Classical/instrumental Audio Production, Classical/Instrumental Audio Production Options

[ftggog]

I just bought an emac and found that there's an audio input jack included. I'm an avid classical pianist and would like to try my hand at audio production with the piano. I would like someone to enlighten me on whether I need to get those huge audio mixers, mics, and whether there's a need to soundproof my room? I would also like to know whether any special software is required and what is the audio input jack used for? Lastly, how do I go about recording music from the piano to the Mac ...
Thank you in advance!

[Johnny Valium]

Hi,

I've never recorded a live piano so I'll just get into some basics:

The most important thing in your case is a good choice of microphones and a good sounding room. If your neighbors aren't having problems with you playing and your room sounds nice you don't need to soundproof it. You'll just have to experiment with the position of the mics (2 mics since you probably want to record in stereo).

Now comes the (huge?) mixer. The input jacks of the emac need to be fed with line level signals. This means for you that the signal your mics give has to be amplified before it can be fed into the input of your mac. Mixing boards have microphone preamps built in. This is why you probably need one. You can record stereo files with for example SparkMe which comes for free.

All the rest is a matter of how much money you want to spend. All the elements in the signal chain play a role in forming the sound that hopefully comes out of the speakers at the end of the day.

The built in input/output of the computer is not really professional sounding so if you have money buy a USB or Firewire audio interface. Try a search on that to find out which one suits your needs. But I have to stress the point that you need good mics and a good sounding room in the first place. No $$$ software or audio interface can make a sadly recorded piano sound good!

If you want to record more tracks than just the two of your piano and edit them independently you need a sequenzer software. There are basic versions of the big sequenzers available at a reasonable or no price at all.

Finally, find someone who can give you advice on how to record piano (and maybe also what mics to use). If you don't find one here (though I'm sure you will) try these forums here. They are also full of great producers/engineers.

Greetings and good luck!
JV

[Presto]

ftggog - how are you getting on?

I would say a usb Mbox/Protools LE www.digidesign.com (5 or600$ I think)
Plus a couple of DPA 4060 range miniature mics www.dpamicrophones.com
Check out their "microphone university" if you want to learn about mics and recording.
The 4065 or 4066 fits on your head but you can use it for the piano too. Also DPA has a new instument kit which includes a 4061 mic + means to stick it on the piano. The mics cost the most. Best to find a good price on the web.

Ah, you'll also need the 6001 microdot/XLR adapter for each mic. Also a big Firewire external hard drive would round of the setup nicely. Ah, yes - a good set of headphones too (Of course, nice speakers cost alot)

What's your budget? This set up would be around 2000$ I suppose its too much. Still, you might end up wanting it if you get hooked on recording and want good quality.

You might want to alter the acoustics of your room. If there's too much "echo" you could use the separating cartons between layers of UHT milk bricks at the supermarket. Pin them to the walls where you want to reduce the reflection of the sound. XVIth century tapestries are great too. Persian carpets on a shiny wooden floor. Change the position of the piano and listen etc. How big is your room? Remember the lowest sounds the piano generates have waves as long as 5 or perhaps 10 metres. Still, if you place the mics well, you should get an excellent recording.

Try http://homerecording.about.com/library/wee...ly/aa061097.htm
on recording piano.

Those are pretty good suggestions.

What kind of piano do you have? What's your budget for all this?

Getting a great solo piano sound is extremely difficult. Most studios are just adequate in that area since the piano is only a part of the overall sound mix. In other words, if i were a classical or jazz pianist I'd want to record in a studio that has an incredible piano setup.