How to record an upright piano.
Instrument: Yamaha upright
Here is the space, a large classroom:20' x 40' long, 12' high.
Tile Floors, Brick Walls, Drop Ceiling, Sound Panels up high
Microphone Options:
- 2 RODE NT5 - sdc
- 1 RODE NTA1 - ldc
- 2 SM57 - dyn
- 1 SM58 - dyn
- 1 Beta52 - dyn
Style: Indie/Classic Rock kind of sounds. The piano would be the main rhythm instrument.
Questions:
Where do I set up the piano?
What mics should I use?
Where should I place the mics?
Thoughts:
My first guess would be to use the sdc's in a stereo pair somewhere close. And perhaps the ldc somewhere in the room where it sounds cool. Maybe just put the piano in the center of the room. Being in a school, I have access to giant gym mats, which work very well as sound baffles. Possibly I can put them in a position to where they block the flat wall reflections.
Thanks for any help!
Comments
Well we do frequently place drum sets upon tiled floors, wood fl
An awfully practical engineer here
Mx. Remy Ann David
Then, obviously, you have answered your own question in the most
Mass is your friend
Mx. Remy Ann David
I did many upright piano records with a pair of Neumann KM184 (y
I did many upright piano records with a pair of Neumann KM184 (your Rodes should be ok) placed left/right on the open upper cover. Not wide L/R, let's say 3/4. Not all inside, simply at the cover level. A bit of low cut to delete the pedal noise.
Soundcheck Studio http://www.soundche…
I just recorded a baby grand on location. Admittedly a baby gran
I just recorded a baby grand on location. Admittedly a baby grand is not an upright, but at least it's in the ballpark. I had a pair of NT5's in an X-Y close up to the hammers, and a pair of SM57's higher up, away from the NT5's in a more 'orthdox' L/R configuration. I was careful to keep the SM57's equidistant from the hammers to avoid phasing issues. The result was - well here, have a listen. (Ignore the word 'download' - you can just play the track when you click the link)
Download Just A Gigolo Corrected.mp3 - Kiwi6.com Mp3 Upload http://kiwi6.com/fi…
It's Jazz Improv so it's not everyone's cup of tea but at least you can hear the results. Things to watch out for that I wasn't prepared for in terms of sounds that you don't want to record: squeaky piano stool, unwanted resonance in any of the piano's woodwork e.g. the music stand, sound of pianist's fingernails on keys, sound of pianist (e.g. breathing etc), sound of hammers brushing against each other, sound of pedal mechanism.
I thought it was a very nice recording. It does lack the beautif
I can also tell it's not a Steinway. Sounds like a Kawai? Not a Yamaha either. Could be a Baldwin? I love Alex.
Mx. Remy Ann David
Yeah, a small pair of SDC's like the NT 5's is really the way to
The best way to handle an upright is to open the hinged top and place the stereo pair in an XY position facing downward.
You don't need to bother with the gym mats, it's unnecessary. Those gym mats will not have any real effect on the acoustics of the room that you are in. It's a waste of time and effort. When I've had to make live recordings in environments like this, there really isn't any options except where and how you place whatever microphones you choose. Even those SM57's can do a more than adequate job and in some cases may actually be more desirable because of their lesser sensitivity in Frequency response and outside noise influences. I can tell you this much, it will not sound like a grand piano sounds. It can't because they don't. Sometimes, people will remove the entire front including the music stand liar with a pair of spaced cardioids closer to the strings/harp and in front of the sound board. They never really sound good when you place your microphones strictly on the soundboard from behind the upright piano. Sometimes, one I place the microphones over the top opening, I'll place one extremely far left and extremely far right which is around 4 feet apart. There will be more phase issues with that but you will get a wider stereo feel than with just XY stereo microphone technique. But if you want a reduction in any phase cancellation from spaced cardioids, XY is the way to go.
Numerous piano albums recorded
Mx. Remy Ann David