First live recording

[jakromm]

Any comments? I see there were alot of views and downloads but no comments. I have another live recording to do, this time a solo. I was thinking about just doing the same thing with MS but bringing in the mics a little closer since I don't have to worry about capturing 2 pianos. Hopefully I can get a camcorder by then and make some videos for youtube....

Edit: and the audience farther back from the mics... the room was small, and between the 2 pianos taking up room and having to place mics farther back the audience was so close to the mics that alot of noise was picked up that I did not want :(

[tenor39]

Did you remember to reverse the phase of the S2/Right channel? It sounds out of phase with the Left, which is the biggest problem I notice. It's tough to record in a situation like the one you had, especially when the pianos are stacked with the lids open. I think 2 stereo pairs, one near each piano, would have worked better, but there is always some issue that makes live recording a compromise. I usually push the envelope with the people in charge to get a good sound. Sometimes they go along and sometimes not.

[jakromm]

Ugh, out of phase again? I had that issue last time I did MS, eventually when I mixed it down for the 3rd time it was ok. I think Adobe Audition is really picky about the order in which you do things...

[pkautzsch]

It's a nice overall sound, though I think a bit too muddy in the denser parts. Softer parts are very good.
On my office (consumer) cans I don't hear any phase issues. I can clearly locate the piano in the middle, and lots of room and some audience noises around it. Sounds like the second piano is behind the first.
And that's precisely what I'd do a bit differently in this case. As we have two pianos, even I would go off listeners' perspective (although that's what I normally prefer with pianos - no good in having the high notes on the left and the low notes on the right or vice versa), and mic them from the tail ends. Not too wide spaced though, cos I wouldn't want them to be fully spread between the speakers. If I had the opportunity to record two grands next to each other (with the keyboards at the same side), I'd probably try a threesome with 2x 3ft spacing as a starting point.