C1000s leaves a nice pocket for the vocals!! The close miced C414s were great if the piano is the most prominent instrument, and I loved the mono U87 placed further back
I instantly wanted to listen and learn about what he said, from the second he started speaking, both from his accent and professionality and talent! So helpful! Thank you!
Thanks for this amazing video. I have recently decided to return to home recording and have learnt to play the piano in the intervening period, so this will come in very handy.
I tried mono top one condenser mic miking and so pleasure for me. thank you very much. what if i play piano and vocal at the same time, how would you record piano and vocal ?
Thanks for the comment and vocals and acoustic piano recording at the same time is for another video. The key for multiple mics whether it is 2 or 10 mics is best separation as possible.
Thanks for so much practical information about recording however what i feel 4 inch distance stereo pair sounds rich and much more relativity in terms of higher and lower range on piano . Great work 👍👍
@@meyerstreetrecords It´s quite funny, because I only liked them as a mic for snare bottom or hihats. but I think the over high mid presence of this mics works very good for the piano if you want it a bit brighter...
Wow, I absolutely love the sound you're getting in the first recording with the AKG C414s, it's beautiful! I have a similar Yamaha upright that I've been recording with cheap small diaphragm condensor mics in an XY configuration sticking in the top, but my sound is not a patch on yours. Not even close. I'm going to have to try it with the front panel off, and I think I'll be getting some C414s soon too :) I also think yours sounds a lot better with the C414s (recording 1) than with the C1000s (recording 2). I'm a total amateur so I don't have the terminology to explain the difference well, but with the C414s it sounds a lot more full, I think. The C414s sound nice further away in recording 5 too, but my favourite is definitely recording 1 with them close. Anyway, thank you very much for sharing! Oh, and would you say your piano is quite bright as Yamahas go, or quite mellow? And what about the room, how live is it? Or perhaps the liveness of the room doesn't make so much difference to the sound when close miked like in recordings 1 and 2? Sorry, several questions there, I just love that sound you're getting and,as you can probably guess, I'm eager to try to reproduce it as best I can at home! 😍
Thank you so much! Although I have been recording for some time, I am always learning too, its the only way to improve I guess. I agree, the AKG C414s are a real treat and sound lovely on my piano. They can capture alot of detail and still take a punch when you play harder too. I feel a real trick to clean and warm piano recordings is the room, but also not adding too much EQ and Dynamics on the way in. A great mic pre helps too of course. My room is bright unless the rug is down, so dampen the room if you can with carpets or furniture if need be. In the room I am in, I find my Yamaha piano more on the mellow side. So as you can see, there are quite afew elements to the recording process to consider! :-) I hope this all helps and happy recording!
@@meyerstreetrecords thank you very much, that helps a lot! I'm going to watch more of your videos and try to figure out what I should do about dampening, as my room is pretty live. I'm going to make it my mission to get my piano sounding like yours does with the C414s :) Clean, but warm too. Honestly it's amazing to me how you're getting such a great sound out of a U1, it's very inspiring!
If I wanted to record vocals at the same time as my acoustic piano (mine only has a little lift top, I can't expose all the hammers like on your piano) what would you change to this set up? I have an AKG C14. Thanks for this video!
I would point the piano mics towards the strings left and right through the top. In someways this is preferred for vocal/piano live takes as it will remove some of the piano spill getting into the vocal mic. Happy recording to you!
I think Chris Martin used an akg c414 to record some of his piano parts for Cold Play, and Thom Yorke and Nigel Goodrich use the Neumann u87 for Radiohead's piano parts on some albums. Also do people record vocal tracks at the same time as piano tracks? All the mics are cardioid mics and pretty unidirectional. I 'm guessing you'd need another with a tight cartioid area facing towards the singer too. Is this assumption correct?
Great points and thanks for the comments. Yes, separation is really the key for making a nice vocal/piano recording. I made a video yesterday about that but with vocal and guitar. Happy recording to you!
very instructive , i'll try it with my 2mc 930 from behringer and i'll see what they'll do i've got also the zoom xyh-6 i have a neve preamp the 5035 ruppert neve shelford , but i'm a little lazy , i think i'll try with the zoom and then with the neve , i'll put the results here thenks for your video again
You are welcome and yes I understand with the laziness! But believe me, putting that little extra time in seeing what works the best on a given instrument will make your overall recordings so much better. I have found, the key is to use your experience, mic what works well for the song you are recording and try not to overthink the process. Committing to a sound is really important. Happy recording to you!
I do sometimes for live stuff, but when the piano is on its own, depending on the feel I am after, I prefer the ambiance more. There are no rules remember. Happy recording to you
Thats a great point! The AKG C414 and Neumann U87 have really high sound pressure level capability and wide dynamic range. However, like all acoustic instrument recordings, you will need to test your mic placements and choice for the performance being captured. Remember the microphone is only one chain in the recording process. A good compressor is always useful to have inserted in the recorded chain if the performance you record is full of dynamics. Happy recording and experimenting!
I have a U1a Yamaha upright. Its hard to tell really without hearing the piano with ears in the room. If it sounds quite hammer heavy to the ears, then perhaps it needs a service. If not, then try different mics. And still if not, and its not giving you the sound you want, then if it was me, I would try a different piano. Sadly, its not as simple as switch the sample preset like on a digital piano :) If its the only piano available, then you could also try different mic placement i.e moving them slightly away from the strings. This might thin out the sound, but then try boosting a little EQ in the low end. I suppose its called sound 'engineering' for a reason right? :) Personally speaking, I actually like the breath and hammer noise on a real piano. It gives it character and a very non digital feel. But of course, too much would be annoying. A friend told me once, there are a lot of people in the world, but they are not all great singers. I guess, we could say the same about pianos, not all of them are great being recorded. Thanks for the comment, its a good one!
Great video, very informative. I have a question, what if I want to record piano and vocal at the same time? What would you recommend in this case? Would it be better to have piano recorded in stereo and then one more mic close to the vocal in mono? What would be a good placement in your opinion?
Thanks so much! Yes thats a great question and one for a new video I think as there is loads to cover there! But ultimately, noise separation is key here.
Hi its a good video tnx.I am trying with Rode nt5 mics.... not so good ;( It is a fight to get a nice Sound :) 3 deys long i am fighting and getng crazy but i give not up
Thanks for your opinion. To be honest the best rooms for recording are dry sounding to allow complete control of reverb within a mix. Also, the proximity of the microphones to the instrument makes a huge difference to the sound regardless to how 'live' the natural room reverb is as demonstrated in this small studio space. Of course, these things are all to taste. Happy recording to you!
C1000s leaves a nice pocket for the vocals!! The close miced C414s were great if the piano is the most prominent instrument, and I loved the mono U87 placed further back
I instantly wanted to listen and learn about what he said, from the second he started speaking, both from his accent and professionality and talent! So helpful! Thank you!
Delighted to help, thank you!
a real lovely tone you are getting from the piano.
Thanks for this amazing video. I have recently decided to return to home recording and have learnt to play the piano in the intervening period, so this will come in very handy.
That is fantastic, happy recording to you!
I tried mono top one condenser mic miking and so pleasure for me. thank you very much.
what if i play piano and vocal at the same time, how would you record piano and vocal ?
Thanks for the comment and vocals and acoustic piano recording at the same time is for another video. The key for multiple mics whether it is 2 or 10 mics is best separation as possible.
Thank you for the video, i never thought the u1 will sound this good
Thank you and I am pleased it helped you!
Thanks for taking the time to do this, very useful !
You are most welcome! Thank you!
Thank you for this video.
nice video man! thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment and no worries! :-)
Thank you very much. Very helpful video.
Thanks for so much practical information about recording however what i feel 4 inch distance stereo pair sounds rich and much more relativity in terms of higher and lower range on piano .
Great work 👍👍
Jod job! Thanx
Thank you so much!
Good stuff man! Thanks 👍🏾
Thank you sir!
That was interesting, thanks.
Thanks so much!
I really like the 414s! and i´m surprised how good the c1000 work! again, great playing!
Thank you! Totally agree, the c1000s are a treat and save alot of money too!
@@meyerstreetrecords It´s quite funny, because I only liked them as a mic for snare bottom or hihats.
but I think the over high mid presence of this mics works very good for the piano if you want it a bit brighter...
Wow, I absolutely love the sound you're getting in the first recording with the AKG C414s, it's beautiful! I have a similar Yamaha upright that I've been recording with cheap small diaphragm condensor mics in an XY configuration sticking in the top, but my sound is not a patch on yours. Not even close. I'm going to have to try it with the front panel off, and I think I'll be getting some C414s soon too :)
I also think yours sounds a lot better with the C414s (recording 1) than with the C1000s (recording 2). I'm a total amateur so I don't have the terminology to explain the difference well, but with the C414s it sounds a lot more full, I think. The C414s sound nice further away in recording 5 too, but my favourite is definitely recording 1 with them close.
Anyway, thank you very much for sharing!
Oh, and would you say your piano is quite bright as Yamahas go, or quite mellow? And what about the room, how live is it? Or perhaps the liveness of the room doesn't make so much difference to the sound when close miked like in recordings 1 and 2?
Sorry, several questions there, I just love that sound you're getting and,as you can probably guess, I'm eager to try to reproduce it as best I can at home! 😍
Thank you so much! Although I have been recording for some time, I am always learning too, its the only way to improve I guess. I agree, the AKG C414s are a real treat and sound lovely on my piano. They can capture alot of detail and still take a punch when you play harder too. I feel a real trick to clean and warm piano recordings is the room, but also not adding too much EQ and Dynamics on the way in. A great mic pre helps too of course. My room is bright unless the rug is down, so dampen the room if you can with carpets or furniture if need be. In the room I am in, I find my Yamaha piano more on the mellow side. So as you can see, there are quite afew elements to the recording process to consider! :-) I hope this all helps and happy recording!
@@meyerstreetrecords thank you very much, that helps a lot! I'm going to watch more of your videos and try to figure out what I should do about dampening, as my room is pretty live. I'm going to make it my mission to get my piano sounding like yours does with the C414s :) Clean, but warm too. Honestly it's amazing to me how you're getting such a great sound out of a U1, it's very inspiring!
If I wanted to record vocals at the same time as my acoustic piano (mine only has a little lift top, I can't expose all the hammers like on your piano) what would you change to this set up? I have an AKG C14. Thanks for this video!
I would point the piano mics towards the strings left and right through the top. In someways this is preferred for vocal/piano live takes as it will remove some of the piano spill getting into the vocal mic. Happy recording to you!
I think Chris Martin used an akg c414 to record some of his piano parts for Cold Play, and Thom Yorke and Nigel Goodrich use the Neumann u87 for Radiohead's piano parts on some albums. Also do people record vocal tracks at the same time as piano tracks? All the mics are cardioid mics and pretty unidirectional. I 'm guessing you'd need another with a tight cartioid area facing towards the singer too. Is this assumption correct?
Great points and thanks for the comments. Yes, separation is really the key for making a nice vocal/piano recording. I made a video yesterday about that but with vocal and guitar. Happy recording to you!
very instructive , i'll try it with my 2mc 930 from behringer and i'll see what they'll do i've got also the zoom xyh-6
i have a neve preamp the 5035 ruppert neve shelford , but i'm a little lazy , i think i'll try with the zoom and then with the neve ,
i'll put the results here
thenks for your video again
You are welcome and yes I understand with the laziness! But believe me, putting that little extra time in seeing what works the best on a given instrument will make your overall recordings so much better. I have found, the key is to use your experience, mic what works well for the song you are recording and try not to overthink the process. Committing to a sound is really important. Happy recording to you!
The c1000 sound so much cleaner than the c414. wow!
Yes, I love the c1000s! Especially in a mix too!
But no warmth
should i cover the back of the piano when the piano is near the wall in the home? when recording
Great video! Don't you need to mic the sound board in any way?
I do sometimes for live stuff, but when the piano is on its own, depending on the feel I am after, I prefer the ambiance more. There are no rules remember. Happy recording to you
Yeah but can the mics also handle classical music? For example loud romantic pices and so on?
Thats a great point! The AKG C414 and Neumann U87 have really high sound pressure level capability and wide dynamic range. However, like all acoustic instrument recordings, you will need to test your mic placements and choice for the performance being captured. Remember the microphone is only one chain in the recording process. A good compressor is always useful to have inserted in the recorded chain if the performance you record is full of dynamics. Happy recording and experimenting!
Is this a Yamaha U3, early to mid 80s? I tried recording like you did but I get too much hammer noise. Any thoughts?
I have a U1a Yamaha upright. Its hard to tell really without hearing the piano with ears in the room. If it sounds quite hammer heavy to the ears, then perhaps it needs a service. If not, then try different mics. And still if not, and its not giving you the sound you want, then if it was me, I would try a different piano. Sadly, its not as simple as switch the sample preset like on a digital piano :) If its the only piano available, then you could also try different mic placement i.e moving them slightly away from the strings. This might thin out the sound, but then try boosting a little EQ in the low end. I suppose its called sound 'engineering' for a reason right? :) Personally speaking, I actually like the breath and hammer noise on a real piano. It gives it character and a very non digital feel. But of course, too much would be annoying. A friend told me once, there are a lot of people in the world, but they are not all great singers. I guess, we could say the same about pianos, not all of them are great being recorded. Thanks for the comment, its a good one!
Great video, very informative. I have a question, what if I want to record piano and vocal at the same time? What would you recommend in this case? Would it be better to have piano recorded in stereo and then one more mic close to the vocal in mono? What would be a good placement in your opinion?
Thanks so much! Yes thats a great question and one for a new video I think as there is loads to cover there! But ultimately, noise separation is key here.
@@meyerstreetrecords Thank you for your reply and I would love to see a video about it 🤗
Hi its a good video tnx.I am trying with Rode nt5 mics.... not so good ;(
It is a fight to get a nice Sound :)
3 deys long i am fighting and getng crazy but i give not up
Keep at it and good luck, thanks for your comment
it sounds stereo miking with small diagram is better sound
Thanks for your insights. For me its all about what the song or composition needs. Happy recording to you!
what polar patterns were used?
Great question! Cardioid for all. Keeping it fair :-)
Did you use a neumann u87i or neumann u87ai?
The studio has x2 U87's and x2 U87ai's. In this video I used a single U87ai.
@@meyerstreetrecords 👍
This room is simply not good enough to do anything other than close miking. Better to put some nice verb on the close recording :)
Thanks for your opinion. To be honest the best rooms for recording are dry sounding to allow complete control of reverb within a mix. Also, the proximity of the microphones to the instrument makes a huge difference to the sound regardless to how 'live' the natural room reverb is as demonstrated in this small studio space. Of course, these things are all to taste. Happy recording to you!