5 ways to record an upright piano: DETAILED TUTORIAL with audio samples!

Рет қаралды 81,227

7 жыл бұрын

This is a detailed tutorial on how I record my upright piano at home. In the tutorial you'll learn how you can get great piano sound with just a couple mics and an audio interface.
The video is split in 3 parts. A quick discussion on how you can prepare to record your piano. I then show you the gear I use to record and finally you'll hear some recordings I made using 5 different mic placements. All of this is explained in detail and at the end I let you compare the 5 techniques to each other so you can really hear the difference.
Don't hesitate to ask questions in the comments.
Like, subscribe and hope to see you around!

Пікірлер: 184

@guilhermenunes2211 4 жыл бұрын

Audio Samples for direct comparison: Technique 1: 10:34 Technique 2: 12:27 Technique 3: 14:54 Technique 4: 17:51 Technique 5: 20:37

@Octavio12341000 4 жыл бұрын

Hero

@lluismartinez7878 3 жыл бұрын

love

@evelynn_teoh 3 жыл бұрын

thank you! 😍😍

@marcel_max 2 жыл бұрын

Three things: 1- thanks for the video. 2- you uploaded this on my birthday. 3- never apologize for speaking another language than your mother tongue because you speak more than one!

@wado1942 6 жыл бұрын

Note; actual video starts at 8:15

@omaroacosta1290 6 жыл бұрын

wado1942 thanks man! He talks to much! I hate when you tubers do that, instead of just go in toooo what the video is about

@AakashRajanPianoCovers 5 жыл бұрын

thanks a lot

@hifijohn 5 жыл бұрын

Yes they have to learn to get to the point.

@DougerArt 5 жыл бұрын

+Hifijohn All he’s saying at the start is relevant to the video though.

@orangeswalnuts7861 5 жыл бұрын

im the 600th like on this video and the 60th like on this comment lmao, amazing coincidence

@JekabsReders 2 жыл бұрын

I absolutely loved this video! Both the aesthetics and the information. Thank you! You are amazing!

@konstapelwalander 5 жыл бұрын

Sounds really lovely and great techniques. Thank you!

@stephenhalltx 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the details - graphics, distances, comparison. Very useful

@malice21nall 3 жыл бұрын

Exactly what i was searching for. And so detailed. Dude you deserve many more subscribers.

@aquandria 4 жыл бұрын

great job man, very clear presentation.

@DimbleWally 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely amazing video, I learned a lot today! Definitely love technique 2 and 3 considering I'm limited to two mics at the moment.

@edstud1 4 жыл бұрын

Very good video! You do a better job recording than 90% of the recordings I hear! Love technique 5 best!

@iainjacksonpiano1 2 жыл бұрын

Super super useful, thankyou so much for making this video!

@Wasthere73 7 жыл бұрын

Since piano has been my first instrument, I have been crazy about how it sounds in mixes, much like a guitar player with tone. I was never satisfied with online demonstrations of various mic placements until now. Technique 5 is the way to go

@channel-ol1yn 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Great video. I used one of your techniques to mic a piano and the result is very impressive.

@saskia316 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Very well done and put together. Lot's to work with and think about here.

@LorenzoTiezzi 2 жыл бұрын

very comprehensible and professional - thank you so much

@MlleEclipsada 5 жыл бұрын

FANTASTIC VIDEOOOO i learned so much thank you

@markchavez738 6 жыл бұрын

Wow great video, I can tell you put a lot of work into it. Both Informational and beautiful.

@AlessandroMantoan 3 жыл бұрын

You did a very good job indeed! You've opened my mind on piano recording techniques: I did not know that recording the piano with both panels opened you would get such a full and rich sound! Anyway, I prefer #3 and #4 recording choices. Very pretty music selection, with pretty interpretation! I guess I could listen some of your interpretations somewhere in the internet? I will look for them. Thank you very much!

@xinzong7940 3 жыл бұрын

This is very helpful! Thanks for sharing!

@schroedinger05 7 жыл бұрын

Such a great video! Thank you for that!

@SethCarpenterMusic 2 жыл бұрын

So incredibly helpful! I think the fourth mic setup sounds best.

@tomszymusic 5 жыл бұрын

14:54 David Gray- This Year's Love Thank you for that, and the video.

@EpreTrollII 7 жыл бұрын

Very helpful, sadly I don't have 2 mics. Technique 2 sounds the best in my opinion. 4 Sounds very good too but is more faint. I use a TASCAM DR-40 directional stereo mic myself. Usually I try to position it right above the piano.

@robertsemmler8272 2 жыл бұрын

great work and excellent music choice. thx

@AlexanderLioubimenko 7 жыл бұрын

Very useful video, thank you. Now I just need to figure out which matched pair of mics I'm gonna get for myself. I think my favourite is using large diaphragm mics.

@budharpey 5 жыл бұрын

exactly what i searched, thank you sir

@SweetPeasAnnie 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I learned so much. I need to get two matching mics, now. 😬

@mazockaa 7 жыл бұрын

Nice video, thanks for the info!

@edgarpantojamusic 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for these great tips

@Johannes_Brahms65 4 жыл бұрын

Me: Do you "tune" your piano yourself? You: Yeah!

@fotografjindra6442 3 жыл бұрын

Nobody's perfect ;) However because of that I have heard there some unique tones (even some unisono tuned) that do not exist in tempered tuning :D .... He is original, but the mikes set-up is good help.... seriously, thanks for tips :)

@FernandoGastelo 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! This was so instructional

@BobiJadue 4 жыл бұрын

This video is incredible.

@basura 7 жыл бұрын

I love technique 2!

@cesarcarcopino5162 3 жыл бұрын

Very useful! Depending of the recording project, the "open sound" of techniques 4 & 5 can sound too roomy but, for a classical music approach, it's nice. I tried many techniques recently as my piano has just been tuned, but I try to keep the pannels on, I think the hammers sound a bit weird when it's open. But it's true that it's hard to have a clear sound this way. I like technique 4 but i would have lower the room mics in the mix. I'm going to try technique 3 but with the top pannel on. Thank you, you did a great job!

@Boba917 7 жыл бұрын

Excellent stuff, thanks for sharing! Funny, I have exactly same spotted shirt as you wear in this video :)

@jeremylynch5182 7 жыл бұрын

Radiohead! Thank you for that, especially! Really enjoyed your video.

@nosasavvas 4 жыл бұрын

Hey, thanks for this great video tutorial. I would like to ask what kind of equipment you use to video record just on top of the piano keyboard. Some weird mic stand that can bend maybe? Thanks a lot!

@saint2611 4 жыл бұрын

It’s very fantastic video. It helps me get to know acknelodge for home recording! Also Could I know the microphone which you use?

@philipph1744 5 жыл бұрын

Such a good video. Thanks a lot. Left a sub ;)

@brendanportuesmusic9532 3 жыл бұрын

Hi there, cheers for the great info. Some great sounds! I'm trying all these positions with good results! would a 10ft by 13ft room be big enough and worth getting Omni capsules do you think?

@TheBawss90 5 жыл бұрын

Merci beaucoup pour la video c’est super pratique!

@geckovision Жыл бұрын

Technique 4 was my fave. Mics on the bottom cabinet and rooms pointed at hammers.

@andrewmoffitt7850 4 жыл бұрын

Nice run through of different ways to mic an upright. I am curious, which method do you like best? I think 3 sounds best to me? Which do you normally use when recording? Thank you. Andrew Moffitt

@patrickbcox 6 жыл бұрын

Great video! Thanks for sharing. I have a question - have you tried to record the left channel with the larger mic and the right channel with the smaller mic? I would like to start with 2 mics and I am thinking about method 3 however with a larger mic and a small mic. Thanks!

@alonshimonshaikaspi5956 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks for such detailed exploration of all the techniques described. Fantastic stuff !!! Any tips on how to deal with a noisy pedal (sustain)..?

@chris.dillon 6 жыл бұрын

If it squeaks (like mine) then just use some WD-40 on it or other greaser. If it hits percussively, see if you can put some felt around whatever wingnuts or other mechanism.

@TheVirusBug 7 жыл бұрын

Très bonne vidéo, et vraiment agréable d'avoir des samples pour comparer ;) Well done 👌

@slpianoproject 7 жыл бұрын

Merci :D

@brendanportues9073 3 жыл бұрын

very helpful thanks my mate

@boringtaskai 9 ай бұрын

Almost a month I was looking for mic-ing techniques for upright piano in KZfaq, thank God, I found your techniques, and this is the best!!!! by the way did you mixing (add audio effect) the recording? can you also share your mixing?

@robertdepiano 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great tutorial. I have a question for technique 3. Can the top panel be closed or it is better to leave it open and will the AKG P220 microphones for home studio be enough or better on the AKG P420 ? Greetings.

@dani_sus4812 3 жыл бұрын

Nice video, thanks!

@Mikas_Emil 5 жыл бұрын

Such a great effort. THANK you!

@carmenhaines3091 4 жыл бұрын

Great video. For technique 4 do you keep the capsules on your small diaphragm condenser mics? Or take them off?

@JMTTM 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video. I want to ask: For technique 2, how should the mic be oriented? Should they be pointing at 90 degrees to the piano, or should they be pointing in opposite directions? (i.e. Left mic pointing towards the right side keys and right pointing to the left keys?)

@JiihaaS 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video, it's really helpful! About technique 3, it's actually a myth that large diaphragm mics produce more "bassy" sound. Large and small diaphragm mics can easily have pretty much the same frequency response. The main difference of the sound comes in transient response. Smaller membranes are just slightly more accurate in that sense, but with piano, I don't think it makes much of a difference. To me, technique 3 sounds a lot clearer than the 2 previous ones, and I think this is probably due to mic placement more than anything else. :)

@lucarossi6135 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your observations. May you suggest a medium/low budget mic with smaller accurates membranes for recording Piano?

@JiihaaS 2 жыл бұрын

@@lucarossi6135 I'm not sure if there will be much difference between small and large diaphragm mics when recording piano, since it doesn't produce particularly fast and sharp transients like an acoustic guitar for example. But if you want a good small diaphragm condenser without breaking the bank, e.g. Oktava, Røde, Lewitt and sE electronics all make pretty good mics. And in case you want to save even more money and still have pretty decent quality, Behringer and the t.bone come to mind.

@chris.dillon 6 жыл бұрын

I wonder if technique #1 has phase cancellation going on because they are 2 feet apart and not 3 feet apart like in technique #2?

@huckleberrykid Ай бұрын

I love your new music

@Matulo 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you mister!

@ArthurDhaeyerMusic 6 жыл бұрын

beautiful video

@bastihalligalli9222 6 жыл бұрын

I am able to use the following microphones. Sennheiser MKE 600 Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone Yamaha Pocketrak CX a small Shotgun Mic (i don't know the exact name) Beyerdynamic MCE 72 CAM How can I get the most out of this? I want to record a piano like in the video. Which ones do I have to use?

@charltonmoore 5 жыл бұрын

Your noise gate on the vocal in the very beginning of this video is doing its job but remember when you're speaking there's room noise so in between statements the sound goes blank which I believe doesn't sound great clipping in and out of room hiss. I know why you did it, but it may be better if you just let the vocal take go natural. On a serious note, thank you very much for the video and the way you provided samples of each technique. Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for the video

@emilegregoire 10 ай бұрын

Liking for the content and the accent :) Bonne vid man!

@simo947 6 жыл бұрын

I don't really know a lot about audio production, what do you mean when you say it doesn't mix well?

@lukeledoux8703 6 жыл бұрын

Great Video, Thank you! What is the beautiful piece of music you play after the 11:00 mark?

@orangeswalnuts7861 5 жыл бұрын

@Jonas Vanwelsenaers thank you!

@OdiKrause 2 жыл бұрын

any recommendation when the "living room" cannot be "quieted" as much? Is it possible to add the mics inside the piano?

@kwadamson 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@dantalopaula1062 5 жыл бұрын

very nice !

@thoraxlaneus9961 3 жыл бұрын

what microfon stands can i use for the oktava 012-01? Greets

@RA-el6zj 4 жыл бұрын

How about mixing technique 1 or 2 with technique 3?

@MrArturoPM 3 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to mix recording techniques placing the mics in different possitions or is not recommendable?

@izziOnBass 2 жыл бұрын

Good lord "this years love" was something!

@antoinen.3925 6 жыл бұрын

Merci beaucoup pour ces informations! (Reconnu l’accent québécois;)

@ebk999 4 жыл бұрын

Oh my god, I was not expecting Amsterdam and Paranoid Android and Feelings to be in this video, Debussy was also cool. Thank you for making this tutorial, I need to record my upright piano, but I only have one mic, so now I'm looking forward to buying a new pair, but at least I was able to remove the panels and push it away from the wall. Also is clear to see the amount of work that was put into this video, it ended up with a very good result. Thank you once again. 🙏🏻

@jorgeiglesias6285 7 жыл бұрын

Would the 3rd technique work with small diaphragm mics?

@sarahkraus8247 5 жыл бұрын

This looks like it took so much work you need more views

@bryanvduartehernandez2042 4 жыл бұрын

Amsterdam by Coldplay, love your video

@itsxuan-ng Жыл бұрын

May i know what DAW are you using please, Thanks

@zekewillard8703 5 жыл бұрын

Can I use one large diaphragm condenser over the entire piano?

@UnsoundPages 6 жыл бұрын

Hi! Thanks for the amazing video. Please give me the specific model of your Essex piano. I want one of those for myself. Amazing sound. Thanks.

@slpianoproject 6 жыл бұрын

UnsoundPages essex eup-123s

@UnsoundPages 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@mmimtc 5 жыл бұрын

thanks!

@MRBADGUY0027 4 жыл бұрын

What is the romantic and sad (really wonderful ) piece starting at 17:50 in 4th technique? I could not find it in the Amelie soundtrack....I need the notes for my wife to play it on the piano.... Merci d'avance

@slpianoproject 4 жыл бұрын

MRBADGUY0027 la dispute de Yann tiersen

@smitshah4794 4 жыл бұрын

Can you please suggest what can be done with just one mic? I have a Samson Co2 microphone, with a Scarlett focusrite audio interface

@Octavio12341000 3 жыл бұрын

Get a second one. Super important

@smitshah4794 3 жыл бұрын

@@Octavio12341000 okay thanks a lot

@teemohnay Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Going for technique 4. $1,000 in Amazon for a basic setup. Wish me luck :)

@aramdisaiu 3 жыл бұрын

What is the name of the piano piece you used to play at 18:14?

@bongobeee 5 жыл бұрын

Hey :) So almost two years later, and I'm searching for a good 4 input audio interface! Anyone have any recommendations for a mic and/or audio interface? Trying to cap my budget at around $600 US Dollars! Thank you! This will be recording/streaming my upright piano! ❤

@laura-sophiemohr4178 5 жыл бұрын

scarlett octa :)

@angelofavia 4 жыл бұрын

Nice video. Thanks. Is the piano a bit out of tune?? :-)

@marg1661 6 жыл бұрын

What if I used 1 microphone placed on the left side and the audio from the camera placed on the right side? Would this work?

@tolkirum 5 жыл бұрын

Meh... The point of having 2 mics is to have them recording in the exact same way. So, if you're not buying mics that come by pairs, you really should at least take two of the exact same model, and possibly built at the same place at the same time.

@WahjoeGunawan 3 жыл бұрын

Good one... thanks... btw where do I have to connect the mic ? Using mixer ? Do you have any complete video for that ? And how to connect and recording with mac ? Thank you...

@harleyjamesmusic5322 3 жыл бұрын

you need to buy an audio interface. I use a focusrite scarlet 2i2 to record stereo sound, going to my mac

@WahjoeGunawan 3 жыл бұрын

Harley James Music thanksss

@davidyoul6262 6 жыл бұрын

Great video, thank you! By the way....I hope you didn't get too cold with so many of your shirt buttons undone!!!

@profdrklenk 4 жыл бұрын

I liked 5 the best

@laskygfx 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video. I have a piano but just assumed it was out of tune. turns out it was perfectly tuned 😂 exited to record sim real piano for a song I am working on. What is the name of the second song you use to showcase the mictecnik? Sounds so nice

@PiRiSgNaCcHeRo 2 жыл бұрын

It’s Arabesque n.1, Debussy

@laskygfx 2 жыл бұрын

@@PiRiSgNaCcHeRo thx ❤️

@sundaymorningmassradioshow8624 2 жыл бұрын

are you French Canadian ? belle video ! bien explique esti !

@SkinnyJeansLive 6 жыл бұрын

which song is it again?;)

@imaymakesomevids 6 жыл бұрын

please could you upload the sound files so we can listen to them without the stuff youtube does to audio?

@slpianoproject 6 жыл бұрын

KZfaq does fairly good audio compression and doesn't hurt audio that much. Difference would be negligeable.

@DarioConconi 7 жыл бұрын

the best one!!!

@slpianoproject 7 жыл бұрын

Dario Conconi Thank you :)

@meowtrox1234 2 жыл бұрын

how about using 1 mic to record an upright piano?

@jp_charland 2 жыл бұрын

J'utilise la 2e technique et j'essaye de trouver un bon angle pour la caméra. Je préfère une vue totale du piano mais les microphones viennent un peu gâcher la vue

@hengguanyi302 3 жыл бұрын

效果真好

@danielmusica1 3 жыл бұрын

I vote for technique 2

@jeremyhead7546 7 жыл бұрын

hah i hear dat paranoid android

@sergiocifuentes7510 3 жыл бұрын

But I know you didn´t hear Nobody Home from Pink Floyd ;)

@jeremyhead7546 3 жыл бұрын

@@sergiocifuentes7510 one of my favourite Pink Floyd tunes ever you mean? of course i heard it

@contriversalcartoons 6 жыл бұрын

Hey man, I think the way you recorded with the 4th and 5th techniques were gorgeous.... I read before though that you have to have a room that is excellently acoustically treated to get a good recording of an acoustic piano. Is that a lie? I don't see any noticeable acoustic treatment in the tutorial and it sounds very good so I just thought I would ask.

@slpianoproject 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! If your room is small and or empty you indeed have to treat it. My piano is in a fairly large room tho (about 500 sq ft) so while acoustic treatment would help, its not necessary. If the room is bad, having your mics closer to the piano will help as it will pick up less of the room sound and more of the piano. Hope this helps

@contriversalcartoons 6 жыл бұрын

thanks a lot for the advice! Will you be mad when I steal your 500 foot room from you and take it to my place?

@anthonysyriaque2076 5 жыл бұрын

Judah Linder noo