Microphone for Classical Piano Recordings

[berthaschiller]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking of buying a new microphone to plug into a camcorder and make recordings of classical piano music. Would anyone have any recommendations as to what to buy?

Would be grateful for responses.

Best

[j_menz]

Have a look in the Instruments board, there's heaps of stuff on this there.

[quantum]

You can start with these:

Thread I created when I was on my own microphone search:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,10124.0.html

Piano recording recipe:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,9818.0.html

Piano Recording article:
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan08/articles/pianorecording_0108.htm


There are lots more all over the forum.  Look around.

[noelgould]

Hi There,

I'm a pianist and recording engineer specializing in Classical Music and piano in particular.  There are so many variables to consider, but I'd be happy to discuss them with you to decide on the best mics for your application.  I'm also a dealer for every major brand in all price ranges, so I'm sure we can find something excellent where ever your budget is.

Please feel free to call or email me, and I'll be happy to help!

Cheers!
Noel
310-625-1157
aquarianstudios@hotmail.com

[indianajo]

A guy on diyaudio.com suggested I buy a couple of Audiotech 4050's and tape them to the bottom of the sound board (of a grand) to keep the other instruments in the studio being picked up by it.  I've seen single copies of the AT4033 without the shock mount, (wrong) for $300 in Nashville only 170 miles away.
As I play solo, I own two uprights,  and my music room has good acoustics, I actually bought a Shure KSM27 cardiod mike in Louisville that I use from across the room.  I found the Shure used for $80 on craigslist. First bargain good sounding mike I've seen in 40 years of search of used shopper papers and online. 
You see the Shure used a lot by such television programs as Woodsongs and KET Jubilee. This is used for bands in an auditorium with quiet audience (bluegrass, roots music) where the band itself sets the balance between instruments, and one or two mikes is used for pickup.  
All three mikes are condensor mikes, that require a mixer supplying 48 v "phantom power"  to make them work.  Dynamic mikes that require no power fail my "sounds like a piano" test, IMHO.  The old RCA ribbon dynamic mikes were just okay, but you can't buy those anymore.  I picked up my Peavey mixer for about $60, and made the cables.  

[ronde_des_sylphes]

A word of warning: many camcorders have inbuilt processing of volume levels, which means that pps are liable to be artificially boosted and ffs reduced. I am not sure that simply attaching an external microphone to the camcorder will be guaranteed to circumvent this. I would recommend recording the audio separately and merging it with the video later on (Windows Movie Maker should suffice, though Sony Vegas and other software is liable to be superior). I use a pair of Rode NT5s with an Edirol R-09, but there are plenty other viable options.