Recording a piano

[j_m_s]

Hey guys,

some questions to ask. Im running on a budget here. Have a Presonus Firebox on the way to use as an interface and the recording system is a macbook with 4gb of ram. Its for a friend of mine's piano audition in an overseas school.

What kind of mics should I look at? Bearing in mind that i'll use the same set up to be recording guitar amps/acoustics later on (on my own, for his recordings its just the solo piano).

What kind of mic placements should I look at?

I believe we're recording on an upright piano.

There will be two parts to this project, video recording and audio recording. Video will be done with a HD sony camcorder- SR10E is the model i believe. Does anyone know of any free video converter from that format to mp4 or mov so i can use it with iMovieHD?

Any mics to recommend? Hows the AT2020?

I will then sync the audio with the video and voila, that'll be it i guess.

Lookin' forward to some great answers.

Thanks,
James

 

[Enjaykayb]

Hi James,

A decent cardioid condenser should do the trick. I would have ideally recommended either the Earthworks' Piano Mic System or a pair of Neumann Microphones. But if you are on a tight budget then these options would be out.

Firstly make sure that the piano is in tune. If possible, you want to remove the front face or the rear of the piano in order to reduce unwanted reflections. usually the annoying nasal high-mid frequency range gets boosted in a closed box piano. Also, move the piano away from the wall as much as possible.

You can use two mics, with one mic over the bass strings, and one mic over the treble strings. Alternatively, to reduce the hammer noise, you can mic the back of the piano soundboard, with two mics about 8 inches away over the bass and treble side. Or maybe place one mic over each side about 8 inches away from the strings, at the level of the kickboard. Try and see what sound works for you.

 

[Enjaykayb]

Video converter: do a google for MPEG Streamclip. Its Free!

 

[blueprintstudios]

hi james,

I used a "[Zoom H4 with XLR input Rode NT3 mics as a standalone SD recorder and "phantom power supplier"]"

from the draggy long review that I was working on, and I still am cos of the insane NY2009 and CNY schedule. all the bands wanna release "Something" during this period.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-sound...potential-1st-recording-gear-review-haha.html

the video link is here.
http://www.box.net/shared/h342pvoiso

I used an XY miking inside the piano.

hope this helps.