Piano recording studio!

[yooniefied]

Hello all!

I am creating a basic home studio -

I own a baby-grand piano; however, it is about 30~ feet away, and down a set of stairs, from the office where the computer would be located. (I am already in the process of building a computer which will be capable of recording and editing the recorded files...) There is no way I can place the computer in the same room as the piano, because of my very particular Great Aunt. 

Is there some kind of wireless mic that might still provide a good quality recording from so far away? Do I really have to send some 90 ft wire down walls, stairs, etc. ? Is this situation hopeless?

Any ideas?

[quantum]

You probably will also need a separate power supply if you wish to use condenser mics.  Yes there are wireless devices that can hook up to XLR inputs.  I'd say go with a seperate wireless device so you are not limited by the mics available to you. 

The other solution is to get a laptop.  It probably would be best in this situation.

If you are planning to do any sort of splicing or multiple take recordings, it probably would be very annoying to be running up and down stairs to hear what you just played then go back to the piano to record another take. 

[steve jones]

Your priorities when setting up a studio are like this:

1. Instrument
2. Acoustic space
3. Microphones
4. Recording change
5. Recording medium


It sounds as though you have a good instrument and are happy with the sound, so this rules out no1.

No5 is going to be your computer, and this is absolutely fine.

No3 is pretty much out of your control, other than maybe adding some basic acoustic treatment (especially on bear walls).

So really the choices come down to the choice of mics and preamps (provided you already have a reasonable soundcard). My advice would be to get the very best you can for the money, and dont pay for gimmicks. Wireless is handy, but its not going to get you a better sound. You want large diaphram condensors for your main mics, and maybe some small diaphram omnis are room mics (if the room is big enough ofcourse, and sounds nice enough for you to want to record it).

My advice on preamps is to get a Mackie 1402 desk. They are very cheap, yet have six really nice budget preamps. Seriously, they sounds great! You'd never guess they came from a £150 (secondhand price) desk.

Micwise, the AKG 414's are a popular choice. If you can a matched pair for good money, then you're looking good. the Neumann 184's are industry standard small diaphrams and would also be useful. If money is tight, try the Rode NT1's, they are great and very cheap (£250 for a new matched pair).

Wireless sounds great in theory, but I wouldnt bother if I were you. You could still save money if you bought a few extra long high quality XLR leads.

Hope this helps,

Steve Jones