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Topic: Recording Piano???  (Read 2256 times)

Offline tomingram

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Recording Piano???
on: July 15, 2003, 07:10:26 AM
I have recently been wanting to start recording my piano pieces at home.  I would like to record them on CD's, and have considered either using the CD writer on my computer, or buying a stand alone CD recorder, such as those made by Sony, Pioneer, and manufactureres like those.  I am going to record it in stereo sound using 2 microphones.  I know i am going to need an audio mixer to power the microphones, make some sound adjustments if needed, and then the audio mixer would run the signal to the CD writer using RCA jacks, most likely.  I was wondering if anyone has ever done any home piano recording before using some professional audio equipment like this.  I would like to know what setups others have used, and if you think mine will work or have any suggestions for it.  Thanks!

Tom
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime isn't enough for music."
S. Rachmoninov

Offline rachfan

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Re: Recording Piano???
Reply #1 on: July 15, 2003, 11:17:43 PM
I did a considerable amount of home recording up until about 8 years ago.  Toward the end of my recording days, 28 bit sound cards and CD burners were just becoming available, but too late for my immediate purposes, as I was about to stop studying in order to undertake a doctoral program.  So I was still stuck in the era of tape decks, and then doing tape transfers to CD using professional services, which made my recordings "ADD" actually (plus there was always some tape hiss, since too much Dolby would kill the frequency range).  So I can't speak about the direct recording onto CD (although if I ever started recording again, I'd upgrade and do exactly what you're about to do from my PC to make DDD recordings).

Let me say a few words about mike placement though, as that is crucial no matter what recording medium you're using.  Every piano and recording room is different, so you'll need to experiment extensively as I did.  When you do so, play the same music for your tests, and keep careful notes and diagrams on mike placement so that you can match those to the recordings afterward to make critical judgments.  In my own case, I found the following to be optimal for me, my Baldwin Model L grand, and the room:  

1) I placed two mikes both about 6 inches higher than the piano rim, one about a foot back from the rim near the front end of the strings, and the other again a foot back from the rim in the "curve" and more toward (but not all the way down to) the tail.  I learned that a piano needs some space to turn the percussion of a hammer hitting a string into a true musical tone.  Yes, I did try mike positions inside the piano case, and found that the technique picked up too many mechanical sounds which jazz pianists love, but classical pianists intensely dislike.  Being a classical pianist, that did not serve my aesthetic sense.    

2)  I backed up those two mikes with another one on a boom about 6 feet behind and centered between the other two and elevated about two and a half feet higher than the front-line mikes.  The purpose of this one was not to pick up the formed tones being newly reflected from the soundboard, but rather the sound waves being reflected by the open piano lid out into the room.  It captured the slightly more distant sound within the room ambiance, which went into the mix.  

3)  I always checked the mixer box and the volume signals carefully by playing some notes to be sure everything would be balanced exactly.

4)  A remote control was indispensable.  I'd keep that on a small bookcase next to the piano to control the recording process, end segments, do retakes, etc.  Recording is intense work without having to jump up all the time to tend equipment.  

5)  Once I had my recording, I'd listen to it both with a headset and accoustically to be sure I was satisfied with both perceptions.

6)  I won't go into the science of dubbing machines for tape duplication, as you'll find those "Good Ol' Days" way too funny.  ;D

Hopefully, this doesn't sound like Dark Ages stuff and will be helpful to you in your quest.  I envy you recording directly to CD--I wish that option had been open to me for the seven years or so I was doing recordings.  It would have simplied things, enhanced quality being digital rather than analog, and would have saved me money too.   Good luck to you!
Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities.
 

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