Piano-Keyboards

I want to mic my stand up piano... where would the best places be for mics?
I already have Helpenstiel (spelled wrong I am sure) pickups but I still want a more dynamic sound...

-Scott Cooke
badger5000@gmail.com

I think there are two sweet spots for micing an upright: one by booming the mic into the top (opening the lid for this) and the other is right under the keyboard, facing the bottom of the soundboard.

I tried to mic mine for a recording. It just sounded distant in the mix. I am going to buy a roland stage piano. SX300 I think it will have enough sounds to do what i need. Piano and organ and i am good to go .. double the money for a 700 seems like overkill. rat

I tried to mic mine for a recording. It just sounded distant in the mix. I am going to buy a roland stage piano. SX300 I think it will have enough sounds to do what i need. Piano and organ and i am good to go .. double the money for a 700 seems like overkill. rat

For as much badmouthing as digital pianos get, sometimes they are the best answer. Plus, they have markedly improved from the early days to where 99% of folks listening cant tell the diff.

ummm......my digital piano has the same sound....for 2300 dollars it friggin better!!!!

ummm......my digital piano has the same sound....for 2300 dollars it friggin better!!!!

It doent sound the same .... but they do sound good enough for gigs.

Acoustic piano has a sound that is hard to sample.... that said they are a pain to keep in tune and move. rat

The best pianos other than real pianos are the VST's such as Steinbergs "The Piano".

A ROM based stage piano, which these days sound pretty darn good, have samples in the range of a few mb to a couple hundred mb. The Roland and Yamaha's are excellent, and the Kurzwiel may be the best one available.

VST samples use the hard drive on your computer and are in the multiple gigabyte range. Much more detail, much higher quality. There are a couple of keyboards on the market that are actually PC's with VST software and midi controllers all in a single unit. Check out Infinity Systems to see the best money can buy.

For piano perfectionists, the best software package (and plug in) I have found is called "Ivory". But beware, it's still pricey and demands a ton of ram.

I've tried the Yamaha P80 and the Roland FP3, FP3 wins because I needed the high keys to really cut through the mix and the P80 crapped out in the high register power tinkle department! Then I got a Motif ES8 which to me ended up being the most versatile playing and sounding keyboard ever! then they had to go and make that XS8, whew! I'm saving money for it! Man I sound like an ad for Yamaha...sorry!