Which gear to record my piano performances?
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Posted on Dec 20, 2005 08:45 am
hippiness
Member Since: Dec 20, 2005
I have a Teac V-615 tape deck, which I have tested by recording some television audio, using Dolby B and C. I am happy enough with the results, and now need a microphone to take my piano audio and supply it to the deck at line level.
I suppose that my options are: a dynamic microphone and pre-amp; or a condenser microphone. The outstanding difference, from what I have read, is the condenser's requirement for phantom power, about which I know little.
So which would be the preferred configuration? And which products would best do the job?
And an afterthought: I would quite like the ability to record more than piano with this gear. I expect that most microphones would suffice for most things, but it's worth a mention.
Some advice on recording from an upright piano, including stereo recording, would also be appreciated.
Thanks for reading. Best regards.
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Dec 20, 2005 09:08 am Hi hippiness, welcome to HRC.
Whther dynamic or condensor, you will need a preamp, and, while condensors do need phantom power, most decent preamps have phantom power built into them so they can supply the mic with the power needed.
I would suggest a condensor myself...it would be a lot better, fuller of a sound and pick something like a piano up a lot better. Might even want to consider a couple mics.
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Dec 20, 2005 10:03 am if you use one mic make sure it's a couple feet away otherwise the low and high notes will be quieter... I don't like to close mic pianos anyway.
Dec 20, 2005 01:50 pm From www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html
[quote]
Here we have a typical upright piano with the typical three positions. To access some of these positions you may have to pull the piano apart. The front panel above the keys can easily be removed as can the panel below the keys. The easiest and simplest is to simply drop two mikes on boom arms through the top and set them up as a stereo pair as in the grand piano over the hammers and about 15cm(6") apart and pointing left right. This placement is easier if you can remove the front panel.
Position A
This is the standard position as described above and can be supplemented with either a rear soundboard mike (out of phase) or a lower mike in a sound hole under the keys. In this case the lower front panel must be removed. Try and avoid getting the lower mike too close to the pedals as their sound will become annoying.
Position B
Position B is the one used on the old TV shows where they didn't want you to see the mike but it also has a lot of body and warm in the sound so when incorporated with position A it can be helpful.
Position C
Position C is a variation of position B except that it can also incorporate the harder bridge sound.
Personally I would go for position A every time and would only use the other positions to supplement the sound or because I can't get into the piano and can't take off the front panel.[/quote]
Or from the shure site:
www.shure.com/pdf/booklet...usic_studio.pdf
Dec 20, 2005 05:21 pm Okay, that's great. I'll go with a condenser. Thanks for the replies. Any preferences as to preamp/mic makes and models?
