Solo piano recording

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:00 pm

Greetings,

I am very interested in hearing your opinion about the following recording of my own playing.

http://www.larsboye.dk/crazyrhythm.mp3

- Do the occasional negative correlation values between the two channels present a potential problem?
- Is the reverb too dominant?
- Does the recording need any EQ and/or compression?

Specifications:
"Crazy Rhythm" arranged for solo piano by Cy Walter
Location: My living room (about 20 square meters)
Piano: Hamburg Steinway B
Microphones: Two DPA 4061s in boundary layer mounts taped on the underside of the lid.
Audio Interface: TC-electronic Konnekt 24
I have added a bit of reverb afterwards, but apart from that, no equalization, compression, or other external effects have been used.

Regards,
Lars

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:38 pm

Thats awesome. I wouldnt change anything. I wish I could play piano 1/4 as well as that. Im not sure what you mean about the negative correlation between the channels, I didnt hear any problems.

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:54 pm

ByraFerk wrote:

Thats awesome. I wouldnt change anything. I wish I could play piano 1/4 as well as that. Im not sure what you mean about the negative correlation between the channels, I didnt hear any problems.

Hi ByraFerk,

Thank you very much for your comments.

I am by no means an audio expert, so I may have misunderstood the term "correlation". I was under the impression that negative correlation values indicate phase cancellation and might lead to problems when summing to mono.

Regards,
Lars

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:03 pm

Very nice piano skills there.

Sounds good. If anything I would say that it sounded like it was panned more to the right as I heard little or none coming from the left.

hope this helps.

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:24 pm

I have to agree with tobacco slammers. What may be the issue is you have more bass on the right over all.

I'd like to hear a little bit more mid range because the notes start to loose intensity while moving to the lower ranges. I think increasing the mid range on EQ will not only get rid of your panning issue, but also create a little more presence in the piece

what we are always aiming for with recording is conveying the idea that the listener is sitting right next to the musician.

great piece by the way definately left me in a good mood after hearing it =]

take care
Aaron

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:47 am

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your valuable comments! Wink

I think I will have to work a little bit more on the placement of the microphones. I include a small diagram of a slightly altered solution that might provide better balance and bass response. Do you agree?

Regards,
Lars Boye

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:06 am

Just my opinion, be it ever so humble ... reduce the reverb, swap channels so the bass is on the left (as it would be if you were sitting at the piano - only pianists would get that however).

EQ sounds good to me. It's just a little bit too much reverb slurring the mids a bit.

In fact, repost it "dry." I'll bet it'll sound great!

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:14 am

tifftunes wrote:

Just my opinion, be it ever so humble ... reduce the reverb, swap channels so the bass is on the left (as it would be if you were sitting at the piano - only pianists would get that however).

EQ sounds good to me. It's just a little bit too much reverb slurring the mids a bit.

In fact, repost it "dry." I'll bet it'll sound great!

Hi tifftunes,

Thanks! I will try to swap the channels and adjust the reverb...

Lars

This topic sponsored by: