A supplemental mic here may be mixed in to capture this. An omni mic a little closer, or a figure-8, gives the added benefit of allowing you to record a piano/vocalist once you get the balance right. As is the case with a pair of spaced omnis, the stereo image really depends on how far the mics are spaced apart. For example, on my piano, the best seat in the house is, well, the seat. I’ve tested it a few times, and next week I hope to have time to take photos. And if leakage from another instrument in the room is to be an issue, then, well, as we say in NYC, fuhgetubattit! Remember that the lid is an integral part of the way a piano projects its sound, so this may or may not work for your needs. To make your life a little easier, it might also be worthwhile to EQ the stuff you don’t need (in my case, everything below 6 kHz) out of the extra mic’s track. He was active into his 90s. With any luck, you will hear a bit of a phantom center image. What to consider when miking a grand piano A concert grand piano is among the largest and most versatile acoustical instruments in the world. Unfortunately, regular mics then just hear the sound of the piano trapped in a closed space, and reflecting off the inside of the lid. The rear of the mic will be pointing outside the piano (or in some instances the entire mic is outside), which makes the slower response and off-axis coloration, so typical of most large diaphragm condensers, less of an issue. With more than one player in the room, leakage is inevitable. Unfortunately there is no magic formula for where to stick piano mics. Once this is done, you can hang the mics directly over the strings at any height. Place a Directional mic aimed at the middle of the rounded part of the piano, about 6…feet away from the piano. I hope this wide selection of suggestions gets you started and helps you avoid some of the cliches and pitfalls that novices can encounter when recording this big, beautiful, complex instrument. The two mics are spaced far enough so that a rich stereo panned effect will be evident, but given their orientation, the phase issues should not be overwhelming. The 2028 is designed for unique live stage performances. Pull out the small pins that are set into the hinges that hold the lid in place, and carefully pull the lid off, taking care not to bend the hinges. With all the sound bouncing around inside the case of a piano, there can be a lot of stuff out of phase. A couple of advantages of using two mics to close mic a grand piano is that you get better coverage of all the strings, and you can record it in stereo as well. When capturing the sound of the grand piano there are a myriad of mic approaches. Piano tuning is an art, not a science. I've done jazz grand with a clip-on mic under the soundboard (yeah, right, crawled under the piano and clipped a mic on it) sounding dry and "jazzy". If you’re lucky enough to have a real piano to record, you’ll probably want to record it live rather than use a piano patch on a synthesizer. Alastair Gibson asks for ideas in how to mic a grand piano. One mic is the whole budget and won't work well with the lid open. Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. With classical music, you typically don’t want so much of the sound of the hammers and the inside of the case. Another valid technique involves using more than two mics. Perhaps the standard, over-the-hammer position works well but there might be a sound hole where the very high frequencies seem to congregate. 145). But drums next to the piano will bleed too much into the piano mics. The problem may start to go away as the lid is closed (due the many reflections inside of a piano). Another benefit of this setup is that you can be flexible in your choice of mics. Best Mic for Piano. The room is a 6m x 6m living room, with decent/balanced accoustics. What they lack in size, they more than make up for in clarity, consistency and durability – three qualities that really matter. A highpass filter on your mic or preamp can deal with some of the kick drum, but the hi-hat could be enough trouble to make you move the drum kit further away and use baffles or gobos, although they begin to defeat the benefit of recording together in the first place. Finally, the sheer size of the Grand with its expanse of strings and the two-position lid calls for placement experimentation—too close and you might not capture the full range and miss out on the room sound, too far and you may get less definition and more room than is desirable. I suggest a fishbowl placed on top of the piano, as resonance from a glass full of dollar bills is requisite for authenticity. Grand Piano. A boundary mic is basically like one half of an omni mic, and because it sits at the far extremity of the piano, it is not subject to reflections from the rear. If you are asking what is the best technique for capturing the ambient sound of a piano, the answer is fairly imprecise. Think of it as the bastard child of stereo miking and tight double-tracking. Although you can mic an upright piano with only a single microphone, most engineers prefer placing two microphones at similar depths on opposite sides of the piano. please i want to know when i mic a grand piano for the sack of the ambient what will be fed back what kind of ambient will i get I'm don't quite understand your question. Moving it gently shouldn’t affect the tuning, and finding the right spot will have a profound effect on the piano’s tone. Below are a few options for miking a grand piano: X-Y or ORTF pair at distance of 4–6′. I've never tried any of the fancy piano-specific mic setups though. It is a 6'4 Schimmel and I am a Classical player so I would like to use it to record myself as well as many of my piano students. Also available as App! Just because it’s big and heavy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t move the Grand to the location where it sounds best in the room. 4061 Omnidirectional Miniature Microphones, Acoustical characteristics of musical instruments, How to mic speaker cabinets (for electric bass & guitar), How to mic the gu zheng (chinese lap harp), An all-day professional headworn solution, You’ve never heard a subminiature like this before. Live with it. SM-57's do an OK job for an inexpensive dynamic option. Be the first to hear about our new products, workshops, events, contests and more. Challenges include reflections within the case, tuning, leakage from other instruments, and the sheer fact that no two pianos sound exactly alike. Traditional figure-8 ribbons can also be used here (you might even substitute a Blumlein pair) when the room sound is an asset; one lobe picks up the piano, the other gets the room. Then look for the most balanced sound, in the sense that all notes from high to low have a similar sound, without any notes or note clusters sticking out more prominently than others. In fact, many of the techniques that follow will result in a very wide image that may not resolve perfectly to mono. Discuss your requirements with all parties involved; a skilled piano tuner can help greatly. Even with the lid down, there is a beautifully balanced stereo image right where my ears are while I am playing; not too hyped, percussive or unnaturally close sounding but still not distant. Factor this into your time budget—if you don’t, you are relying on luck. But this technique often results in a bright, nicely separated and well-balanced piano sound. The size and weight of pianos make them so hard to move. It has a nice sound and I want to preserve it in the recording. 10 kHz and above.) Geoff Boswell replies: In my humble opinion, if you have to mic an upright or grand same rule applies – LISTEN to it! Moving it from one home to another without the utmost care can easily cause unforeseen problems. The old “three-to-one rule” states that the distance between any two mics must be at least three times the distance between the mics and the source to avoid phase problems, but it’s a bit more complex than that, so you will have to play around a bit with positioning. Then make test recordings and evaluate them. One exception is that a dynamic mic or two (think SM58) can really capture a vintage piano-bar type sound. The enormous lid is the one feature that gives a grand piano a further unique look and quality. A little bit can help keep things sounding cohesive. Remember, buying the perfect mic for piano is very important especially when you are recording because a mic does more than just increasing the volume. Many engineers (with deep pockets) favor an AKG C 12 in this application, but there is really a world of choices these days. Go figure. With all the sound bouncing around inside the closed box, it may sound muddy, muffled, and boxy. Try different kinds of mics. Two cardioid mics directly over the hammers, pointing down, one for the bass strings, one for the treble, is probably the most common setup that I observe, but it’s not my personal favorite for most styles. Another popular miking technique involves a pair of PZMs placed either along opposite side rails of the piano, pointing in toward the strings, or taped to the lid pointing down. Closing the lid on a grand piano can help a little, by somewhat limiting the surrounding instruments' bleed-through into the piano mic. Teamwork makes the Aquarius dream work so get your squad involved in the planning. But before you use the meter, use your ears. Sure, it can be inconvenient at times to try to capture the sound of a half-ton instrument with 230 strings. Sometimes referred to by old-timers as a Box Grand, the Square Grand Piano is an earlier form of Piano that is built in a rectangular shaped cabinet, sitting on four legs, with its strings running left to right. ... Two cardioids spaced a foot or two apart are placed at or around the unhinged side opening of a grand piano. Give up. A happy medium is a Mid/Side pair. This position is a good starting point for classical recordings. Please review our Cookie Policy, which can be found here. This can solve some of the problems inherent with the “missionary position.” Removing the lid isn’t hard to do, but you will want an extra set of strong arms to make sure you don’t hurt the piano or yourself. It takes some minor midrange EQ to get rid of the boxiness, but it sounds great. This will help some. By propping open the lid, you can see the metal strings and other mechanical components. I recommend making a series of test recordings with the mics in different spots to better evaluate how the sound changes from place to place. A ribbon mic could work well here, too, typically capturing a good deal of room tone from its rear lobe. Having the lid is open, closed, or taken completely off will affect the tone of the instrument. Better yet, there are no visible microphone stands or mic booms in front of the piano. One of my favorites is the beyerdynamic M 160 because of its unique hypercardioid pickup pattern. But these reflections can also be detrimental. With a bunch of blankets, you can get significant isolation, although you will invariably have to dial in some general tone fixes with a good EQ to make up for the boxy and muffled sound of the fully enclosed piano. Use the positions below as a point of departure. With an apparatus such as Slider’s Piano Barre, you can even close the lid all the way if you have mics that can fit deeper inside. Piano lends itself nicely to stereo recording where two signals are split, traditionally with bass on the left and treble on the right, which is the way the pianist hears it. This is also a good mic choice outside the piano case because this mic position won’t be adversely affected by the off-axis coloration that is often present in many large-diaphragm mics. If it sounds fine, it probably is. © 2020 Music Maker Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. ... Yamaha CFX Concert Grand Piano Virtual Instrument Recorded at Abbey Road Studios with 3 Microphone Perspectives - Mac/PC AAX, VST, AU $79.00. Keep in mind that reflections from the case and the lid will be intense here, so choose a mic with good off-axis response and attenuation. Contrary to what you may have been told, these holes are not “where the sound comes out.” But they do tend to focus certain frequencies. Besides just feeling good, there’s a reason why reflexology massages are so popular. Consider ribbons, too! The sound of a piano is too complex. But have you ever asked yourself why? Sometimes I find this can work as a supplemental mic in setups that use more than two mics. Unless you can take some of the panels off the instrument (of which more later), the only way to gain access to the strings is to open the lid at the top and mic the piano from above. I started recording pianos before recording anything else, probably because I am a pianist. There are often a few sweet spots to be found, despite the crazy bouncing around of sound inside the piano. Hundreds of strings resonate sympathetically and then project in unpredictable directions. Is there a reason you prop open the lid to the piano? A spaced ORTF pair can be pulled away from the piano a couple of feet (or to taste) to excellent effect. No two tunings sound exactly alike but they can all pretty noticeably change the character of an instrument. A benefit of this technique, however, is that it allows the lid to be placed on the “half stick” or, depending on your mic, perhaps even fully closed. Another benefit of this technique is that, with the exception of an XY pair, it is the best way I have found to capture a “true stereo” recording. You can have all of the sound level you want and even more, all you will hear is the pristine sound of the piano. Be careful about player noise such as creaky benches, grunting players, and people with long clicking fingernails. If your piano doesn’t happen to sound good at its edges, you’re out of luck. An XY pair of small-diaphragm condensers about a foot over the player’s head, pointing down but not directly at the keys, reveals a great jazz tone. This can start to break down the stereo image, making the piano’s width seem wider, like a cousin of the channel-delay technique I mentioned earlier. Pan them hard left and right and see how you like it. Unfortunately there is no magic formula for where to stick piano mics. Another option, and one of my favorites, is a sort of modified ORTF array. The system rests on the inside of the piano shell, and adjusts so microphones can be focused where you want them. On a closed piano, I've had much better results with 2 Crown PCC160's inside the lid, one gaff taped on the high side on the curved wall, and one taped on the bottom of the lid on the low side. The instrument, in its concert form, is a formidable 7ft long and sometimes as much as 9ft, with a wider range than any other instrument in the orchestra, spanning from A0 with an earth shaking frequency of 27.5Hz up to C8 with a fundamental frequency of 4186Hz. Small-diaphragm condensers are a safe pick but if you have a good sounding room, try spaced omnis three or four feet off the strings. Walk around the open instrument while someone is playing, cover up one ear and let the open ear guide you as to where a mic should go. Flip the phase again to be sure you still have it the best way. Because of the size of the instrument — especially if […] With lid closed, I used Crown PZM's taped to the inside of the lid-worked great. Recording Magazine and Music Maker Publications. Elite Daily is the ultimate digital destination for millennial women who are discovering the world, and themselves in the process. Description: Grand Piano Microphone Mount is a simple way to add microphones to a grand piano, lid opened or closed, live sound or studio. Keywords: Grand piano, microphone set-up. Hear fidelity and detail like never before. An elegant solution for this last technique is a mounting bar that positions the microphone above the soundboard and works with the lid open or closed. Get some mic clamps and mount them to the piano's internal braces so they cover the high end and the low end. The piano is a complicated contraption consisting of up to 7000 discrete parts. Achieved knowledge: You will achieve knowledge on how to mike this instrument. I would usually reach for a small-diaphragm condenser. While ORTF generally favors a small-diaphragm condenser, I find that sometimes a large-diaphragm pair can help to capture a more broad-shouldered sound. For the grand piano, like the upright, condenser mics with a wide frequency response are a good choice, but the different shape and layout of the instrument requires that it be miked differently. But if it does, and you can adjust the placement to ensure good phase relationships, you might really like this sound. In fact, ask 100 sound engineers how to mike a piano and you’ll get 99 ideas – and many of them will actually work if applied correctly. It is a notoriously difficult instrument to record, so when the editors of Recording asked me to write about miking acoustic pianos, I began by asking myself, “What if I had known then what I know now?”. I am doing a show at the end of June where I will (finally) be using a real grand piano. I have found that mixing microphone types and placements can sometimes catch elusive qualities that stereo and pseudo-stereo miking can’t achieve. For example, you might want to use two different kinds of mics on the hammers. Another benefit of this position is that it will allow you to freely adjust the lid opening to taste: wide for a clearer sound, half stick for a lot more reflection, and there’s even the possibility of blanketing the piano to reduce track bleed from other instruments. This is why tuning a piano can be such an involved process. All you see is the piano while you enjoy its magnificent sound. The air around the instrument and the tone of the room is paramount. Bustle is the premier digital destination for young women. A pair will cost about $200. But if you were to look at it with a scope, it will probably still look a mess. Here, the various registers tend to project in a surprisingly uniform manner. Offering forums, vocabulary trainer and language courses. This is a great spot to place a single mic for a well-balanced mono recording. Either way, supplement this mic with another one in the treble register, somewhere where you are going to catch that high end and punch that the other mic will miss. (Microphones not included) Machined from 6061 aluminum, anodized black, built to last forever. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as one of the leading British composers of the 20th century. For instance, keep one mic panned 50% to the left … (My piano has one that seems to focus all the really high stuff, i.e. Then there’s the wide range of pitches, from the lowest A (beneath the lowest E on a bass) to the highest C (which is also the highest note on the piccolo)—your mics have to be able to capture the full spectrum. It can work well for percussive styles such as rock and gospel because of the proximity to the hammers, but watch out for that “hole in the middle” of the note range which can be a result of close-miking the top and bottom of the range. Once it sounds good in mono and stereo, you are done. Just remember: if it sounds grand, it is. The Mirizio Microphone Mount is one that we've seen. It is a great tool for studio, but for live recordings and performances it is a MUST HAVE!" This does not restrict you to orthodox, phase-coherent stereo techniques designed to create a strong center image. A little repositioning goes a long way, and this may be enough to get things into the ballpark. Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try. A lot of people like to stuff mics in and over the metal holes that cover the sound board. This makes mic choice and placement within a closed piano particularly important. Guidelines for miking the grand piano with DPA Microphones. Piano Microphone Kit with 2 SCX25 Condenser Microphones, 2 D-flex Mounts, 2 20' XLR Cables, and Aluminum Flight Case $1,699.00. You can mix and match the abovementioned techniques to accentuate different aspects of an instrument. Next listen in stereo. It pays to be flexible. You need to keep an eye and ear out for phase problems, whether you multi-mic and pan or record in true stereo using something like an XY technique. This purposely destroys the stereo image, making the spacing from left to right seem very wide. LEO.org: Your online dictionary for English-German translations. Since launching in 2013, Bustle has been creating relatable and impactful dialogue through content from a diverse set of voices. I am trying to figure out the best way to mic the instrument: Open or Closed Lid? The mic closer to the keyboard can be thought of as a treble mic, the other as a bass. One mic over treble strings and one over bass strings at a distance of 1–2′. Don't know much about pop piano recording, but I've read on a strange forum (I think it's called gearslutz) about mics hanging inside the piano. It isn’t necessarily a natural sound, but it can often help phase issues and sometimes makes the track hold its place better in a mix. The 6066 mics sport a completely redesigned, lightweight, one-size-fits-all headset that attaches over the ears for maximum comfort. For whatever reason, however, I have also had good luck with nearly the polar opposite: an AKG C414B-TLII. Two cardioids spaced a foot or two apart are placed at or around the unhinged side opening of a grand piano. But people swear by this method so I include it, assuming there are instruments that really sound good this way. Recording a grand piano is a challenging job! The History and Evolution of the Square Grand Piano. For this technique, try a large-diaphragm condenser to capture a large full sound from the instrument. Sometimes it’s a good place to catch an extra bit of “zing,” sometimes it is just resonant and peaky. I suspect that there are more people that do it that way than pianos that sound good that way, but there is an exception to every rule. I use an Electro-Voice RE20, which works well because of its slower response time, excellent rejection and bass response, and unpronounced proximity effect. A variation of this position involves actually removing the lid of the piano and lifting the mics higher off the strings. Tippett late in life. Just keep your piano with a smaller stereo field during the verses. Hi Everyone, I am looking for a good mic or pair of mic's to use to mic up the grand piano in my house. Generally wherever it sounds best is best place to start with a mic. The look alone can be fascinating to those enjoying. In some ways this is the best of both worlds, capturing the on-axis mono signal along with the side mic which allows you to adjust the stereo width to taste. Fill in your registered email, and we will send you a link to reset your password. Make sure to aim it at the lid.…Speaking of the lid, try it at different heights, as the sound changes at each position.…(music playing)…If there is not enough ambiance, move the mic back and up to keep it at the same angle.… First, sum the mics to mono and note how the sound changes. Acoustic feedback is no longer a problem. Every piano is different. Harnessing the sound of the room Pianos can be tough to record if your room doesn’t sound great. With the lid up, a mic or pair of mics can be placed just outside the lid facing either the strings (for brighter sound) or lid (for mellower, reflected sound) (see Fig. Suggestions for mic positioning are just that—suggestions. “There are so many nerve endings in the feet,” says sex therapist Rhoda Lipscomb, PhD … I would prefer open so as to produce as much sound acoustically as possible (also the look is … If you’re using a piano with multiple microphones, try automating your panning during the choruses to be a little wider than the verses. Another option is an XY pair of small-diaphragm condensers in this same location, although it won’t give you the pronounced stereo image that you may be accustomed to; but you may get a natural, balanced and true stereo image if your piano projects here the way many do. Actually there is. This website uses cookies, and also collects some information using Google Analytics. Standard procedure is to stuff mics inside the piano, shut the lid, and use as many moving blankets as you can afford. For example, on a well designed Grand piano, there is often a wonderful place at the tail, just about where the back leg is, or often just outside the case. In practice, however, what you will most likely be getting is the full balanced sound from the mic near the back of the piano (remember that sweet spot I mentioned) mixed with a slightly more percussive sound from the “treble” mic which is closer to the hammers. Having said all that there is a […] The grand piano is a Kawai RX3 1.80m. Leave the music up to your bestie’s cover band and the décor in … If you lose a lot of bass or you hear some weird kind of filtering in the midrange, try switching the phase on one mic, or try moving it. Watch out for phase problems and keep the relative distance between mics and the piano in mind when adding mics. And, no one wants that. In fact, sometimes to accentuate the left-right effect, I will actually delay one channel of the stereo pair by a few hundred samples in my DAW. Listen, enlist the help of the player or arranger, and get the best result from the instrument and the part. A cheap mic would just ruin the acoustics, and the recording would sound terrible! A pair of microphones spread out in the higher position produces a balanced tone that’s similar to that of the grand piano… Every instrument has registers and dynamics where it sounds the best. "The Mirizio Microphone Mount works great. Jupiter and Saturn will co-pilot through Aquarius for most of 2021 (except for May 13 to July 28) so think of The Great Conjunction as a launch pad for the coming year. But again, if isolation from other instruments in the same room is mission-critical, this would not be my first choice, because the mics are outside (or almost outside) the piano. This makes mic choice and placement within a closed piano particularly important.
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