piano mic placement

[Matt Tarosky]

i've looked all over the site, but i couldn't find any threads that focused specifically on mic placement. I have a 5' grand piano that i need recorded. i will soon have 2 akg c1000 s and i already have a few dynamic mics.
i know mic placement should be wherever i think sounds better, but i just need somewhere to start.
thanks
matt

 

[sign]

Matt, the C1000's are not the mics to record a grand. Even a pair of Radio Shack PZM's will give you a better sound when taped to the lid.

Are you recording classic or pop? For pop you might start with a pair of decent SD condensers in ORTF just behind the hammers, some 1' above the strings. And see or better hear what happens.

 

[Matt Tarosky]

oh, i thought akg c1000s were small diaphram condensers? what mics would you suggest for this type of recording? this type of recording being pop/alternative. i was also going to use the same condensers for other instruments like guitar, violin, and as overheads.
oh, and thanks for the reply.
matt

 

[sign]

Originally posted by Matthew J.:
oh, i thought akg c1000s were small diaphram condensers? what mics would you suggest for this type of recording? this type of recording being pop/alternative. i was also going to use the same condensers for other instruments like guitar, violin, and as overheads.
oh, and thanks for the reply.
matt

You're welcome Matt.

The C1000 isn't a bad mic, but it isn't great either. You can use it on guitar, acoustic and electric with decent results IMHO. It is a bit colored. I have used it on violin together with other mics and the sound of the C1000 was not good. On upright bass it sucks and I tried it on a grand piano with poor results. They're pretty decent mics for recording woodwinds though.

The C3000's are better but very sibilant. If you really want a great piano and violin sound you will need better mics, at least in the C451 or KM(1)84 class if you think about CD condensers.

I like Neumann M149's on piano but that's another $$$$ story.

I've had some very good results on a grand with PZM's too.

For violin you'll be happy with a ribbon mic.

Maybe some other members can come up with some ideas, or you could try a search for piano recording.

Hope this helps, Han

 

[Kurt Foster]

Surprisingly, a great little mic to use on piano is the AKG Pro 35. I use 3 up by the hammers, sounds great. I had a producer that worked at my studio for over a year and he was always unhappy with the sound of the piano until I put these little dudes up. They are very hot however, so be sure to get some pads for them.. Kurt

 

[Matt Tarosky]

kurt,
you said you put the three condensers by the hammers, did you use a room mic or anything, or just the three SD condensers? im going to check out some of these mic suggestions and ill probably get back to you guys.
thanks a lot.
matt

 

[Kurt Foster]

Matthew,
In this particular instance, the producer didn't want to use a room mic. I personally don't use room mics much as I feel it smears the sound. The only time I would consider it is if I were in a very well designed room. Micing crappy rooms, doesn't make much sense to me. If the room is well designed I might consider micing it and running that to a separate track, or even better, recording the instrument without a room mic and then playing the track back through a speaker in the live room and micing that. Much more control over phase anomalies that way. Kurt

 

[Matt Tarosky]

wow, i thought it was a rule to have a room mic. whenever i read questions about acoustic recording everyone always said to use a room mic. Im pretty relieved that it's not because i think i have my piano in the worse possible place, it's placed into a corner to save room, so when i open the lid, there is a wall right there.
but thanks, and thank you han, thats a lot of info im going to look up.
-matt