Thank you for sharing this. It was a huge surprise find out how many different sounds there are with an upright piano. I’ve not been too happy with the close-up mic locations as I tend to get a nasal boomy, or muddy sound all too easily. A honky-tonk piano sometimes. I currenly use two ribbons 4 ft away behind the player, panning the channels a bit away from the exremes to strengthen the center imaging. A endless journey, it seems.
aaaa, finally i found someone with a great tutorial about piano recording! Is really difficult to found contents like this. Thanks for share this kind of information! I really liked your youtube channel, congratz for your work!
Hi Martin, great informative video for young engineers. I've had a lot of experience recording pianos as the in house sound engineer at Klavins Pianos in Latvia, and I'd happily answer any questions if anyone has any. One flaw in the spaced pair, for my own tastes at least, is the drop off in the centre image in terms of the actual texture of the hammers and the confusion/phasing in the low mids around middle C when using this technique. First... You don't record an acoustic guitar glued on the wall for good reason - for this same reason, if you can, pull the piano off the wall. ORTF facing down across the hammers (you can use XY if mono compatibility is a priority over stereo image) Blumlein on the soundboard rear (I vary between 4038s and an R88A, but you can use anything!) Cardioid offset (Beyer M160 about 2m high looking down at the keyboard from the bass side) Omni room mic (U87 as far away as you can get it, up to 15m or so in a large room is often lovely) Spaced omnis (On the floor, about 15m away also) One great technique that sometimes has a brilliant effect is a mid-side using an omni as the mid and a fig-8 'looking' down the length of the hammers. For felt piano and textural experimentation I've had great results with this lately, but you need a pretty nice sounding room. One great technique explored by Christian Henson is three across the front and an over the shoulder Blumlein - great central image, great space. Would be ideal in a less than exciting room. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vHP5m83peSU.html
Amazing video! I’ve been looking for producing tips and tutorials lately! It’s oddly hard to find, all I find are young kids sampling other people’s music and calling it producing
I once recorded my wedding song playing an electric piano located in a music class using an iPhone and an iPad capturing the sound simultaneously. I’m not a music major, so I’m not regularly allowed into this class. I just had one shot at this and it worked surprisingly well. I captured the piano and my voice as well at the same time. The finish results was perfect after editing.
Nice video, though I am curious what different genres sound like with this microphone setup. I think it might be a nice addition to the video if you also play louder bits, and also use the very low and high register of the piano.
Thanks and absolutely agree. Style of music or genre plays a massive role in your choice of mic technique, and choice. Good idea for a next video, thank you! :-)
Thanks for the response and pleased you enjoy the video! EQ and compression are worth adding on either the recording stage or the mixing stage or perhaps both. Thats up to you as the recording engineer to decide, depending on your room sound and also the production you are looking to make. However, most DAWs have EQ and Compression built in, so simply add them to your track or tracks and set as you wish. If I record with EQ and Compression I usually add a slight low cut around 100hz and with compression a low ratio 2:1 with a fairly low threshold too so the compression is not too dominant to the sound. Afterall you can compress after recording anyway. If you are unsure on how to set up EQ and Compression on your particular DAW, its best to consult the developer for that. Best of luck!
Fantastic video, thank you so much! I’m going to try it that way, although I don’t own two condenser mics but one condenser and one dynamic. Do you reckon that combination might work as well?
Yes thats a great point, in this video I only used a stereo pair on the top, which gives a nice all round sound. However, yes, depending on the recording and piece you are playing I would have a low end mic too below capturing the bass sounds further too. It also, sometimes acts as a pedal mic too, capturing the pedal squeaks even. Remember the more you capture around the piano, the more you have to listen to and mix after. Best of luck!
Thank you! Yes, I usually have a play with the mic placement, get a tone I feel as natural to the actual piano. Then when blending with other tracks I may adjust the tone to suit. Thanks for the comment! Great stuff!
For people who don't have the budget for the AKGs, would you recommend a pair of RODE NT5 ? I'm looking to record my upright piano with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. I looked for good mics that fit my budget. So far I've found that the RODE NT5s do. Help?
Thanks for the comment! So depending on your knowledge around the studio, the way I add reverb or any effect to an audio source once its been recorded is to simply send the audio signal to my effects unit, in your case a reverb unit, then have the return signals head back into my sound desk as effect returns or the same but in my DAW. From there you can add just the desired amount of effect as you want to your recorded piano source without losing the original audio. I hope this helps, it can be complicated if you are not use to a studio environment. Best wishes Marty!
Great video thanks for the infos! can i ask if you created the 2 audio tracks in Pro Tools in stereo or mono? sorry if i didnt catch that or if its a silly question. i record the upright piano myself and i always create 2 mono tracks in Cubase ansd then record. i was just wondering recently if i do the right thing lol anyways thx again cheers
Thanks so much! From memory in this video I was recording the two microphones as mono inputs and simply panned them hard left and right. My DAW is Pro Tools, but remember the DAW will not make things sound any different, it is just my preferred DAW at the moment. I hope that helps and happy recording to you! Lastly, keep in mind there is definitely no 'right thing' in creative recording. If it sounds good to you, then thats all that matters! :-) Marty
You are welcome! Simply put, a Pre Amp or Mic-Pre will amplify your microphone boosting the signal so that you, in some cases, can actually hear the microphone signal in the first place. You can certainly use the mic-pre on your interface, a mixing desk or even the standalone units I use too, like in this video. I personally prefer the Neve and UA Mic Pre's, as they have a warm and very quiet result/sound, especially when recording multiple tracks but also when recording solo instruments. The best route is always, if you can, experiment and see what works for the sound you are looking for. Thankfully, expensive these days does not always mean better when it comes to sound recording. Happy recording to you!
Wonderful playing ! Are you using AB 3:1 ratio paired stereo recording technique ? What's the distance between the mics and the strings ? Between the mics ? Thanks in beforehand ! Sylvain
Thanks for the message. Yes, I am recording a stereo pair of microphones, equally spaced to avoid phase issues and around 4inches to the strings. The distance between the mics usually sits approx a foot into the centre of the piano, but it always depends on the tone you want for this. So my suggestion is experiment and see whats best for you. As equally spaced is always the right track though. Happy recording to you! Martin
I have only used the Zoom H1n, but not on piano. They are very good though on spoken word and also ambient recordings. Set the levels right on either, experiment on placements, use a good piano and I am sure all will sound good.
The recording is on the video a little later on. Have a listen to how your two condensers sound together, if you are happy with the results then thats really your answer. Remember, there are two varieties of condenser microphone: large diaphragm, and small diaphragm. Personally if you use two of the same in this sense you will usually not hear much difference. There are no 'set in stone' rules. Happy recording to you!
Thanks so much Smit! I usually place one mic for a mono recording central of the piano, where the music usually sits, approx 8 inches away from the hammers. If you have a good sounding room, you could also try having the mic work more as a room mic and capture not just the piano but the room too. Either way, best of luck! Martin
@@meyerstreetrecords694 that's a great idea. I made an adjustment on the upright, bringing the hammers a bit closer to the strings. Got a much clearer and mellower sound as opposed to the boomy percussive one I used to get before. Definitely an improvement. Also thanks for your reply, keep up the great work you're doing!
Hello from Spain. I am looking for a pair of microphones. For instruments. Like piano and guitars. For piano, do you think the Rode nt5 is a good option? Thank you.
I havent used the NT5's but I am a fan of Rode Microphones. I would suggest a good pair of dynamic mics for both guitars and piano recording. Check out the Shure SM57. I was really surprised with the results on the acoustic guitars. For piano it works great too. Happy recording to you!
@@giuseppefoto Dynamics on a Piano sound really nice. I recently have been using them on guitars too, they sound great. Experiment and have fun recording. If your budget is more then try both condensers large and small diaphragm. There is no set rule. Happy recordings to you!
Hey thank you so much and I agree, less done to it is usually the best way. Sometimes I keep the pedal noise, but that always depends on the track really. Personally, I love it as it gives the piano a personality. Have fun recording!
Any reccomendations for a omnidirectional microphone? Hoping to have a setup where both my voice and the piano can be well heard for the sake of zoom lessons
Hey great question! Depending on your room, I would personally, for lessons online, have a little mixer, nothing too expensive, just a simple one with two mic inputs, one for your vocal (Any Dynamic like a SM58 close mic'ed to your mouth) and another dynamic like a SM57 as a mono mic for the piano centered. Input the two mics into the mixer and then set a balance to main output to your Zoom audio input. This way, you can play and speak (if needed) and the audio won't be a loudest sound wins scenario. Sending a good mix to your clients online will really up your game and make the audio a lot more enjoyable for a lesson too. If however its just a simple one mic set up you prefer, a Rode NT1a would be fine and placing it above the piano facing you would do the job. Remember though, the loudest source will always win the day, so have a play with placement to see what works best for the listeners end! Best of luck and I hope this helps you! Martin
@@meyerstreetrecords694 look for the middle d, f and g, i think (if i'm right). And only when the sustain pedal is engaged. :) Right from 6:57 on. I'm not even sure thats coming from that tones, but - at least - they trigger it. Maybe some other strings are resonant. Anyway - its not that important... Thank you for the great vid!! :)
Thanks and yes they were set to Cardioid. The room I am in is quite dry sounding so its just the instrument I wanted from these mics. Happy recording to you!
@@altairmontero374 For Live audio, for me I prefer to use Dynamic microphones such as the SM57 or Beyer Dynamic M201. Especially for close mic. The reason, there would be less spill from other instruments or sounds being captured. However, if you have a quiet stage live, so just a vocal and piano, the AKGC414s are great. Either way, if you can try to experiment during your sound check slot and see whats best on the day! :-)
Thats a good insight. Yes it records two sources of the same instrument. The job of the sound mixer is to balance/blend those sounds using the faders and in the piano's case the panning to create a natural sounding instrument to the ear, however manipulated with multiple microphones. Just think, a drum set can have 8 microphones plus to record it. Happy recording to you and once you have set up your microphones, be sure to experiment and see what sounds the best.
I would be grateful if you would answer this. I have a pair of matched AKG 214s which should be as good on cardioid as your 414s. My interface is the Focusrite Scarlett, which costs about $200. I have just begun recording. So far, my recordings don't sound nearly as lush as what I just heard. (Leave aside the quality of the pianos.) Is this because I need a much more expensive interface? Could you recommend one? Thank you.
I would say, give yourself time to get use to recording. Its a skill that takes time to get right, and as you mention you have just started, I would not recommend you simply purchase more equipment in the hope you will have a better sound. My other advice is to ensure you have a suitable room, I prefer dead sounding spaces, so no reflections and also ensure you are recording at the correct levels. This again takes time and alot of practice. I hope your results improve in time.
@@meyerstreetrecords694 You were right! The trick is putting the 214s close to the strings - one on the bass side and the other on the treble side. I thought putting them near my ears would sound like what I hear, but it doesn't work that way. Once again, I love your piano, but mine is now sounding a lot better.
@@Ben777-x Very pleased to hear this! If you also pan your two tracks hard left and hard right too in your DAW it sounds great too. Happy recording to you!
Thanks for the comment Colin! If you are new to this, keep the SM58s as they are great on piano. Condenser mics can add a larger than life sound and also can be alot brighter sounding too. But as time goes on and you get more ear trained, perhaps look into them. For now, I would certainly keep the SM58s and make the best recordings you can with them. Happy recording to you!
@@meyerstreetrecords694 thank you for this. I'm having a real problem getting a good dynamic range from recordings. I've had people in the room to confirm the dynamic range when playing however the recordings dont have the same range. Can you offer any tips please?
@@colinyoungscot Good question and a hard one to simply write about. This takes a lot of experience from both the pianist and also the recordist/mixer. My simple tip is do not compress too hard and allow the softer parts of the performance to be soft in the mix and the louder parts to be louder in the overall mix. If compression is not used, then I would look at how the performance is being played and simply work at that more than worrying about the recording. Then once you hear a real change of dynamics and assuming your mics are positioned well, you will naturally hear what is recorded and this will include the dynamics i.e the louder and softer parts of the performance. It takes time to perfect, so take your time. :-) Happy recording to you!
This is very helpful, thank you but what if I only have 1 mic, it's a USB mic with no audio interface, I can only connect it directly to the laptop, whenever I try to record, there's so much noise that comes with the piano sound, do you think I can at least manage to work this in a way where the sound can come out clearer?
Thanks! Yes, place your one microphone around head height around 8-10 inches away from middle C hammer, set a good level and see what happens. If the noise is really bad, its most likely you need a better microphone along with a audio interface. Best of luck!
@@meyerstreetrecords694 Hey again, have another question if you could answer I'd really appreciate it, let's say I am investing in another mic, Is it necessary to bring the same type of product or I can bring another mic from another brand, Will it sound good in such case? All of that to be abel to place them similarly to how you showed us in your video..
Isn't that shit on top of your piano resonating the hell out your tone, making some kind of a fuzz? I always wanted to put something on it but it always starting vibrating...
Do you hear it? I never sweat about the small stuff if I am honest. But yes, if I was making a solo recording of the piano, I would usually move some of the objects on top just in case :-)
@@meyerstreetrecords694 Agreed. My upright sounds at it's best when a little bit out of tune. I play my grand piano which is tuned regularly when I want perfection.
