Charter Oak e700 Microphone - Grand Piano (How-to Recording)

[captainrottenbeard]

Have to agree with others. This is a superb piece of playing. Really beautiful. The mics do a great job capturing the low end, very smooth and lush!

[soundpurestudios]

@captainrottenbeard You are too kind! Please let us know if we can help on the recording gear side of things, in any way.

[douglassmcann]

Such an improvised sounding composition, yet Ingeniusly classical within American genre..

[soundpurestudios]

@douglassmcann Thanks for saying so Douglas, you are far too kind!

[Achase4u]

@douglassmcann

Very much agreed. I have to admit half the reason I love Sound Pure's demo's, is Todd on the piano. In fact I've just been watching all his piano videos tonight. Please give us more!

[soundpurestudios]

@Achase4u Thanks so much- it's just this sort of positive reinforcement that makes me want to make more videos! I'm hoping to procure a new piano so that I can get back to it, but at the moment, I'm searching for one (and currently without a piano at home). There's the instrument in the studio you see in the vids, but that's not exactly a "practice instrument" if you know what I mean. Hope to be back at it soon, thanks again for your kind words. If we can help in any way let us know! -Todd

[soundpurestudios]

@davidbahar Many thanks! (and thanks to these great mics!) ;)

[cholapat]

hi, i have a very good piano in a very good accoustic room and i have many repertoires i wanted to record. i'm thinking about making a professional-quality home recording. What other hardware and software, apart from microphones, that i will need to set up a good one? provided that i have a budget of around 5000 USD

[soundpurestudios]

@cholapat Because you could get away with a 2-channel setup, we can help you get into a world-class system that will not break the bank. The system would include 2x microphones (or a stereo microphone), a 2-channel microphone preamplifier, an A/D converter and/or computer interface, software, and quality headphones. At about $5,000 you could get into some truly phenomenol options, if you intend to capture the tone of the room as-is. We could help you acquire premium gear for the entire path.

[scottlum]

@soundpurestudios--does the mic plug into a preamp and then plug into the camcorder's mic jack? can a good recording be done in this configuration?

[soundpurestudios]

@scottlum This highly depends on the camera. High end cameras do have reasonably input quality, and decent a/d converters. But if you are looking for the best possibly quality of sound, you will also want to record to a separate unit, possibly a computer. You would then simply replace the audio of the camera with the high quality audio when you went to edit. We work with budgets of all size, and would be happy to help you with this. If you want, please give us a call +1-919-682-5552

[scottlum]

@soundpurestudios thanks so much for the advice--really appreciate it!! :)

[soundpurestudios]

@scottlum Absolutely. And, we are certainly here for you, just let us know. Also plenty of info on our website, soundpure(dot)com

[Sequoiabisquits]

very useful video,great microphones(and very emotional playing)!

A question:in this stereo miking the gain of microphones are both at the same level?or adjusted for balancing stereo image?thank you very much!

[soundpurestudios]

@Sequoiabisquits Thanks for the excellent comment. If the output of the microphones are matched (As is the case here), there is no need for additional tweaking of the gain- simply match the gain, and you should get the results that we have here. Gain adjustments may be necessary if you have microphones with larger differences in the output, or are otherwise wanting to tweak the balance and image in some way. Typically, matching the gain on a matched set of mics with this technique works!

[krivindontanai]

You're a Debussy fan, I'm guessing? Me too ;) I hear a lot of impressionistic influence in your improv. Why the 45-degree angle looking down the bass strings? I'm an amateur audio guy, so I haven't experimented with miking pianos much. I know guitar strings resonate differently on different sections of the strings (more warm, more bright, etc), so would aiming the mic down the strings pick up a more... balanced sound? Thanks!

[soundpurestudios]

@krivindontanai Hey, thanks for the comment. Yes, love Debussy. As far as the mic positioning, the down-the-strings method in this case did produce a more balanced sound, particularly with the way that it handled the mid-range. In 6-7' pianos, this tends to be a pretty good approach, at least as a starting point, but listening, and small trial-and-error movements is necessary to achieve a really great sound. We can certainly help- if you decide to get into some nice mics let us know!

[qhubbles]

YT compression sucks!! though seems to have nice results with that pair of mikes ^^

[soundpurestudios]

@qhubbles Yeah, they definitely don't treat audio quality with priority... the good news is that if you are interested, we will gladly send the high resolution audio files to you, just shoot us a request by e-mail to sales(at)soundpure(dot)com. If you are considering a pair of piano mics, or recording gear in general, we are here for you, and always ready to help!

[jawsrock1]

I was wondering, is it possible to get a matched pair of these, and how important would getting matched pair for recording piano be considering each mic would be covering a different freq range? Also, what kind of mic cables are you using when making these videos? I'm always envious of the sound quality. Great job.

[soundpurestudios]

@jawsrock1 We can get you a matched pair- these are made to such tight tolerances you are usually OK, particularly when you are using them spaced across the piano as we did in this particular case. But, for coincidental applications, it's a pretty good idea to have matched pairs anyway. It is not such a strange request, and easy to get for you if you are getting a pair through Sound Pure. We typically (almost exclusively) use Mogami cables in the vids as we did here. Thanks for the comment!

[faderfab]

Is it possible to find this song anywhere? I love it.

[soundpurestudios]

@faderfab Hey thanks a lot. Actually, this is just some improv playing, so it's not written down, and this is the only place that it exists. You can always request the high resolution files of anything that we have here on our videos, just shoot us an e-mail to sales(at)soundpure(dot)com

[JusticeConstantine]

Beautiful piano playing.

-Justice Constantine

[soundpurestudios]

@JusticeConstantine thanks for the very nice comment!

[danmarcelino]

lol just wanted to say... my fav part is around 4:58!!!

[soundpurestudios]

@danmarcelino Thanks!

[charvinn]

Hi,

What piano piece was performed? Or was it an improvisation?

[soundpurestudios]

@charvinn Hi, thanks for asking and commenting, it was improv!

[danmarcelino]

beautiful.. =] great mics, and soothing playing!! =]

[soundpurestudios]

@danmarcelino thanks a lot, we really appreciate the nice comment!

[jawsrock1]

Ya, now THAT sounds nice! I've never heard of these mics. Thanks for the suggestion! Great demo.

[soundpurestudios]

@jawsrock1 Really glad you liked it. These microphones are truly world-class piano microphones for sure.

[jawsrock1]

@soundpurestudios So, would you recommend these for recording a chorus? If so, do you sell these in a match pair?

[soundpurestudios]

@jawsrock1 You could certainly use them there as well- basically they are a real workhorse, with lots of detail for a large diaphragm but all of the magical harmonic subtleties that you can only get from a capsule of this size. We can indeed get these in matched pairs if you would like to order them that way.

[michieltje93]

Hey, first of all, beautifull playing and recording quality. I hope this wasn't impro, i want to learn it to, these are beautifull harmonies!!!

[soundpurestudios]

@michieltje93 Thanks a lot for the comments... unfortunately, yes, it was improv.

[michieltje93]

@soundpurestudios Thats a bummer :p

BTW, if i could ask, what's the best microphone positioning for recording a grand piano with one single cardioid large diafragm condenser mic?

Thanks for your previous reply

[soundpurestudios]

@michieltje93 Our pleasure... honestly somewhere between where we placed the two microphones on this video is a starting point, although I would personally pull them back off the strings a bit more, to get a little bit more balanced sound- you will have to do some playing around to find the sweetspot, but with one mic, you are going to hear more room if you get the piano balanced- stereo miking is the way to do it, for sure. we can help you identify a more affordable pair if you would like!

[xiaonoobiexd]

How much does the microphones cost?

[soundpurestudios]

@xiaonoobiexd Since the pricing is subject to change, we typically don't post the pricing to the comment section (since we plan to leave these videos up forever!), but if you click on the link above, it will take you right to a page where they can be bought at the today's best-available price.

[xiaonoobiexd]

@soundpurestudios Ok, thanks for replying!

[soundpurestudios]

@xiaonoobiexd No problem- please don't hesitate to shoot us an e-mail or drop us a phone call if you have any questions at all. These have been really hot as of late, but we try to keep them in stock at all times, but worst case, we can get them from Charter Oak rather quickly. Would love to do business with you, please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help.

[xiaonoobiexd]

@soundpurestudios Thanks, I really appreciate the replies. The mics are produce real good quality from what I've seen. Its one of the best. I'll contact you again if I need help. Thank you!

[BTCSUK]

Your piano playing a wonderful!

The Charter Oak's are a lot more detailed than I expected to be honest, but I suppose they are helped by that beautiful Steinway!

[soundpurestudios]

@BTCSUK Thanks a lot! For a large diaphragm microphone, these really give you the best of both worlds- wonderful harmonic information (detail, transients), but also the warmth and smoothness you get from an LDC- the result on the piano is something that handles the natural acoustic sustain (particularly in the low end) in ways that microphones costing 10-times the amount can't achieve. The Steinway is great, but we've tried a lot of different mics on it, this e700 is a star.

[zoomex]

That was a great demo good mic choice in this rec!!!

You need to play piano instead of selling a microphone. You are very talented!

Peace,

Zoomex

[soundpurestudios]

@zoomex Thanks for the kind words, maybe one day I will get around to releasing something again... it's been a while. In the meantime, I love the gear, so playing with high end gear is pretty great for me too!

[djm042]

Great demo!  That's a fabulous-sounding Steinway, too. Very nice.

[soundpurestudios]

@djm042 Thanks a lot- the microphones did the piano justice- the piano is wonderful and this is some of the best we've heard it translate- all of that rich dark harmonic character and complexity really came through on these mics- they've become a new favorite on piano, fingerstyle guitar, and believe it or not, kick drum!

[hugohilario]

Your playing is absolutely beautiful !! I'm amazed....

[soundpurestudios]

@hugohilario Thanks a lot Hugo.

[9000juli9000]

wow sounds excellent =) Nice Mics =)

-juli

[soundpurestudios]

@9000juli9000 These mics are really amazing... we've got piles of mics over here, so it's not all that often that we are completely floored, but this set of mics is definitely an example of that actually happening

[luckystrke]

oh thats peaceful :)

[soundpurestudios]

@luckystrke Really appreciate the very nice comment

[jmheuts]

These mics are truly amazing. I own lots of Neumanns and these have me really impressed! Thanks for opening my world. I will be calling you guys when I get my money together.

[KwazyTwang]

Nice playing man! Slow and soulful.

[soundpurestudios]

Hey man, thanks for the encouragement... you know what they say, if your chops suck, play slow! Love the way those mics sound though!

[KwazyTwang]

@soundpurestudios Yeah, the piano is my main instrument. And I completely agree that starting off (and even as an accomplished pianist) playing slow is the way for anyone to learn properly.

[dannycurtean]

Wow, those mics are awesome! Too bad youtube compresses the audio too, but it sounds so good it overcomes that also. These have got to be some of the PUREST mics I have ever heard on a piano. Great position too! Thanks for the video.

[soundpurestudios]

True, but if you dial things up to 720p it is tolerable (although not great like the 24bit 88.2k original tracks). If you are thinking of picking something up, we'd of course be completely glad to send them to you. Just let us know!

[dannycurtean]

@soundpurestudios See, now you are tempting me to spend my refund money. What do these go for a pair?

[soundpurestudios]

@dannycurtean That's the best part! Honestly, they are really inexpensive given how amazing they sound (and not just on piano)... $899/ea, $1798/pr. Pretty fantastic deal for sure.

[soundpurestudios]

@dannycurtean Hey Danny, sending the high res file to another customer, do want me to shoot you a copy of it? PM me your e-mail address if you do...