When it comes to miking instruments, I get more questions regarding how to mic piano arguably than any other instrument (okay maybe acoustic guitar – so check out my 14 tips on how to record acoustic guitar). Here is the best way to record piano (grand piano or upright).
Best Microphone for Recording Piano
There are many different techniques for how to mic piano, so let’s focus on what are arguably the three most common and popular techniques.
Note that each of these require two microphones to accurately capture the full stereo spread of the piano which you can then pan against each other in your mix.
While you can certainly record a piano with a single microphone placed directly over the center of the open lid, unless it’s bidirectional or omnidirectional (see my overview of microphone polar patterns) you’ll be forced to capturing the entire tone of the piano within a single mono track. This can work just fine if the piano isn’t playing a large role in the song and you just want to fit it in the stereo field (see my audio panning guide).
One last note – I recommend condenser small diaphragm cardioid microphones (outside of the third technique) like an SM81 as these are best suited for capturing the subtle and delicate dynamic range of a piano (see condenser vs dynamic microphones).
Now let’s get to talking how to mic piano!
How to Mic Piano
As I mentioned, we’re going to focus on three techniques: the XY, Low/High End Stereo, and Mid Side Techniques.
Here is a snapshot of the three before we get into the specifics of each:
Note that this will work for grand or upright pianos alike – simply open the top/lid of the piano and place the microphones in the center of the opening (in the case of an upright) or about a foot back from the front/key side of the opening (in the case of a grand).
I generally like to keep the microphones just above the surface of the opening because you get a lot of unpleasant reflections from the wood itself if you place the microphones too close to the strings and down in/below the opening of the lid of the piano, especially in the case of an upright.
One last thing to mention – while strictly not necessary, you can certainly use additional microphone or microphones to blend into what we’re recording with the following setups to taste.
Now let’s take a closer look at each of the techniques for recording piano, beginning with the XY technique.
XY Technique
As I covered on my overview on the XY recording technique for acoustic guitar, the XY method for recording piano involves two microphones placed at the center of the piano.
Each microphone is facing one another at a slight angle (somewhere in the 30 to 45 degree angle):
This allows one microphone to be angled more toward the treble end and the other to be angled more toward the bass end, but because of their placement, they’re getting a mix of both ends of the piano.
This creates a blend between the two tracks which, when panned left and right against one another, gives you a full and natural sounding piano which always sounds good, hence this technique’s popularity.
How far you pan the two tracks against each other is your choice; one of the great things about the XY technique is that you can create more width on your piano without either side truly being favored or sticking out simply by panning each track farther toward their respective left and right ends.
Note the asterisk for the optional additional microphone in the back to capture more of the bass. You can leave this track centered in the mix or, if you’re going for more of a natural piano spread, pan it farther to the left.
As I mentioned a moment ago, adding an additional microphone in the center and higher up/with more distance from the strings gives you more of a room sound to capture the natural sound of the room which you can then blend in with the other two tracks, albeit at a much lower level.
Low/High End Stereo Technique
The low/high end stereo technique is very simple – here you’re simply using two microphones placed near the low and high ends of the piano.
One of these then obviously captures and greatly favors the low end and likewise with the other microphone for the high end.
This is a good technique for replicating the natural stereo spread of the bass and treble of the piano as someone would hear it if they were the one playing it with the bass on the left and treble on the right.
I like to place these about a foot in on either end of the piano, but this will be dictated by the angle you use (if any).
The angle of the microphones is the main factor which dictates the sound as, similar to the XY technique, the more you angle each microphone inward toward 90 degrees facing the other end, the more of that sound you’re going to pick up.
I like to experiment with the angles, turning them 10 degrees at a time (and labeling them as such in your DAW) while I record a test to hear that blend and compare with the others.
A little angle gives you more of a blend and less of a stark contrast while still giving you the desired effect of the low/high stereo spread technique.
Mid Side Technique
Certainly the most complicated of these ways of how to mic a piano, the mid side mic technique arguably gives you the fullest sounding recorded piano with only two microphones.
The catch with the mid side technique is that one of these microphones needs to be a figure 8/bidirectional microphone. This means the microphone can capture audio equally directly in front of and behind it:
Set the two microphones roughly at the same location relative to the piano as you would with the XY technique, but face the cardioid down into the opening of the piano.
Now place the figure 8 microphone so that it’s just behind the first microphone but without touching it.
When using the mid side mic technique with piano, I place two boom microphone stands on either side of the piano with the microphones’ long ways orientation being parallel with the person playing the piano (like I show in the image above).
It doesn’t matter which microphone is closer to the pianist and which is farther away, just make sure the cardioid is facing down.
One last point – turn the figure 8 microphone 90 degrees so that its “live” sides are pointed toward the bass and treble ends of the piano like shown:
One last LAST thing – after you’ve recorded your two tracks, duplicate the figure 8 track in your DAW. Invert the phase on that duplicate, then pan one hard left and one hard right.
The effect of this is that you’ll have one track representing everything the left side of the microphone picked up and one track representing everything the right side of the microphone picked up (typically you’ll want to pan whichever track ends up being the bass end to the left).
Again, the mid side mic technique with piano arguably gives you the fullest sound with two microphones.
You have the full stereo spread via that figure 8 trick with the cardioid track panned in the middle to capture the entire range and size of the piano.
How to Mic Piano Tips
- Miking a piano typically works best with two microphones to recreate the full stereo spread and size of the instrument in your mix.
- Small diaphragm condenser microphones generally work best to pick up the nuance and complexities of the dynamics of piano.
- You’ll generally get the best results with either an upright or grand piano by opening the lid and placing the microphones roughly 6-12 inches above the lid to minimize the heavy reflections inside the piano itself.
- The XY technique requires two microphones facing inward over the open lid/strings of the piano at roughly a 30-45 degree angle and is a popular technique to capture a nice, naturally blended sound which works no matter how or where you pan it.
- The low/high end stereo technique requires two microphones, one about a foot over each end of the piano (angled inward to blend to taste). When panned hard left and right, you can recreate the natural stereo sound of the piano with the low end on the left and high end on the right.
- The mid side technique requires one cardioid and one figure 8 pattern microphone, set just behind one another in the center of the piano over the strings with the figure 8 turned 90 degrees so it captures the left and right sides of the piano. When duplicated and inverting the phase on that duplicate, panning each hard left and right, you get arguably the fullest and best stereo representation of the piano along with that centered cardioid microphone track.
