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Piano and Keys Recording

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Piano and Keys Recording

Overview

Abstract

Piano and keyboard recording is a recurring topic in recording-talk, covering grand piano, upright piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and other keyboard instruments. The community emphasizes that pianos are “phasey as hell” and that the room plays a huge role in the final sound. Small diaphragm condensers — particularly the Neumann KM184 / KM84 — are the most recommended mics for piano.

Community Consensus

  • KM84 / KM184 are the gold standard for piano recording
  • Pianos are inherently phase-complex — Don’t overthink placement, but do check phase
  • The room matters enormously — Piano mics in another room can serve as incredible drum room mics
  • Remove the front panel on uprights for a more direct, clear sound
  • Go light on EQ when tracking piano — Key changes across songs make baked-in EQ problematic

Grand Piano

Mic Placement

  • Open the lid fully for a brighter, more projected sound
  • Stereo pair over the strings is the most common approach
  • Small diaphragm condensers (Neumann KM184, Soyuz 013 FET) are preferred for accuracy
  • dudeitsmarcus: “decided to throw a Coles under the grand piano for the hell of it. sounds awesome!” — Ribbon mics can add warmth
  • chrissorem on tonal zones: “I almost always mic the bridge of piano, I find that it’s the richest in tone and even in notes. Micing the hammers can be cool for some mechanical sound… moving further from the piano will make it darker and less articulated”

The 414 Omni Hammer Technique

Ross Fortune (2023-02-09)

“That 414 omnis thing originally came from Jimmy Napes’ engineer Gus Pirelli. They were writing Sam Smith’s 2017 album at Livingstone Studios in north London, and on the occasions when Sam might, eh, not turn up, Gus and the assistant would spend the time trying different arrays on various instruments. After a day of grand piano experiments, they determined the 414 B-ULS omnis on hammers + 87 body to be the ultimate combo.”

The Piano-as-Room-Mic Trick

montrose recording (2025-02-22)

“using mics that are already up on other instruments are my favorite room mics. esp piano mics on drum kit etc”

When tracking a full band live, piano mics in the room capture a natural ambient perspective of the entire ensemble.

Upright Piano

cian riordan (2023-11-23)

“First thing I’d suggest is pulling off the front panel if you haven’t already. It’ll give a much more direct, clear sound and will help you better visualize where you’re putting the mics. Those KM84s are going to sound wonderful… would be hard to argue for a better pair of mics on upright.”

Tape Bridge Technique

chrissorem shared a “piano tape bridge” technique for dampening/modifying the piano sound — a creative approach to getting specific tonal colors.

Rhodes and Wurlitzer

cian riordan (2024-05-10)

“Dynamics have always been ideal for me as they won’t pick up as much of the keyboard noise given how close they are. 441 had always worked well. But my ideal Wurli recording move has always been defeating the speaker (with a 1/4” adapter in the headphone jack) and using an Ampeg Jet with an m160 on it. Very flexible from dark to bright, dirty to clean, and a nice spring reverb that blends well.”

  • Dynamic mics help reject mechanical keyboard noise
  • Defeating the internal speaker and running through an external amp gives more tonal control
  • Sennheiser 441 works well for close miking Rhodes/Wurlitzer

Tracking Tips

NoahNeedleman (2023-02-12)

“Also go light on eq’ing on the way in — the fundamental shifting from song to song in different keys can really fuck you.”

  • Phase is inherently complex with piano — Oli J: “Pianos are phasey as hell anyway so don’t sweat placement”
  • Consider the room sound carefully — position the piano where it sounds best acoustically before placing mics
  • For live tracking with a band, piano mics often double as valuable room captures
InstrumentFirst ChoiceAlternatives
Grand PianoNeumann KM184 pairSoyuz 013 FET, Coles 4038 (for warmth)
Upright PianoNeumann KM184 / KM84 pairAny quality SDC pair
Rhodes/WurlitzerSennheiser 441, dynamic micsBeyerdynamic M160 (on external amp)

Common Mistakes

  • Not removing the front panel on uprights — It blocks direct sound access
  • Heavy EQ during tracking — Key changes between songs make this risky
  • Over-thinking mic placement given that pianos are naturally phase-complex
  • Ignoring the room — Piano recording quality is heavily room-dependent
  • Using only close mics without capturing the room perspective

14 photos shared in recording-talk. Showing selected highlights.

hyanrarvey (2022-12-17) — All jokes aside one of the 414s the single non matched one we have with a brass cap is living on the piano and i am extremely happy with how its sound

LAPhill (2023-03-28) — Here’s a recent upright miking we did. More of a rounded jazz vibe, I’d put something higher on the neck for more clarity/cut, as @NoahNeedleman said

dudeitsmarcus (2023-03-31) — decided to throw a Coles under the grand piano for the hell of it. sounds awesome!

*stefanmacc (2023-05-19) — Hey @chrissorem and everyone else who’s experienced with big boy pianos .. how wrong am I doing this ? 😂

Two spaced pairs of AEA n8 ribbons and two*

Ross Fortune (2023-09-02) — @Iwan Morgan not sure which thread you asked and I don’t want to sidetrack discussion in 👩🍳mixing-talk right now, but a pal happened to just comment

cian riordan (2023-11-23) — Welcome! First thing I’d suggest is pulling off the front panel if you haven’t already. It’ll give a much more direct, clear sound and will help you b

*louisvie (2023-12-13) — P’aying and Recording my band’s debut album in there tomorrow, all live instruments

Any placement recs for the Townsend Room Mic ?

Should I keep the*

alex stinson (2024-01-22) — i know the royer sf24 has become a meme here- but it worked nicely today on a toy piano 😂

jantrit (2024-10-10) — Usually positioned something like this, love using m160’s for the top but only have one available here. Also had great luck with the aea88 a little wa

alex stinson (2025-01-20) — day 5 of a solo piano record today.

Oli J (2025-02-28) — When you close the lid of the piano, there’s another bit that then closes over the hammers that folds over. Tape them on here so they end up over the

Paris / Blue Butler Studios (2025-03-26) — Recording jazz piano today, really loving the tone I’m getting from the R44’s & schoeps wide cardioids

Johnny I (2025-07-22) — If the register being played on the piano is isolated to the lower end (within the red rectangle), would it be good practice to have the 2 mics coveri

NoahNeedleman (2024-02-29)

External Resources

Videos

Gear Listings

See Full External Resources Index for all links.

See Also

Source Discussions

Discord Source

Channel: recording-talk Matches: 193 Key contributors: cian riordan, NoahNeedleman, montrose recording, chrissorem, Oli J, dudeitsmarcus

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