Mastering Essentials Part 5 - Compression & Limiting, Mastering Essentials Part 4 - Mastering EQ: Balance, Don’t Match, Re: DIY baffles & acoustically transparent material, DIY baffles & acoustically transparent material. Hugh: A common choice for recording in the pop music style on a grand piano is with a pair of mics placed close to the hammers, one covering the bass end and the other on the high end. The resulting sound will be seriously deformed, but it may allow you to play in the middle of the night in an apartment without being evicted :-) UPRIGHT PIANOS. Based on your location, we've changed your settings: By clicking Subscribe, I agree to the processing of my data in order to receive emails. Thirdly, mics under the keyboard can catch each low‑ and mid‑register string at a point closer to its centre, which emphasises the fundamentals of these notes; above the keyboard it's typically only the ends of the strings that clear the hammer mechanism. You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address. Today, we're going detail five of the most useful strategies that you can employ to cover just about any genre or playing style. What is a "hybrid" audio interface anyway? • An upright piano stood against one wall, a row of framed photographs on top of it. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers. This method also plays well with effects: the clean, up-close signal with slightly reduced dynamics will translate better through pedals and plugins alike. If the piano is positioned against a wall, pull it out to help reduce resonance. Any closer than that, and you’ll get an exaggerated bass buildup due to the proximity effect, which can be desirable but often leads to a muddy sound. They need a chance to “breathe” (above left). How accurate is this statement? We've all heard that pianos shouldn't be placed on an outside wall. A range of close-mic positions used for some of the on-line audio examples that accompany this article.To demonstrate some of these issues, I've created some audio examples, which you can download from the SOS web site at /sos/apr09/articles/uprightpianosaudio.htm. While recording the other two techniques, I also set up another spaced omni pair behind the piano to capture the soundboard, and you can see how this sounds by checking out 'UprightPanelsOff20cmPair3' — again, the mics were 20cm from the soundboard and 80cm apart. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. Few people get to record a well-maintained, 9′ Steinway on a regular basis, and most baby grands sound terrible, especially on … Why Are Some A-B Stereo Arrays Angled Outwards? This is particularly true for pianos going in small homes or apartments. One of the reasons to do this is, think …if of like if you had an acoustic guitar and you were playing up against a wall.… It kind of chokes down the sound and, gives you like a first real close …reflection and, and kills what's happening. The second recording (UprightPanelsOff20cmPair2) is of a pair of omnidirectional mics either side of the piano stool, placed 20cm from the strings and 80cm apart. There are a couple of way of miking up a piano to be honest but here's the way I would use for just one mic. • There was an upright piano and a piano bench. 1. The record features on digital pianos allow you to play back, perfect and pick out any problems, nipping bad habits in the bud before they become ingrained. Good for: all-purpose, small spaces, effects. There's another strategy for upright pianos, though, which a lot of musicians don't consider, and that is miking the soundboard from behind the piano — something that was done, for example, on a bunch of Jerry Lee Lewis records. Most of the sound of an upright piano comes from the back – where the soundboard is located: Depending on where you place the piano in your room you can dampen the sound of the instrument. This professional upright piano is the smallest in the K-series made by Kawai. These measures help to preserve your piano's overall condition, tuning stability, and longevity. Because of the composite materials replacing natural wood in the action, climate control is not as much of a consideration when deciding where to place this piano in a small home or apartment. Oct 30, 2015 - This is how an upright piano should be secured in a moving truck. The down side of this approach is that you can get quite a lot of mechanical noise from the pedal action down there, as well as any shuffling of feet and squeaking of the piano stool. Any stereo technique, such as X/Y, Blumlein, or Mid-Side, will work great like this, but one in particular gives an especially true-to-life sound. In addition, grand pianos emit sound from above, while upright pianos emit sound from the back end, which is usually placed against a wall. • So was the upright piano, that is, it would be when I finished paying for it. If you go into most homes with a piano, you’ll find that generally, upright pianos are kept up against a wall. Any of these can be used alone for dramatic effect or added to any of the above techniques to add a little space. Secondly, the soundboard contributes much more to the timbre underneath the keyboard because it is less obscured by the piano's framework and hammer mechanism. Oct 30, 2015 - This is how an upright piano should be secured in a moving truck. Why You Should Never Put A Piano On An Outside Wall Firstly, the high‑register strings simply don't extend past the keyboard assembly, so can't be 'seen' directly by the mics. Guitar speaker magnet influence on close dynamic mic? Listening back to a recording can resolve issues with timing and melody, and if you have a good musical memory but are still learning to read music, you can learn a piece by ear and study the music while listening back to your recording. There's little call for recording upright pianos in a classical context, simply because uprights were designed for domestic use — not for projecting sound into a concert hall. These will also be added as an addendum to the Piano Miking Summit pages. As a result, most of the time you'll want to close‑mike uprights, rather than trying ambient techniques. Does putting an upright piano in the middle of a room mess with the acoustics? Hey! But upright pianos are quite common and totally suitable for recording, provided you know how to mic them to get the sound you want. Small-diaphragm condensers are the mic of choice here, excelling at capturing fast transients. Lately I moved it out of the living room into a lower level family room of our split level home and positioned it with it's back to the short stairway. You have a wide choice of placement options here, and being right above the hammers gives you maximum control over the stereo image. Two omnidirectional microphones at the far end of the room will give a pleasing natural reverb, one down a hallway will produce an eerily distant echo, and a heavily compressed mic at medium distance can make for a huge rock sound. For a good balance between the sustain and articulation of methods two and three, open or remove the front panel under the keyboard to expose the bottom of the harp, and position a mic on either side, angled slightly in. While we're focusing specifically on stereo techniques that use matched pairs of microphones, any of these approaches can be adapted for one microphone as well. Towards the far wall is a display stand, containing the various medals the firm had been awarded, and against the wall an original Welte-Mignon keyless piano. Looking at the back, the bass strings go from the top right to the bottom left, while the middle and higher strings go from the top left to bottom right. I have my upright piano (a Steingraeber) against the wall - made of brick with no problems (other than for my neighbours), and this piano is very powerful for an upright. The recordings are of: a spaced pair of omnis 50 cm apart ('UprightPanelsOnInsidePair1'); a spaced pair of omnis one metre apart ('UprightPanelsOnInsidePair2'); and a coincident crossed pair of cardioids in the centre of the instrument ('UprightPanelsOnInsidePair3'). Another tip is that boundary‑effect bass boost, while not giving the most natural sound for classical recordings, can bail you out if the low end of the piano in question is lacking weight. This gives quite a different, and more mellow, sound for a number of reasons. Placing an Upright Piano Near a Wall. Therefore, they generally go up against a wall whereas grand pianos and baby grands look good from all angles and can even be tucked into a corner. The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Although we call the instrument a “piano”, its real name is “pianoforte”. Upright pianos should be placed against an inner wall, away from direct sunlight, air vents, doors, and windows. • There was an upright piano in the far corner with a row of framed photographs on top. Beware of squeaks and clonks coming from the pedals. Upright pianos can be a good choice for smaller rooms, but they are less flexible in placement since the backs are unfinished. How do I place them, given that the piano is in the corner of a large room (~20 feet by ~20 feet) with a sofa next to it. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. However, they don’t have the visual impact on a room that an acoustic has. In a rock context, some fast-attack, fast-release compression will give the part a rhythmic “smack” to poke through a wall of sound. You’ll get a very full, deep tone, but you won’t hear much hammer action, and the overall high-end will be reduced because of the wood between the strings and the microphones. A range of close-mic positions used for some of the on-line audio examples that accompany this article. The case is solid wood and cradles the soundboard, 220 strings, hammers, and many other moving parts. If you're unable to remove the top or front panels, recording from the rear of the piano with a stereo pair can give a surprisingly well‑balanced sound. This tends to give a bright, clear sound that cuts through well in a busy mix, and you can do the same with an upright. This configuration comes with some unique benefits. As a final set of tests, I re‑recorded all three of the 'UprightPanelsOff' mic pairs at two other distances (50cm and 1m), to demonstrate the changing sound and ambience levels as the mics are moved further from the piano. Question. The stereo image will be less distinct, however, since the bass and treble strings overlap and the note order is mixed up (from left to right: low treble, high treble, low bass, high bass). Coincident stereo miking techniques are pretty rare in this application, because you would usually want to put the mics roughly on the central line of the instrument for such methods, and that's exactly where the player sits. Few people get to record a well-maintained, 9′ Steinway on a regular basis, and most baby grands sound terrible, especially on the low end. Posted by 5 hours ago. If you're using a spaced stereo technique, then extremely close miking is likely to risk creating a 'hole' in the middle of the stereo image, even if you're using good omni mics, so it would also make sense not to space the mics as far apart as you might when close‑miking a grand. Recording piano against the wall(gypsum board) , using just a Neumann U87 mic, facing the wall. You can use a spaced pair off to each side for a very wide sound, an X/Y configuration for phase coherency and a strong center image, or fine-tune the positioning to the part by placing mics at the lowest and highest notes being played. If only one mic is used, position it on the left side looking across the strings for even coverage that highlights the midrange. All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2020. Whether the piano is serving a rhythmic role or playing a lot of fast licks, bringing the sound of the hammers to the fore will give the track a staccato punch — think of it like mic’ing a guitar near the picking hand. I'm looking to record myself playing piano in these lovely ol' days of quarantine. /sos/jan08/articles/pianorecording_0108.htm, /sos/apr09/articles/uprightpianosaudio.htm, Get The Most Out Of Your Upright Piano: Audio Examples, Win! This may sound obvious, but you need to start with a good-sounding piano. $3,000-5,000 Compact Piano Options. An old-timey tack piano sound can be achieved by cutting the low- and high-end, boosting the percussive midrange, and recording to tape or tape-emulating plugins. So if you're working with a piano part of limited register, it's worth zeroing in with your stereo rig on this region of the strings to help keep the sound even in your recording. If you choose a very close placement (perhaps even slightly inside the case itself) the mics will tend to emphasise the registers they're closest to (as well as the mechanical-action noises of the piano). Home Recording By. In a rock context, some fast-attack, fast-release compression will give the part a rhythmic “smack” to poke through a wall of sound. Back on 1/21/00 an inSync reader posed a question about how to mic an upright piano, and we opened the forum to our readers to send in their tips and techniques. A few have responded with helpful information and insight so as promised we are posting the results here. The back of the piano is facing the wall. Upright pianos are designed for reflection. Faster tempos and intricate parts need clarity and note separation to stand out. This professional upright piano is … Acoustic pianos are “real” pianos. The wooden panel on the back of an upright piano acts like the body of an acoustic guitar, so this is the spot you want if you’re looking for resonance and body. Customising the player with a chainsaw is not a practical solution, unless you're on a Slipknot session, so spaced mic arrays are usually chosen instead. Question. Does putting an upright piano in the middle of a room mess with the acoustics? That said, the height at which you place your mics has an influence on how you set up for stereo capture. Gauge the noise level However, when sound waves strike a surface head on (like with the back of the piano against a wall), there is an acoustical effect vastly different from the projection of sound into an open space (when the soundboard faces a room). Use a stereo pair of mics just above and behind the player’s head for the best representation of what they’re hearing. Pianos are the most popular acoustic keyboards hands down (pun intended), with a 300-year track record, an incomparable tone, and a sound-producing mechanism that has been refined to respond to every subtle variation in your touch. Updated June 11, 2017 There are some areas of a home where a piano should never be kept. For the sub-$5,000 price, the acoustic K-15 is a great compact piano for in-home piano playing and practice. As for what type of mics you use and where you place them, the sky’s the limit. This gives a bright sound, rich in harmonics and with a lot of hammer attack, excellent for rhythmic parts that need to cut through a busy arrangement. If the upright is flush against the wall, a lot of the sound will be muffled. An inside wall helps protect the piano from direct sunlight and sudden changes in temperature. See more ideas about piano decor, piano, decor. Stage digital pianos- Designed and designated for use in conjunction with a live band. Digital pianos can look sleek and elegant, take up a lot less space and can be moved very easily. The room is about 17' x 20', but it's carpeted, has tile recessed ceilings, and there's a crap load of other musical toys cluttering the area. Here are some of the things I’ve picked up about recording pianos over the years. These are the main factors in determining what size piano is best for you. Digital stage pianos or Portable Pianos A piano should not be near air vents, fireplaces, areas where high temperatures can affect it. One Synth Challenge V - The Filter Strikes Back! Don't put your piano right up against a partition wall. As a result, most of the time you'll want to close‑mike uprights, rather than trying ambient techniques. This positioning will pick up more of the overtones created when unplayed strings resonate with each note or chord, resulting in a harmonically complex sound. Hope they help. Then, throw some mics up and record. Pianos can be placed near outside walls as long as it is away from open windows and doorways. One other thing to bear in mind is that, while spaced stereo techniques can help blend the sound of a grand in a subjectively pleasant way, I find that the phase‑cancellations between the mics bring out the 'pub piano' element of many uprights, which isn't often the kind of sound you're looking for. This is what gives the piano its distinctive character – having the ability to play very loud, very soft and everything in between. Brandy Kraemer. We're wondering if building a framed absorber panel (insulation doubled) fastened to the wall behind the piano would be a good thing or bad thing? In Italy, where the piano was invented, “piano” means “soft” and “forte” means loud. Upright pianos are usually placed against a wall and take up a lot less space than a grand (although the width will be approximately the same on both). If an upright piano is too close to a wall (above right), it will cup the tone and make it feel closed off. They come in two appropriately named designs: Babying a grand piano. Against a wall with a heavy duty strap going around the center of the piano. I’ve always heard that you should steer clear of placing a piano on an exterior wall, as temperature and moisture swings will cause damage and constant out-of-tune-ness. Most upright pianos can have most of their external body panels temporarily removed without the aid of wrecking gear, and this can help you get a clearer and more balanced sound from the strings. In stock and shipping now. Your purchases help youth music programs get the gear they need to make music. I recently moved an upright piano into my home studio. An old-timey tack piano sound can be achieved by cutting the low- and high-end, boosting the percussive midrange, and recording to tape or tape-emulating plugins. Such rooms may work for practice, but they usually sound dreadful, and turn the already uphill battle of getting a good upright piano sound into an impossible task. Hope they help. Ferruccio Busoni recording for the Welte-Mignon - 16 March 1907, Freiburg. I used to keep our console piano against a living room wall but wheeled it into the center of the room for recording. Please check the fields highlighted in red. Oops, looks like you forgot something. Most upright pianos will allow you to open the top lid on its hinges, but what about the section under the keyboard, above the pedals, or even the section above the keyboard, at the front? Pianos were designed that way us have ready access to a corner will enhance the sounds! Right ” microphones to avoid confusion more ideas about piano decor, piano, but a slight EQ scoop the... Buyers with space constraints recording upright piano against wall high temperatures can affect it paying for it this may sound obvious, you. 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