Recording an Upright Piano

[2manyrocks]

I'd be curious to hear what a pair of the MXL144's could do in this application.

[siniarch]

Maybe I should just mic all 8 inputs I have and see what happens. Would be interesting to hear the modded MX144 vs. the unmodded one.

[soundsfromsound]

You should totally do that 8-mic setup!

But, for me, I would be curious to hear what a pair of KSM313's would sound like. Do you only have one? Hands down my first choice for your application. Just thinking about it is making me smile.

Let us know how it goes!

Originally Posted by siniarch

Maybe I should just mic all 8 inputs I have and see what happens. Would be interesting to hear the modded MX144 vs. the unmodded one.

[siniarch]

Unfortunately I only have one of the KSM313, but to tell you the truth I've place that mic next to my other ones and for my gf voice I haven't chosen it over the others I put it against.
I'm holding on to it hoping that it excells at instruments or at the very least it will allow me to mic a cabinet while still retaining the ribbon sound. I know some ribbons you have to be careful with high SPLs but this thing has that roswell ribbon that is supposed to be super tough.

[soundsfromsound]

The 313 is a special beast...it's an acquired taste to many I have used a pair of them to record a harpsichord and it came out AWESOME.

Good luck with your quest!

[AldenW]

Placement is huge on an upright. I've heard of people putting a spaced pair a few inches from the body right above the music stand, I've heard of people opening the stop and pointing them in there, and I've heard of people micing below the keyboard, or even the back of the piano. Experiment

I would turn to a matched pair of mics for this (it's one of those basic things that's good to have around). I'd grab my sm81s, but LDCs could do the trick too. I must say, that is an odd mic closet you've got goin' on.

You could always try a mid-side. The ribbon might help tame the characteristic upright brightness, or it might just make it sound muddy.

[soundsfromsound]

Sometimes odd can be just what the doctor ordered.

SM81's are awesome on pianos, I've even had a few great recordings with NT5's (though there are some pianos I've recorded that do not sound good with those).

[siniarch]

Alden- I have been thinking of a matching pair. Mainly SDC. Was thinking of these:
*Oktavamod MXL 603
*Line Audio CM3
*Advance Audio CM-54
*MXL V67N
What do you think?

Soundsfromsound- Thanks. Yeah it's odd. I had the shotgun mics from a long time ago and also the SM58. Been recording vocals mainly and the ST69, Z5600, and the modded NT1a & R144 ones have been the real purchases so far and I'm really happy with them. They all sound great and different from each other.

Back to the Piano:
I was thinking about pointing the ME64s from top down with the lid open? we'll see what happens.

[AldenW]

Originally Posted by siniarch

Alden- I have been thinking of a matching pair. Mainly SDC. Was thinking of these:
*Oktavamod MXL 603
*Line Audio CM3
*Advance Audio CM-54
*MXL V67N
What do you think?

Back to the Piano:
I was thinking about pointing the ME64s from top down with the lid open? we'll see what happens.

I'm afraid I'm not gonna be terribly useful to you; I've never used any of those mics. I can tell you about the low-end SDCs I have used. I started with the stock MXL 604s, which, not surprisingly, were thin n' brittle. Good for a cracker, bad for a mic. I upgraded to the Studio Projects C4s which have a much smoother upper end and an overall solid frequency response. Their biggest flaws were a bit of fogginess in the upper end and poor build quality (I'm not the only one who had issues). I think sonically they're my favorite option in that Oktava, NT5, etc range. I have never experimented with mods.

As I mentioned, I use the sm81s now, which I'm a huge fan of. I've spent a good deal of time with high end mics in studios I've worked at, and I feel like these guys hold their own. They're like the low-end U87 of SDCs; they may not always be the very best option, but pretty much anything will sound good through 'em. I got my pair used for $250; I know you can easily get a used pair for well under $500, and I if you do I think you may feel your SDC gearlust fade a bit.

For what it's worth, when Leslie Ann Jones of Skywalker Sound was asked if she had to use one low end mic, which one it would be, she said the sm81.