Recording acoustic piano
 

Is there anyone out there recording acoustic piano digitally? I have been using Apple Garageband to record a real instrument track, importing it to itunes, and burning it to a cd from there. Is anyone using a different program they find works well for this type of application? I am recording mostly classical type pieces, and only occasionally working with other instrumentalists. Thank you very much!

I think most professionals/studios either use Pro Tools or a hardware recorder. I use Cakewalk Sonar 6 myself.

I'm interesting in what kind of mic setup you use. Almost touching strings (close)?, a few feet away (mid-ambient)?, far away (ambient)?, mixed? etc... I wish I had access to a hall with nice acoustics to record my playing, it's tough to get good results when ever I record anything...

I utilize a sampler. Its Garritan Personal Orchestra's piano. Its not as realistic as I would like but sometimes its easier to use a sampler than find a player.

(ex)

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/Prelude2.mp3

I imagine the best way to get a good crisp mic recording of a piano, would be to set up 2 mics , (for L, R stereo) near the piano's aural 'sweet spot'. The thing is, most piano's are different and therefore adjustments need to be made to take advantage of each piano's sound.

For a brighter piano, I tend to like a closer mic, to catch the vibrant key tones for a brighter, jumpier responsive sound. On an older piano, the wood has aged and probably has a different quality of sound. Therefore, mic-ing the piano a bit further might help to take advantage of the tone and pick up the natural reverb of the room/piano nicely.

It depends on what you want. :)