Can You Make Good Samples With A Cheap Mic?

[@ChristopherScullion]

Try noise reducing just the tail of the notes. It's a little more work, but usually the initial strike is loud enough to cover the noise floor and leaving it without the noise reduction keeps the whole frequency spectrum of the attack intact. Then you can actually pretty heavily noise reduce the tail and crossfade with the attack.

[@Guitarisalways]

is this guy just one of the most generous musicians/developers? one of my fav channels!

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Thanks Lance... having a lot of fun here!

[@mtchampion1831]

Yes he absolutely is. I love this guy and the company he's built and represents. He inspires me to write, to converse and to maintain a positive attitude. Even when he complains, it's positive. He just wants things to be better than before and for you to work uninhibited by even his own companies prices. I respect that deeply.

[@RMMChicagoOfficial]

Wow-Agreed!

[@bluluva]

possibly one of the most instructive videos for normals like me on how to not worry about quality of gear and make the most of what you've got

[@aaronnewberry]

This is one of my favorites of all the vlogs to date, not only that I was mentioned (thanks to you and Angus) but this is so rich with knowledge. Thanks so much Christian

[@samshrimpton407]

I never expected to find the Pianobook project all that relevant or interesting for me personally. Yet these videos offer so much insight, and even general production ideas, and man am I using these libraries! Such a mind blowing resource! I don’t mean to bash any company; but while the pianos you get in the NI bundles are more deeply sampled, The Pianobook series generally kicks its ass, in terms of character and often realism! I can’t even imagine how useful this must be to musicians just starting out! Thank you to everyone who is contributing! I’ll try to pop up a little guitar library, when I have the time.

[@greateralexander]

I personally love the rain noise. You can hear some rain in the Olafur piano sample library.

[@quetzalmarchiori]

Amazing advices! Pan samples, SM57 mic, tracking, delay... All in one video, my favourite so far. Thank you.

[@CharlesHarrisonMusicTuition]

Always look forward to your uploads, Christian. Have been following the Spitfire journey since Albion I Legacy. Counting the pennies for BBC... Cheers!

[@mycbeats1276]

Theres no doubt that the SM57 is a great mic and you can make good samples with a cheap mic. But if you're gonna spend hours (and even days) making a meticulously sampled library (like every note x round robins x velocity layers), then its worth it to rent a great mic (given it fits the sound you're after). I can cut down a couple 2x4" pieces of wood with my Leatherman pocket knife, but to frame a house I'd get a mitre saw.

[@crysstoll1191]

Faraz Abtahi No doubt.

[@Table-Top]

Great video Christian *thank you* . Would love to see you do a video on Mic'ing other instruments like acoustic guitars and other non-piano instruments. Close mic'ing positions, Room mic'ing and even what kind of room to choose to record in. I am looking to give this a try, I got a SM57 a few weeks ago, and am getting a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre... Really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

When I did my first attempt with "Bowed Pots", I used my trusty SM58 (which I got because you recommended it in an older video, Christian, and I shall never part with it), stuck it inside the pot, first, and a bit higher ouside, then. For the coffee mug/milk jug samples in "Sounds from the Kitchen", I used my Zoom H1n, set the low pass filter high enough, so that I would not get too much noise, and that was it. Now, I plan on doing a new pass with "Bowed Pots", recording both the SM58 and the H1n at the same time, as I want to have both a mono close and a stereo room recording, which is going to be lots of fun, when processing!

[@glenesis]

Ooh, it's lovely! I'm downloading it now I am a champion of the SM-57. I love it more than any other mic Ive ever used. It's full and thick, and rolls off all the harsh stuff. It's definitely the easiest mic this engineer has ever mixed, and it's sadly underutilized in studios these days. I'm thrilled to see your piano giving some '57-Love. I've been a lurker at Pianobook since it went live, but I've only just today started wokring on a library, so I'll be gladly studying your contributions to see the lay of the land in the library files. Thank you, truly, deeply, and always, for your relentless daily contributions to the Creator Continuum. See you around! Best regards, Glenn in the USA

[@PeteCalandra]

Nice vid! The piano recorded that way has quite a bit a excellent character! I'm teaching the basics of sampling at my college gig now and having the students capture things with their phones. Just getting them started on recording things....Back when I was a youngster and playing piano at Little Shop Of Horrors in NYC, we miked up the Yamaha upright we used in the pit with a 57 that I kept after the show closed in 1987! Still use it!

[@richdewhittaker1746]

Thanks for the cred Christian! Love it...Cheers

[@bluedyeno1]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[@AndersHansgaard]

This is just great! Really, it's a modern thrill to feel the weight of passionate labor, intelligence and expertise just dump in my lap - for free. How's this even possible?! I'm stunned - and subscribing, naturally. Thanks a bunch of bits, Mr. Henson.

[@luxaritas]

I love the sound of that so much ❤️

[@__-yh1wv]

Amazing stuff Christan, thank you!

[@DuskLight]

Well that's the video, I wanted for a long time

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Yeah, I'm, gonna have another pop at it though!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I am not sure what qualifies as cheap, but I am getting pretty good results with my Roland R-26 and it's been a great source for all kinds of real instruments like mother nature, trains, helicopters, tibetan bowls and a swarm of didgeridoos. To be honest, when I need a sampled piano I'd go for the download on top of this page :). Thank you so much for all this trouble.

[@forthiggins3921]

Really great stuff here! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@karl.weaver]

The brother I never had, thank you so much!

[@tjdrummer09]

Hey Christian, great video as always! Is the RX 7 Standard version enough for cleaning up audio for samples, or do you feel it necessary to purchase the full Advanced version? Dependent on varying levels of need/application? I'm just looking to sample lots of things around the world for my own projects (I don't work for many high-scale projects). Thanks as always for your continuous contribution to this community!!

[@marcclement7790]

Great vid as always.....Try the 57 , in the centre of the back of the piano.....sounds brilliant with some bottom and top added...

[@keiththeodosiou]

I really do like the sound of your Schimmel as it's great for mellow pieces but I would love to have a full bright version of it if possible :)

[@jos9573]

Those SM57s are just amazing. So versatile. I like the end result, too. It sounds very intimate and usable. going to download it asap. I remember that years ago, when my gear was a lot more low budget, I’d prefer these kinds of samples over perfectly produced libraries (or, ehm, soundfonts) simply because they’d blend better with the sounds I was able to record myself. Anyway, I like it! Love the new piano book contributions! High time I should sample something myself, I have quite a bunch of stringed instruments around here. Leaning towards sampling this electronic saz I have, but it being microtonal, I'm going to have to give some thought to my approach. If anyone has any good resources or tips, I’d love to hear them. Maybe create a regular 12-tone version and a microtonal one? Finally, nice editing Christian! I liked how your thoughtful speech continued sometimes when the footage sped up. Works well.

[@pjdahmen]

I like it and well done

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Awesome. Thank you!

[@DEADLINETV]

I love the feel that was created using the SM57! And the tracking technique works beautiful! And er, where is the wetransfer link? Looking forward to playing around with this one!

[@marcozannonemusic]

Hi Christian, long time watching but first time commenting. love your videos! I only recently discovered the stereo width knob in the spitfire libraries and realised how useful it could be but I find myself having trouble deciding how much is good and how much is too much, or is there even a too much? For example could I assign full stereo width to the full spitfire studio orchestra for an ultra wide sound or would that be too much and I'd be losing the centre? I decided to ask because I think it's a function that might be very often overlooked from a lot of users and could be a good topic to talk about in a video if you ever have the time/think it might be useful. Thank you for all the incredibly useful content!

[@infinaneek]

Totally! My pals and I have made a fair few very well received sample albums with lofi gear and mics... ok some might have had u87’s on the drums...

Why not using a fethead or a cloudlifter to boost the signal? Those pre-amps are rather cheat but work really well with dynamic and ribbon microphones, +25db of clean gain boost, lower noise floor.

[@jodagold5481]

This is cooli would love to see how you sample the room verb and create a mix so that you can create room spill mixing ?

[@LightsandMotion]

I thought that experimentally panned piano sounded very interesting as an effect!

[@ClipofTheDayy]

The shure is the best mic I've ever used.

[@anders_wall]

Most mics are by default omnis. The small insertions at the top makes them more or less cardioid. You can always put some tape around those to make a sm57 omni(-ish). Also, if you’ve got some more tape you could fix your mic to various places on your piano making it a pzm mic. Ta! /Anders

[@MrTomDangerous]

@@anders_wall Du kan deleta ditt svar nu om du vill...och då gör jag detsamma igen.

[@MartiBrugue]

Shure SM57 or line audio design cm3? Let me know your thoughts! :) Excellent video by the way! Thank you so much!

[@svenhegenmusic]

maybe to get the high frequency noise floor down but keep the felt you could introduce a very slight low pass filter that rolls down with a longer decay time.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Yeah, I'm going turbo on my next try!

[@justlisa1599]

Very educational, thanks. More about file sharing between DAWs might be something to talk about. Is it possible to avoid Kontakt altogether? My eyes can't deal with the strain. Please. : )

[@davetbassbos]

Hey Mr. Henson, have you seen the mechanical (sort of robot) mic stands? There are several commercial ones but I saw a video where rock producer Eric Valentine built his own, that he controls from control room, you get accurate recall of mic position, and in this case you could have it move from string to string

[@studio.151]

amazing!

[@svenhegenmusic]

Interesting technique. You would need a ton of mics if you were ablut to do that without sampling and you would definetly run into phase problems. That's the beauty of sampling. Thanks for sharing

[@Audiophiile]

Hi Christian, I would really like to record some electric guitar and was wondering what gear you use and what your workflow was for the spitfire audio Labs peel guitar? In the description it says you used a tweed amp with a tele. What pickups and amplifier did you use, if I may ask? Thank you!

[@crysstoll1191]

Audiophiile I’m no great fan of the venerable ‘57 but micing a guitar cab is where they shine. Curious about the pickups and cab, too.

[@paulchambers3]

Great video as usual, so for my first sampling mic, it looks like the SM57 is the best all-rounder and cheap? I'd like to record sound design, foley and general sounds, a little like the last free LABS instrument, of found sounds turned into instruments. Any tips on turning random everyday sounds into tuned instruments? and secondly, is the SM58 a different beast altogether?

[@simonfyffe]

www.shure.com/en-US/performance-production/louder/faq-whats-the-difference-between-the-sm58-and-the-sm57

"Bit of a blocker…" So, y'all use agile at Spitfire, eh? Amazing stuff as usual.

[@CorneliusKatz]

Thank you for that interesting video! Learned a lot. And how cute are your dogs? Have you sampled them yet? :P

[@dorothyshrodinger]

I posted that 2 weeks ago on the pianobook forum but I didn't get any answer. Maybe, I will be luckier here. "I saw in one of the latest vlog of Christian, he was using some carwashing “peau de chamois” on the U3 to make it sound so delicate. Any tip about which kind of felt to buy and how to attach it to the piano would be very welcome. @christianhenson please, by any chance, could you give to us some tips, or maybe just a link to buy this accessory?"

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Just standard craft felt, there's a video here of me felting my grand? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ_Hon-mh853gcU

[@MrTomDangerous]

@@TheCrowHillCo That just sounds rude. "What are you doing in there, dear?" "Nothing, darling! Just felting my grand..."

[@ericecklund676]

I agree the SM 57 will last you for life, and everyone should have at least two for the price. Here you're trying to replace a pair of Neumann U 87 and trying to figure out how to make a SM 57 work in their place. Why not try a pair of Shure SM 27 (Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic...about $600 for the pair) as a replacement for the pair of Neumann U 87? The U 87 will sound better, but are they 10 times better than the SM 27? And the SM 27 vs U-87 is a more apples to apples comparison...and we are trying to sample on the cheap, right?

[@Microtonal_Cats]

Good vid. Also, if you don't have an SM57, you can also make great samples using a free WAV recorder on an Android or iPhone. They don't sound that good when making a call, but that's telco network. The microphone on an iPhone and any Android other than a burner cheapo is good. I record samples like that, then play 'em in the free VST "Simpler Stupider Sampler."

[@crysstoll1191]

Michael Dean Yes, an iphone mic is ok, but seriously lacking in bass response. That, however can be a good thing.

[@MasonTorrey]

Where I live in Hamilton, New Zealand, there are a few street pianos for anyone to play. They are all old and haven't been tuned for years, but I wonder... if I sampled the best one of these pianos along with the ambiance of the busy street... could that be something worth investing time in?

[@MrRadiooff]

Спасибо!

[@jorgefpramos]

The question is: AKG C1000s MKIV or Shure SM57?

[@jimsanger]

I use a c1000 for simple recording, think it has better frequency response and probably better for sampling. Thing about a 57 is it can be great against a guitar cab as well as loads of other stuff.

[@noahgersh6272]

Sounds fantastic. Where did the Wetransfer go?!

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Sorry, should be up there now!

[@4kfreelance]

Sample editor has always annoyed me because it doesn't have a key command short cut to close it. But I found from my Logic Pro 9 training years ago, that double tapping the X key goes to mixing board first, then closes it. Any commenters know off a better way?

[@TheAudioDabbler]

I need to get myself an SM57

[@VictorSteiner]

So is this or the SM58 good for singing? I like the design of the SM57, because the footprint is so small, and the SM57 is so much bigger again at the top. Would the SM57 be ok for singing?

[@TheCrowHillCo]

VictorSteiner I believe it is exactly the same capsule, just a different mesh on the head, stick a pop shield up and you should be fine but don’t sing into it like you would an sm58... the spit could damage the capsule.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

VictorSteiner I believe it is exactly the same capsule, just a different mesh on the head, stick a pop shield up and you should be fine but don’t sing into it like you would an sm58... the spit could damage the capsule.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

VictorSteiner I believe it is exactly the same capsule, just a different mesh on the head, stick a pop shield up and you should be fine but don’t sing into it like you would an sm58... the spit could damage the capsule.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

VictorSteiner I believe it is exactly the same capsule, just a different mesh on the head, stick a pop shield up and you should be fine but don’t sing into it like you would an sm58... the spit could damage the capsule.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

VictorSteiner I believe it is exactly the same capsule, just a different mesh on the head, stick a pop shield up and you should be fine but don’t sing into it like you would an sm58... the spit could damage the capsule.

[@definitelymiami7978]

I did this with an old walkman style dictaphone cassette recorder. I put it on the top of the piano and moved it for each note. The recorder itself had motor noise, which was picked up with the mic, but i was able to remove in RX. You can hear how it sounded here. Lofi for sure, but has a nice atmosphere/vibe. instagram.com/p/BpTOZVOB1Vt/?

[@dafingaz]

Has anyone used an iPhone mic to sample?

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Marcus Manderson I tried on this one but it switched off! Next ep!

[@dafingaz]

@@TheCrowHillCo Cool!

[@weldroid]

Yes you can! I made Nordiska Piano using just a Zoom H2N portable recorder. Recorded ambiphonically, mixed to stereo. Shameless plug, haha. www.pianobook.co.uk/library/nordiska-piano

[@robertsyrett1992]

SM-57 is the best.

[@HumbleTrader001]

Thank god for the SM-57 and other inexpensive mics. Can’t justify spending thousands on a mic for home recording.

[@GrantStinnett]

Quick answer: Yes.

[@6884]

DOGGOS

[@XPJV]

Piano samples are useless due that real time playing has a strings resonance and samples are only a single static tone that has no life in it.

[@GavinMorris1]

SM57/58 is cheating. They might be inexpensive but you can hear them on many, many great records. I'd like to see this with an RS catalogue or PC world heap of crap. Which means I should probably do that.

[@TheCrowHillCo]

Gavin Morris I believe Bono sings into an sm58 when recording U2 records whilst having the music blaring out of the speakers in the control room.