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Grandpianoman:

I have been considering the Zoom products, either H4 or Q3. How do the self-contained mikes on the H4 compare with the Rode NT5s? I was hoping that I could place the entire device over the piano, at the open lid.

Hop

Has anyone tried the Ridgeview Piano Transducer?

It's certainly inexpensive enough to purchase just to experiment with!

Paul

Looks interesting. I wonder if the overtones are captured well? As you say, experimenting might be worth it.

Hop

I agree. I have had some absolutely superb results, both in making private recordings at home and also with an engineer operating his own.

AKG C-414 are excellent mics. I've also had excellent results with Schoeps and, probably my favorite, vintage tube Neumann mics. The tubes add a warmth to digital recordings, and to my ears, sound even better than a good tube pre-amp.
If you have a chance, try to find a studio and engineer that still has a Studer 1/2 track analog tape recorder running at 30 inches per second. This, combined with some nice Neumann tube mics, a transparent, clean mixer, and a great sounding room/hall, is my idea of aural ecstacy! Being a bit of a retro-grouch, even though digital specs look better on paper, a great analog set-up is hard to beat!

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OK I got them and have made a recording. They sound good alone in stereo, but for this recording I added a Sterling Audio ST66 tube mic (about a 400 dollar mic I got used for 200). The right channel is pure Rode NT1A, and the left channel is the other NT1A together with the ST66.

It's an unusual setup that took me all day to find -- the right NT1A and the ST66 are in X-Y configuration above the pin block, pointing toward the logo on the soundboard roughly. The other NT1A is only about an inch above the treble bridge, pointing directly at the bridge, just below the bar that separates the highest treble section from the next section.

I did some EQ processing, but there is no added reverb. There is a tiny bit of echo that I accidentally left on but I don't think you can even hear it. I know youtube isn't the most hi-fi for audio but there is still an audible improvement over my other mics. I can still imagine a better sound but for the price the NT1As were well worth buying for me. (These are actually re-boxed mics that were 170 dollars each, about 60 dollars less than the usual new price). It's hard to ask for more than this for that price.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8uGhvDuF4I&fmt=18

Grandpianoman, I think the sound quality of your recordings are very good. Do you use the XY configuration? You mentioned the mics are under the lid. Is it placed above the middle-C and what's the distance from the string?

I am currently using a Studio Project B1 mic and Presonus Firebox. I'm not sure whether I should pickup another B1 (and a microphone stand), or go with a different pairs of microphone. The mono recordings using the B1 is ok, but not as good as many examples I've seen. I don't know whether it's a mic placement issue, characteristics of the mic issue (it appears the B1 is more for vocal recording), or single-mic issue. Any advice?

Hi Fun,

Thanks for the positives!

I don't think I use an X-Y config...the way mine are set up is that the treble mic is set fairly high above the 5th-6th octave, perhaps 15-20 inches or so, facing straight down, and the bass mic is set lower towards the strings, face down, in the middle of the 1-2 octaves. The mic positions of both these pieces are the same. There is a LOT of sound energy going on with the mics in such close proximity to the stings...the Rode NT5's seem to handle this with no distortion etc. For all of you who have a Zoom H4, I set both mic switch positions to LOW with no limiting etc. In this position, one is going to pic up a bit of action noise etc.

Here are a few more recordings of the LX with this same configuration.

"Fascination" on the LX http://www.box.net/shared/3ivfosjnz6

This is an LX scan of the Ampico roll "Am Sergestade" played by Margarite Volavy on the LX. This is a quite a piece, thunderous lows and beautiful glissandi etc. http://www.box.net/shared/pmie73stex

The bass energy of this roll is so extreme, that it starts a buzzing somewhere in the bass area of the piano...something I am going to have to try and eliminate.

Try listening to these with a pair of headphones, such as for an IPod or portable CD player...much better sound.

Hope this helps.....:)

Grandpianoman, very nice indeed. So, based on the description of your mics configuration, I assume you have two mic stands? I'm considering the Rode NT5 and the M-audio Pulsar II mentioned in this thread. I'll see whether I can find a local store that have them.

Hi Fun,

Yes,that is correct, 2 boom mic stands. I don't think you can go wrong with the NT5's Of course there are better mics out there for the piano, but they cost a lot more.

Here is another LX recording, using the same mic configuration as above.

"Dancing in the Dark" on the LX. http://www.box.net/shared/eb4bmh0uoa

Here's some samples from my Earthworks mics on a rebuilt Baldwin baby grand.

Recording 1

Recording 2

In the relatively low budget range, I recorded a very short passage mono with an NT1A ($229) and then with a Sterling Audio ST-66 tube microphone ($399). Though the tone of my piano is not great at this point, I think the ST-66 is better. I might buy a second one so that I can record in stereo. Here is the clip; the NT1A is the first mic and the ST-66 the second one (same location same shock mount):

NT1A and ST-66

(I had the level slightly too high so there is a bit of cutting out but I think you can still notice a difference).

Yet another try -- I did some tuning (though I'm still not quite done, it sounds much better), and this is with two NT1A mics. The positioning was not ideal (both at the treble end of the piano), but it is much better than previous recordings I made. The trouble with the ST-66 is that it picks up so much of the high frequencies that there is noise (like my computer running). The NT1A's might end up being enough for me once I get the tuning and positioning right:

NT1A's in stereo

Based on the earlier comments and examples mentioned in this thread, I decided to purchase a pair of M-audio Pulsar II. Just received them and did a quick recording of my Estonia. I'm rather pleased with the result. Here's the clip:
Chopin Waltz in A Minor

I have the QTC40 (Earthworks, around $2,500 a pair) and I totally ADORE them! They are crispy clear and very well made for the occasion of recording a piano. Problem is that it just reveals all problems a piano might have and while on a Steinway and a concert hall you would get a superb sound, on another place and another piano, things might not be ideal, sadly!

But I still adore my QTC40!

Nice recording; liked the Waltz. I've never played or heard live an Estonia, so this was quite interesting to me. On the recording it sounds somewhat bright to me, but pleasingly so. Is that the way you hear it live?

Hop

Hi Fun,

Very nice, I enjoyed your playing and the recording. It sounds like those mics are very good, and your Estonia piano has a very nice sound to it.

Hop, the recorded sound is slightly brighter than the live sound. The piano sounds a bit "thicker" live. I'll experiment with different mic position, and maybe some EQ. But I kind of like the sparkle in the recording.

Grandpianoman, thanks for your compliments and your helps in this thread. Since the M-audio are the cheapest mics I found that seems to capture nice sound for others, I decided to give it a shot before trying other more expensive alternatives. I think it's good enough for me. The Rode, Earthworks and others mentioned in this thread sound really amazing though!