right (treble) end being in a corner of the room.

I previously recorded a small part for another song on it, using just one condenser (a JTS JS-1), and was pretty happy with the results. You can hear that recording, along with a better description, here:

Piano recording 1 by Sifunkle on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

For the new song, I did a scratch take with the exact same mic setup. The piano is much more of a focus in this song, especially the intro which is solo piano. Also, I'd like to do it as a single part, rather than splitting it up like for 'Piano recording 1'. Here's the scratch track:

Piano recording 2 by Sifunkle on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

I think the trial recording sounded reasonable, but that (particularly for the intro) the left hand part is a bit too loud and 'hard', and the right hand melody doesn't stand out enough, so I'd like to be able to adjust that in the mix (I'm not a good enough pianist to get it right at tracking).

Just wondering if anyone has tips for how I should go about recording this so that I can adjust the left and right hands to fit? My only mics are the JTS JS-1 condenser and an SM57 I'll be receiving soon.

Should I perhaps set the condenser centered at some distance to record the 'whole' piano, and then have the SM57 close to the right end, in the hopes of capturing more of the right-hand part? Or something else? If you think it really would help, I probably can break it down to 2 parts, but I'd prefer not to.

Any other particular tips?

Also please let me know what you think of the recordings posted above, as I'm still a newb who appreciates feedback. And for bonus points, I'd love to know what you think of the actual music of Piano recording 2!

Thanks in advance,

Si

 

[Bobbsy]

Miking the whole room can work well if the room sounds good but this doesn't apply to the vast majority of domestic situations. This leaves you with close miking.

In this case, as you already found, if you only have a single microphone you have to bias it towards the treble end of piano. However, I much prefer the sound with a pair of mics. Is there no possibility of renting either another SM57 or, preferably, a stereo pair of SDCs? I know in the UK I could have had an SM57 for the equivalent of about $8 per week or a stereo pair for about $20 per week.

In any case, THIS PAGE has a good break down of the options and mic positions open to you.

Bob

 

[Sifunkle]

Ooh, thanks Bob! That's a really useful link

Hmm... I could maybe spring for another SM57, I just had a bit of an unexpected windfall, although my common sense is saying I'll probably need money for food or some such. I'd be likely to record things on the piano in future, so if I'm likely to have use again I'd rather buy than rent.

Even if not ideal, do you think there's any useful setup for the condenser + the SM57? Like maybe record the room with the condenser, and then have the SM57 focus on the high end: then in the mix maybe adjust the level of the SM57 track until the right hand part 'stands out' as much as I'd like?

I suppose I should try it for myself, although I will probably have limited time with the piano, so I like to plan in advance

Thanks again for your help,

Si