Hi everyone
Ive recently written a bunch of piano music - some of it still needs a little work (and practice!) but im fast approaching the stage where Id like to record some of it, with a view to producing/releasing an album
Does anyone have experience of producing high quality recordings of a piano? I have occasional access to a Steinway Grand, tho am concerned that an acoustic piano must be difficult to mic up
Im wondering if instead it might be better to record on a digital piano, or even on a midi keyboard, tho that suggests to me losing some of the subtlety and timbre of a real quality acoustic
any help/thoughts/ideas gratefully received
Rich
Xx
Ive recently written a bunch of piano music - some of it still needs a little work (and practice!) but im fast approaching the stage where Id like to record some of it, with a view to producing/releasing an album
Does anyone have experience of producing high quality recordings of a piano? I have occasional access to a Steinway Grand, tho am concerned that an acoustic piano must be difficult to mic up
Im wondering if instead it might be better to record on a digital piano, or even on a midi keyboard, tho that suggests to me losing some of the subtlety and timbre of a real quality acoustic
any help/thoughts/ideas gratefully received
Rich
Xx
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United Kingdom
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Re: Recording a piano (or going digital/midi?)
Wed, November 30, 2005 - 12:23 PMI have recorded lots of stuff on acoustic piano, in many studios, and on many different types and sizes of piano. In just about every case the acoustic was preferable to a digital especially if the piece is featuring the piano.
My suggestion is that instead of having a specific sound you are shooting for (ie..bright, mellow, clear ...) Listen to how the piano sounds in the particualr room its in, and how it sounds while playing the particular piece. Then you can choose different mics or placements to bring out the quality that the piano is best providing. For example two small condensor mics would likely let you go for a nice crisp stereo, but a high quality ribbon mic might be smoother. Good luck! -
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Re: Recording a piano (or going digital/midi?)
Thu, December 1, 2005 - 5:38 AMmany thanks, Rich, this gives me the confidence to try the acoustic route. The guy i referred to who has a steinway, is sort of a friend of a friend, well in fact the Father of a friend really, but he's always been kind enough to let me play his instruments when I asked to (he has a clavinova as well which has been very helpful once or twice).
He already has experience of recording said piano in the environment in which its housed, so he's bound to have made some progress.
I shall try it out soon!
Rich
Xx
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