Too much boom recording piano

[perrycylon]

I am recording a grand piano using a pair of M-Audio Pulsar 2 (XY config about 8 inches above the strings and slightly towards the treble side) through a Lexicon Lambda into GarageBand. I am both the pianist and the "engineer" and this is my first recording experience.

I am using a "Basic Track" with all effects turned off so I can get a baseline.
My immediate impression of the recording is that there was way too much bass/boomy. At this point, I realized why they have the bass rolloff on the mic. I turned it on and things got better but was still boomy. I tried an Audio Technica 3035. It didn't make much of a difference as far as the boominess.

I read somewhere that this is a common problem for pianos. I ended up playing with the EQ by chopping off from 10-20db from 250Hz down. This made things better but I am wondering if I should be having to do this. I don't think I am all that picky in terms of audio quality at this stage yet so I am surprised I have to do this. I thought I had read somewhere on this forum that you can record a piano dry and have it be decent. At this point, I feel like I am trying to cut away at the sound even though I am close-miking.

Is this normal?

[richiebee]

I never need to EQ my grand piano recordings.

If its for something poppy, or indeed pretty much anything other than classical, I would place the mics above the hammers, 1/4 and 3/4 across the width of the keys. Nice and bright with lots of attack and still plenty of body. Face them down towards the bottom end of the piano if you want more richness from the bass strings - should still not produce excessive boominess.

What's the room like? Does it sound boomy in the room? If so, then maybe you can cover the thing in blankets to reduce the room sound.

[perrycylon]

I am recording a Chopin Prelude with constant arpeggios stretching from about 2 octaves below middle C to about 2 octaves above middle C. The room is probably a bit boomy although I think I must not be noticing too much while I am playing. It's about 10X15 with hardwood floors and bare walls with 2 sofas.

When you say cover the thing, do you mean cover both sides of the lid while it is open?

I'll post a file tomorrow (so my neighbors don't kill me).

Thanks!

[spaceatl]

Originally Posted by perrycylon

I am recording a Chopin Prelude with constant arpeggios stretching from about 2 octaves below middle C to about 2 octaves above middle C. The room is probably a bit boomy although I think I must not be noticing too much while I am playing. It's about 10X15 with hardwood floors and bare walls with 2 sofas.

When you say cover the thing, do you mean cover both sides of the lid while it is open?

I'll post a file tomorrow (so my neighbors don't kill me).

Thanks!

You could make yourself some makeshift "bass traps" in the corners of the room...You could use a pile of blankets, pillows etc...pile them up in the corners so that you basically remove the corners from the room...That will reduce the bass in the room quite a bit...That is if the room is really playing into the result that much...It often does...

[reflekshun]

Sorry if this is straying a bit, but if I blanket up the corners of a room with bass buildup, the whole room will have less bass? I thought bass buildup was focussed on the corners and you could also only heard it from the corners?

[spaceatl]

Bass is omni directional and certainly builds up in the corners of the room and will resonate through the entire room affecting the entire room response...The traps mitigate this...

One way to think about it is a coupling effect you get when you place a subwoofer (without isolation) on a hardwood floor. Turns the whole floor into a speaker...This is the reason that most treated rooms and control rooms especially have bass traps...It is a must to get the room predictable...Whether or not this is the root cause of your problem is difficult to predict...But a piano on a hardwood floor seemed like a decent indicator in my view...It seemed easy enough to try...it's a very common problem in untreated rooms...