HOW TO MIX PIANO HOW TO
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The first set of examples are of an upright piano using three different stereo pairs of Rode NT55s, all poking aВ little way down into the casing of the piano (as you can see in the photo).

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One other thing to bear in mind is that, while spaced stereo techniques can help blend the sound of aВ grand in aВ subjectively pleasant way, IВ find that the phaseвЂ‘cancellations between the mics bring out the 'pub piano' element of many uprights, which isn't often the kind of sound you'reВ looking for.ДЄ 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. If you're using aВ spaced stereo technique, then extremely close miking is likely to risk creating aВ '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 closeвЂ‘miking aВ grand. This applies to very close placements in aВ grand piano as well, of course - but you rarely need to get that close with aВ grand unless you've got the lid down. So if you're working with aВ pianoВ part of limited register, it's worth zeroing in with your stereo rig on this region of the strings to help keep the soundВ even in your recording. If you choose aВ 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). That said, the height at which you place your mics has an influence on how you set up for stereo capture. The low strings are on the player's left and the high strings on the right, and you can use much the same kinds of mic techniques you'd use over the hammers of aВ grand to captureВ them. Unless you can take some of the panels off the instrument (of which more later), the only way to gain access to the strings is to open the lid at the top and mic the piano from above.

Another tip is that boundaryвЂ‘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. Such rooms may work for practice, but they usually sound dreadful, and turn the already uphill battle of getting aВ good upright piano sound into an impossible task. Having said that, the room in which the piano sits will obviously still have an impact on the recording - so you should try, at the very least, not to record in the tiny little practice cupboards within which upright pianos often lurk. As aВ result, most of the time you'll want to closeвЂ‘mike uprights, rather than trying ambient techniques. There's little call for recording upright pianos in aВ classical context, simply because uprights were designed for domestic use - not for projecting sound into aВ concert hall. Both types of piano share some characteristics, which means that many of the principles from the earlier article still hold true - so rather than reiterating all that information here, I'll work on the assumption that you've already absorbed that material (if not, I'd recommend you look it up) and concentrate on those differences between the instruments that warrant some extraВ attention.

HOW TO MIX PIANO HOW TO

We've discussed how to record grand pianos in some depth in past issues, but miking an upright piano can present aВ very different challenge.ДЄ range of different approaches to miking aВ grand piano was covered in my SOS January 2008 article ( /sos/jan08/articles/pianorecording_0108.htm), but in practice many home recordists, whether by preference or out of necessity, find themselves faced with the task of recording an upright piano instead.

How to mix piano