Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Record a piano

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this post belong to this section, sorry if it's not the case. I want to start recording my piano, but I'm not sure which equipment I must choose. I was wondering what I sould take to connect my microphones, a soundcard like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 about which I had great notices, or maybe take an audio recorder like the Tascam DR40-x? What would be the difference between these two devices?

And for the microphones for a small budget, should I start with 1 microphone a little bit more expensive or directly buy 2 microphones but a little bit cheaper? (Maybe 1 Rode NT5, is it good?)

Thank you in advance.

Welcome to the forums Braaks!

You might get better advice, if you tell us :

What is your purpose for recording your piano?
What make/model piano do you own?
What is your piano room size?

Thanks! Here the answers of your questions:

- I record firstly for me to keep a trace of all the pieces I played, then I'll film me aswell to eventually post my videos on Youtube.
- The piano is an upright Classic Grotrian Steinweg.
- The room's size is an average bedroom's size I would tell, approximately 12 square meters and 2,50 meter high, but I got some panels so the acoustic is correct I think.

You can actually buy sets of dual identical microphones which you should look at.

Focusrite Scarlett.

Audacity.

PC.

A good start.

I recommend a Zoom or Tascam device for audio.

You can then replace the audio track of your video with the one you recorded with the Zoom/Tascam.

Here is an example:

https://youtu.be/l60l8FK98T8

Well he would have done better on a properly tuned piano.

Yeah I was hesitating between the Tascam DR40-X or the Scarlett Focusrite 2i2, but could you explain me the major differences between them? Both can do the job?

This is apples to oranges.

Tascam is a hand held field recorder with onboard mics and you might connect external mics as well.
It records to memory or sd card on the device.

Focusrite is an audio interface that you connect to a computer, connect mics to the interface and record to the harddisk of the computer.

Ok, so I think I'm good now, thanks you very much for your answers!

The Zoom H6 can be used as an audio recorder *AND* audio interface.

It comes with a range of microphone modules including the XY stereo unit which is a good start for piano.

It also has 4 XLR ports and supports 48 v DC phantom power (meaning that you can connect more expensive microphones in the future if you feel the need.)

Just a thought.

I am trying to get my head round this whole thing ... can I ask a specific question?

Is a Zoom recorder (e.g. H6) the same sort of thing as a Tascam? Does it perform the same function?

I am trying to get my head round this whole thing ... can I ask a specific question?

Is a Zoom recorder (e.g. H6) the same sort of thing as a Tascam? Does it perform the same function?

Yes

Yes, the Tascam DR40-X can also acts as an audio interface and 2 microphones can be connected too. So I think that for the same price, it does the same things than a audio recorder like the Focusrite Scarlett, therefore even if I don't need a portable device, I think I will go for the Tascam.

Yes go with the Tascam.

If you go with the Focusrite you would have to buy mics additionally in order to capture any sound since Focusrite does not have any onboard mics.

If you decide to buy mics later you can connect them to Tascam.

Also the new X version Tascam now can act as an usb audio interface too if you choose to.

If Braaks does not mind (welcome by the way!) I would like to ask a similar question. I have been asked a number of times to post recordings of my 1881 Bluthner grand, and of my 1804 Broadwood square, but I do not at present have the necessary equipment. I am thinking of purchasing a microphone which would enable me to record these instruments - hopefully in reasonable quality, so that the recordings would form a record of these very interesting instruments. And hopefully, it should be fairly easy to use. If I had a budget of say £200 / $250, might I be able to get something that would meet these requirements?

Would anyone have any particular recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

By far the most important factor is the sound of your room
And next is the sound of your piano.
And then of course, how you play it.
The microphone position is also very important.

Till that point, a not-too-expensive mic will do.

For a start, get some decent mics that are close to linear response. A stereo pair, mono does not sound nice for piano.

If you have all factors above tuned you may start thinking about good mics and an external ADC like the scarlett. Those mics start imho around $1000 for a stereo pair but I guess you are not at that point with your setup. I use EMU0404 ADC, DPA4060 mics in a jecklin disk setup.

My piano lessons have shifted from U of South Carolina to Zoom. I record on a tablet, which my wife holds. It's not hi-fi but adequate for lessons. I upload the mp4 file to Google Drive, and our lesson is on Zoom. It works, but it may not be adequate fidelity for your purpose.

After having read more informations about the Tascam DR40-X, I've seen that it could have some noise floor with external mic, so I'm not so sure now maybe the overall quality may be better with the scarlett.

If I understand what was written above (and if I also understand what you have written), you would need more than just a pair of mics. Since you say you don't have the necessary equipment to record, would you not also need an audio interface such as the audio interface mentioned above or, failing that, a hand-held recorder with built in mics such as the Tascam or Zoom? In other words, I don't think that you can just plug a mic or a pair of mics into your computer and expect to make a recording.

Regards,

You can get a USB mic, just plug it straight in to a computer. I think you can even get stereo ones but I haven't tried them. A cheap solution for someone who has a laptop but no interface