Recording pianos

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 06 Jun 2008, 19:47

Any preferences for mics and has anyone tryed the Kawai PR-1 CD piano recorder

Barrie,

Openwood · Post by **Openwood** » 08 Jun 2008, 20:30

I know a couple of clued-up people who use the Kawai recording kit and they tell me it's the absolute dog's. Unfortunately it's out of my price bracket but I use a Zoom H2 Handy recorder for my GCSE and A-Level recording and I find the quality to be extremely good. I've still got the usual pair of mics in the cupboard as a standby but quite honestly the H2 does at least as good a job with a fraction of the hassle. And it only cost me £130. I saw it on offer last week for £117.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 08 Jun 2008, 23:05

Thanks

we have just got 2 AKG Perception 200 mics and a Sony PCM-D50 Portable Linear Digital Recorder at the moment its manly for voice as we have built a sound booth in my workshop but a client has asked about recording him on his piano. one of my clients was thing about buying the Kawai PR-1 but had her doubts

Barrie,

PianoFifty · Post by **PianoFifty** » 10 Jun 2008, 01:33

I use 2 MXL990 condenser mics + Tascam US-122 interface inputting to Cubasis on a Toshiba laptop. Setup works well, and the mics + interface + xlr leads cost around 220 quid.

markymark · Post by **markymark** » 11 Jun 2008, 00:59

Acoustic pianos are the most temperamental instruments to capture without them sounding too trebly, tinny or mellow. Right enough, the Kawai PR-1 looks good - I've never used it - but with careful micing, you should be able to do the same thing, that is given the fact you have a recording 'studio' or room of some sort.

Sennheiser used to do some great mics. It's been a while since I've used their products, but still, they used to specialise in acoustic condenser mics a while back.

Jazzer · Post by **Jazzer** » 22 Jun 2008, 13:07

I use a Zoom H2 Handy recorder for my GCSE and A-Level recording and I find the quality to be extremely good. I've still got the usual pair of mics in the cupboard as a standby but quite honestly the H2 does at least as good a job with a fraction of the hassle

I agree! I use a Zoom H4 and I think the quality is superb. The SD card goes straight into the PC and, with quick use of the free Audacity software for editing out the noise as I walked to the piano, I have a hassle-free recording. Think of all those hours previously....

Len · Post by **Len** » 23 Jun 2008, 15:41

If it is just the piano you are recording then my recommendation would be to get a hand held like the Sony PCM-D50, Olympus LS-10 or the Zoom units mentioned, but then get a good stereo mic like the Rode NT4 to use with it, as the internal mics then not to be as good as dedicated mics. The NT4 is great as you do not have to worry about phase cancellation (if trying to placed two separate mics on a spaced pair).

The following article is excellent:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan08/a ... g_0108.htm

I am a subscribed to Sound on Sound so get the whole thing, but well worth the 99p if you have to buy it. Or wait a month or two for it to become free.

Len · Post by **Len** » 23 Jun 2008, 15:44

Forgot to add that the Kawai PR-1 CD piano recorder sounds like a complete waste of time to me compared to the hand held recorders where you simply transfer the audio into your computer, edit if necessary and burn a CD. Nor have I ever heard of any recording engineer using the Kawai thingy. Not that I have heard the Kawau PR-1 in action, though, so I am happy to stand corrected.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 23 Jun 2008, 20:52

Len wrote:If it is just the piano you are recording then my recommendation would be to get a hand held like the Sony PCM-D50, Olympus LS-10 or the Zoom units mentioned, but then get a good stereo mic like the Rode NT4 to use with it, as the internal mics then not to be as good as dedicated mics. The NT4 is great as you do not have to worry about phase cancellation (if trying to placed two separate mics on a spaced pair).

NT4 has specs Sensitivity: -38 dB re 1v/Pa ± 2 dB equivalent to 12mV/Pa where 1 Pa = 94dBSPL
and the Sony PCM-D50 (-35.0dB /Pa 1 kHz)
but the problem with the Sony if you touch the box they pick it up

Len wrote:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan08/a ... g_0108.htm

This is useful thanks

Barrie,

owerofluck · Post by **owerofluck** » 08 Jul 2008, 21:25

if you have a large room with high ceilings and carpets then you can do well with condensor mics like the nt4/5. if you have a very dynamic player then use a ribbon mic... they put everything in its right place.

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Recording pianos

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