Advice Needed: How to Set up a Recording System for piano?

[frozenlurv]

Hey all,

I was thinking of setting up a simple and budget recording system at home for piano and vocals. I believe the cheapest way to do so is to record using a laptop by connecting a webcam to it and several microphones from my piano.

For the cam, I'm more or less settled on the Logitech Webcam C600.

However I really need some advice on how to set up the microphones and which ones suit my needs. Basically from what I know, I will need two microphones for the piano and one for the vocal. How do I connect the system so that I can use my laptop to record from all three microphones? And which ones are best suited for the purpose?

Also are there any softwares that anyone can recommend for the recording and compiling?

Really appreciate your help!
Thanks in advance!
Jev

 

[soft]

The best would be to use a video camera and a separate audio recorder. This way, you can place the video camera close up and at an angle to capture the best view. Nowadays these video cameras are pretty affordable. Even those still camera with video recording capability would do.

As for the audio recorder, you can consider the Zoom H4n. Use the onboard stereo microphone to record the piano and attach a dynamic microphone to it to record your vocal.

Put the video and audio files into your computer and sync them together.

I am using Sony Vegas. Pretty straight forward and you can get the basic version -> http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiohd

 

[frozenlurv]

wow that device certainly looks good... however its cost is pretty steep for my kind of budget. Looking for a lower end kind for recording. Quite tempted to just splurge on that but shall see how this goes. Thanks!

any other cheaper suggestions? ;D appreciate it thanks!

 

[MusicCameraAction]

You may need a USB audio interface which usually comes with software like cubase LE to record. for eg..TASCAM US-122L. But most of these interfaces come with only 2 mic inputs. You may want to get an 8 channel USB mixer 500+ range. The above mentioned interfaces costs about 200+. Other popular brands for USB audio interfaces are Presonus, M-Audio. Of course you will need mics for eg., Shure SM58(About $125)

You could try Audacity for audio recording. Its free.

 

[frozenlurv]

ok i got the ZoomH4n.. totally blew my budget.. used my sony lightweight camera for recording.. Video quality quite poor though but dosen't really matter because the sound is AWESOME! I haven't really found the sweet spot for my piano but I'm already liking it as it is! Thanks guys for the valuable comments! Once my budget grows (hopefully), I'll be adding another live mic to and mic stand to the system so that I can include vocals in my videos.. For now, it'll just be the piano. I've attached a link to my page at youtube. Please feel free to give your feedbacks so that I can improve in any other ways possible!

Once again Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/user/frozenlurvz

One of my presently favorite videos:

 

[blueprintstudios]

got one word to say : goodshit.


anyway how did you record the audio? did you wire up line into the video cam? cos it does sound like it's clipping quite abit

 

[frozenlurv]

haha well if you look at the left top of my piano lid, you can see the device sticking out. Thats the zoomH4n. havent found a suitable holder for it yet so currently thats how i'm recording it. -.-

I recorded video and audio seperately and then combined them using one of those movie makers that are free online. Currently im using the recommended Sony Vegas Movie Studio. Works pretty fine except I have problems saving the files in AVI format.. but i guess mpg does just fine.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with my little budget-overblowing-gadget considering I recorded this in my house dining room without professional soundproofing. And it was also when my family were at home. ;D

 

[kongwee]

I like bright sound piano. I suggest you open the top lid to record if you want it bright.

 

[soft]

frozenlurv, well done!

Like what kongwee said, you can try to open the lid and the sound will be less muffed.

You should put the wav(H4n) and video(Sony) into Vegas to sync. No need sync with another software. You can add compression in Vegas to bring up the volume too.

The H4n mic is pretty sensitive, need to move it slightly away from the piano to avoid distortion. Also, use manual recording level instead of the Auto Level.

 

[blueprintstudios]

your next to buy list : a mic stand with boom. then mount your H4 on it with the mic clip attachment. and yeah, just leave your lid open and mic in the middle.

 

[frozenlurv]

wow guys thanks for the advice.. however for me to be able to open the lid i need a mic stand first so yup.. thats definitely next on the list. Also on the list is a live vocal mic... anyone around here got a good and reasonably priced one to recommend? or are those at challenger or harvey norman good enough? Also, is there a way to connect two booms to the same stand? or do i have to get two seperate ones for my H4n and the vocal mic?

 

[blueprintstudios]

if a live vocal mic like sm58 is gonna cost u above $100 , you're better off buying Audio Technica AT2020.
and yep you're gonna have to buy a 2nd mic stand as well. it'll be cheaper than buying a specialised boom stand.
and nono for harvey norman/challenger