Avenson STO2 and DAV BG1 together in diverse styles

[bap]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemus ... ndID=87179

1.) A piano solo - Lo, How A Rose - recorded with this combo. Mics were not super close - they were a few feet outside of piano - a 7 ft Schimmel and in a large room.

2.) A rock trio type christian band with drums recorded solely with Avenson/BG1 set up. Cheap guitars w pedal and bass were DI into Hamptone Jfet. I have never recorded pop/rock stuff before and this with another song was all done very quickly [1 hr] including over dub of singer using Rode NT1000 into the Hamptone. It was kind of fun. They all played simultaneously using headphones.

Please excuse 128bps mp3 as 'high' quality setting.

Any helpful comments appreciated.

[Albert]

I just ordered the DAV BG1 a day ago!

The stereo image in the "Lo, how a rose" selection seems skewed strongly to the left. If I sit in the center of the sweet spot there's definitely a lot more coming out the left speaker than the right.

What mics did you use when making this recording? Thanks for putting up the lsitening links.

[bap]

I used the Avenson Sto 2 pair. The mics were placed more than 3 feet apart and were pointing towards bass and treble of the piano - different directions. I probably should have had them a little closer together and in parallel as the RH [melody] comes through the left side more than it should. Also, on that tune there are no real low notes played.

I think you will enjoy the BG1 a lot and thanks for the feedback. I plan on doing a real cd sometime soon and your comment was helpful.

[Albert]

I just did a little research on the Avenson Sto 2 mics, and I think 3 feet apart might be too much separation. A tighter spacing could work better for them, or maybe an x/y.

Pianos are notoriously difficult to mic. There are so many factors: the piano, the music, the room, mics, the artists' goal of what they want to the piano to sound like, the list goes on and on. It takes a lot of experimentation.

[bap]

Yes indeed. I have been trying different configurations and think that I sort of like the general sound I'm getting for this kind of music. Some 'New Agy' type fuzzy piano tones don't sit well with me but I do like some ambience. A tone that is not too hard but still has clarity. I don't like the piano to sound like it has a head cold - at least on solo stuff.

Thanks for the input - I think I'm getting close.

[Albert]

I did feel that this piano and recording were a bit on the bright side. When the pianist hit some of the high notes loudly they did sound hard. A little softening might be appropriate, but I agree I don't like a mushy sound. So much depends on the piano itself, and the room.