Recording - May 2020 - 44

CREATIVE MIKING TECHNIQUES I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Recording
Piano Wrong

By Aaron J. Tumm

How breaking the rules can
transform your piano recordings

T

he piano is an amazing creature. It is ubiquitous in all
kinds of music, and its frequency range means it can play
any role. There are volumes written on how to record it
right, including my article 'Caging The Beast' (May 2016).
This month let's talk about the wrong way; nutso ways to track
a piano that may yield something new!

Oddball placement

A piano is physically huge, and there are a million 'good' ways
to mic it, including close miking, room miking, spaced pairs, midside pairs, and so on. There are also several places considered
not so great, at least for capturing a traditional piano sound.

Fire in the hole

Try a large diaphragm condenser, like an AKG C414,
placed right above one of the rear holes (called the web). This
might actually sound nice, and can help isolate the piano in
an ensemble. A dynamic mic like a Shure SM57 stuck straight
into the hole is a recipe for weird and muddy, but could be the
perfect tone in the right context.
44 RECORDING May 2020

Down under

There's a whole world of tone underneath the piano that may
not be considered normal, including a wealth of low frequencies that can add body and weight to a traditional mix. Other
odd things to try are an omnidirectional mic under the middle
of the case, or use a ribbon mic to capture the movement of the
pedal. Often that movement coincides with the rhythm of the
tune, so there may be a rhythm track there to play with.

The foot

Nathan Rosenberg reminds us in his November 2004 article
that, "...there is a wonderful place at the tail of the piano, just
about where the back leg is, and often just outside the case.
Here, the various registers tend to project in a surprisingly uniform manner." This is a great place to position a stereo pair or
even a single mono mic. It isn't particularly crazy, but it's worth
trying for a non-traditional piano tone.

Wrong mics

Tradition holds that the best microphone for piano is a condenser or ribbon. Condensers and ribbons are good at capturing details. Dynamic mics, on the other hand, are generally too sluggish
to capture those details. But that shouldn't stop us from trying! As
mentioned, an SM57 in a soundhole can result in something wonderfully weird, especially if you were to, say, amp that signal...
Also mentioned before, the underside of a grand piano can
be a treasure trove of low frequencies. Maybe try something
like an AKG D112 underneath and see what happens.
What would happen if you placed the D112 above the low
strings? That's what RECORDING contributor Jon Bare did on
a location recording, and it made a baby grand sound like a
9-foot concert grand (see his article, 'Miking The Not So Great
Piano' on RECORDING's website).
Perhaps you could try that crappy vocal mic from your dad's
1970's live rig placed smack dab on top of the keys, or multiple omnidirectional condensers under a closed lid, specifically
placed to create phase problems. What if you taped a lavalier
to the inside of the shell? The possibilities are endless.



Recording - May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2020

No label
Fade In
Fast Forward
That One Instrument Mic
Plugin Outlet: Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor by Softube
Incidents in The Sound Lab: Recording and Mixing The String Cheese Incident
Peluso P-28 Pencil Tube Condenser Microphone
Austrian Audio Hi-X55 Professional Over-Ear Headphones
Creative Miking Techniques for Flute, Snare, Piano, and more!
The Do’s and Don’ts of Flute Recording
Stereo Snare and Fun Room Miking Tips
Recording Piano Wrong
Plugin Outlet: Silo Soundlabs Trident EQ plugins
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: miking and making Nick D’Virgilio’s
Samar Audio Design AL95 Passive Ribbon Microphone
Heiserman H47tube Microphone
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Microphone and Preamp Modeling
Readers' Tracks
Plugin Outlet: Polyverse Comet
Recording - May 2020 - No label
Recording - May 2020 - Cover1
Recording - May 2020 - Cover2
Recording - May 2020 - 1
Recording - May 2020 - 2
Recording - May 2020 - 3
Recording - May 2020 - Fade In
Recording - May 2020 - 5
Recording - May 2020 - 6
Recording - May 2020 - 7
Recording - May 2020 - Fast Forward
Recording - May 2020 - 9
Recording - May 2020 - That One Instrument Mic
Recording - May 2020 - 11
Recording - May 2020 - 12
Recording - May 2020 - 13
Recording - May 2020 - 14
Recording - May 2020 - 15
Recording - May 2020 - 16
Recording - May 2020 - 17
Recording - May 2020 - 18
Recording - May 2020 - 19
Recording - May 2020 - Plugin Outlet: Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor by Softube
Recording - May 2020 - 21
Recording - May 2020 - 22
Recording - May 2020 - 23
Recording - May 2020 - Incidents in The Sound Lab: Recording and Mixing The String Cheese Incident
Recording - May 2020 - 25
Recording - May 2020 - 26
Recording - May 2020 - 27
Recording - May 2020 - 28
Recording - May 2020 - 29
Recording - May 2020 - 30
Recording - May 2020 - 31
Recording - May 2020 - 32
Recording - May 2020 - 33
Recording - May 2020 - Peluso P-28 Pencil Tube Condenser Microphone
Recording - May 2020 - 35
Recording - May 2020 - Austrian Audio Hi-X55 Professional Over-Ear Headphones
Recording - May 2020 - 37
Recording - May 2020 - Creative Miking Techniques for Flute, Snare, Piano, and more!
Recording - May 2020 - 39
Recording - May 2020 - The Do’s and Don’ts of Flute Recording
Recording - May 2020 - 41
Recording - May 2020 - Stereo Snare and Fun Room Miking Tips
Recording - May 2020 - 43
Recording - May 2020 - Recording Piano Wrong
Recording - May 2020 - 45
Recording - May 2020 - Plugin Outlet: Silo Soundlabs Trident EQ plugins
Recording - May 2020 - 47
Recording - May 2020 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: miking and making Nick D’Virgilio’s
Recording - May 2020 - 49
Recording - May 2020 - 50
Recording - May 2020 - 51
Recording - May 2020 - 52
Recording - May 2020 - 53
Recording - May 2020 - 54
Recording - May 2020 - 55
Recording - May 2020 - Samar Audio Design AL95 Passive Ribbon Microphone
Recording - May 2020 - 57
Recording - May 2020 - Heiserman H47tube Microphone
Recording - May 2020 - 59
Recording - May 2020 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Microphone and Preamp Modeling
Recording - May 2020 - 61
Recording - May 2020 - 62
Recording - May 2020 - 63
Recording - May 2020 - 64
Recording - May 2020 - 65
Recording - May 2020 - 66
Recording - May 2020 - 67
Recording - May 2020 - 68
Recording - May 2020 - 69
Recording - May 2020 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - May 2020 - 71
Recording - May 2020 - Plugin Outlet: Polyverse Comet
Recording - May 2020 - Cover3
Recording - May 2020 - Cover4
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