S. King
March 16th 14, 04:32 PM
On Sat, 15 Mar 2014 16:11:35 -0700, Henry Baxter wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have never recorded anything before until today I tried to record
> myself playing my grand with my Macbook's internal microphone. It was
> horrendous, so I'm looking to improve on things.
>
> I have a MicPort Pro available, the macbook air of course, and the piano
> (my Bechstein is my pride and joy, it's not the problem) is in a medium
> sized open concept room in a 100 year old house with very high ceilings.
> I have no idea what information matters so please forgive anything
> extraneous in what I'm saying :) Also this is all 'classical' piano.
>
> Am I looking for a condenser microphone?
> Where should I try putting it?
> Should I lift the lid, and if so full half or quarter?
> Are there any considerations I should make in the way I play? (eg with
> the internal microphone, compressing the dynamic range of my playing was
> the only way to make it work at all)
>
> Thank you very much for your time,
>
>
> Henry
I agree with most of Paul Stamler's suggestions. Where are you located?
If there are recording studios nearby, I think I might ask around of
musician friends to see if they have recommendations for an experienced
recording engineer. Pay him or her to come to your house, listen to you
play, and make suggestions for what he might do to get a good piano
recording in your room. Make sure your 'consultant' understands your
objectives and your budget. While, digging into an Alton Everest
acoustics book might eventually enable you to get the room where you want
it to be, you could also waste a ton of money on treatment furthering your
education. In particular, it is not so easy to translate room treatment
techniques appropriate for a recording studio or performance space into
something that is appropriate for a home, where decor is also important.
For a do-it-yourself approach.... if you have a micPort Pro available,
which is really a surprisingly good pre-amp AD/DA, I would try to borrow
or rent a condenser mic to go with it, a TLM102 would be a good choice.
Or, if you want to invest a few dollars in a very inexpensive condenser
that is good enough to tell you a lot about the room and where to place
the mic on your piano, try the MXL MCA SP1 Studio Condenser Microphone at
about $75 from B&H. Don't forget a mic stand. It sure isn't the best
microphone for anything, but it is surprisingly good for the money,
relatively flat, not very colored. Experiment with mic placement. Try
Paul's suggestion. But, also try other lid configurations and mic
placements. If you can't find any placment that sounds pretty good, then
you definitely have a room problem. On the other hand, you may find a lid
configuration and mic position that makes you happy and have a lot of fun
in the quest.
Steve King
> Hi,
>
> I have never recorded anything before until today I tried to record
> myself playing my grand with my Macbook's internal microphone. It was
> horrendous, so I'm looking to improve on things.
>
> I have a MicPort Pro available, the macbook air of course, and the piano
> (my Bechstein is my pride and joy, it's not the problem) is in a medium
> sized open concept room in a 100 year old house with very high ceilings.
> I have no idea what information matters so please forgive anything
> extraneous in what I'm saying :) Also this is all 'classical' piano.
>
> Am I looking for a condenser microphone?
> Where should I try putting it?
> Should I lift the lid, and if so full half or quarter?
> Are there any considerations I should make in the way I play? (eg with
> the internal microphone, compressing the dynamic range of my playing was
> the only way to make it work at all)
>
> Thank you very much for your time,
>
>
> Henry
I agree with most of Paul Stamler's suggestions. Where are you located?
If there are recording studios nearby, I think I might ask around of
musician friends to see if they have recommendations for an experienced
recording engineer. Pay him or her to come to your house, listen to you
play, and make suggestions for what he might do to get a good piano
recording in your room. Make sure your 'consultant' understands your
objectives and your budget. While, digging into an Alton Everest
acoustics book might eventually enable you to get the room where you want
it to be, you could also waste a ton of money on treatment furthering your
education. In particular, it is not so easy to translate room treatment
techniques appropriate for a recording studio or performance space into
something that is appropriate for a home, where decor is also important.
For a do-it-yourself approach.... if you have a micPort Pro available,
which is really a surprisingly good pre-amp AD/DA, I would try to borrow
or rent a condenser mic to go with it, a TLM102 would be a good choice.
Or, if you want to invest a few dollars in a very inexpensive condenser
that is good enough to tell you a lot about the room and where to place
the mic on your piano, try the MXL MCA SP1 Studio Condenser Microphone at
about $75 from B&H. Don't forget a mic stand. It sure isn't the best
microphone for anything, but it is surprisingly good for the money,
relatively flat, not very colored. Experiment with mic placement. Try
Paul's suggestion. But, also try other lid configurations and mic
placements. If you can't find any placment that sounds pretty good, then
you definitely have a room problem. On the other hand, you may find a lid
configuration and mic position that makes you happy and have a lot of fun
in the quest.
Steve King