How I Record Upright Piano // Quick Tips for Setup and Mixing

Check out these three upright piano recording setups, using felt to create a warm and intimate tone. Headphones recommended! 🎧
If you enjoy this video, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! Questions or thoughts? Drop them in the comments below - I’d love to hear from you!
Gear
Yamaha U1 (with felt)
Soyuz 013 FET microphones
Universal Audio Apollo X4
In this video I'm playing an excerpt of my song 'Entitled Smile' from my debut album 'Hello World'.
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00:00 Intro
00:40 Setup 1
02:48 Setup 2
04:26 Setup 3
06:29 Mixing & plugins
13:34 Final thoughts

[@Maaahthew]

This is genuine gold. I’ve watched so many KZbin videos about recording upright piano, but this one is the only one that really gets to the heart of it. Your process is clear as day and such a relief to come across.

[@jean.marion]

Thanks so much for doing an Ableton video using an acoustic piano. Most of what I have been able to find is in reference to midi piano etc... Your video gives me hope that someday I'll actually understand everything you were talking about and be able to modify the sound of my piano 🎹 recordings. 😊

[@NocturnalSurgeon]

Thanks a lot for your expertise !

[@bartholomewmason2051]

Thanks for your advise, super informative and helpful. Lovely playing too!

[@retreetmusic]

Lovely playing and tone mate, really inspiring!

[@McEnroe911]

Thanks for this. You get an incredible tone for a home studio. Well done.

[@samlynn2806]

Love this!

[@antisocialskateboarding1434]

Muchas gracias! Muy buen contenido ❤

[@ahajonathan]

That's a beautiful sounding instrument and you play amazing. Great video Matt and new subscriber

[@JoeAlexanderShepherd]

great work man, thanks for the insight! Recording a felt piano certainly is a tricky ball game but you're doing a fab job :)

[@LianDyogi]

This was great, thanks Matt!

[@mattwildemusic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@gianmarcorosso]

beautiful channel, keep up the good work! love from italy :)

[@mattwildemusic]

Thank you so much!

[@danieldriskill]

I just purchased my Soyuz pair! Thank you for this informative video. I've watched it a handful of times already and will be referencing it often.

[@mattwildemusic]

Awesome!! Happy recording 😍

[@WonDaHee]

Your video really helped me out.🙂 Thank you so much! 👏from South Korea.

[@mattwildemusic]

Glad it helped! ☺️

[@soyuzmics]

Awesome video - Your playing is so beautiful

[@mattwildemusic]

Your microphones are inspiring 🙏🏼 And thank you, that’s a short excerpt from my track ‘Entitled Smile’

[@milesian1]

@@mattwildemusicIt’s a beautiful piece.

[@0de_t0_j0y8]

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been composing my own peices recently and have really wanted to get them out to people. But, I can’t go to a recording studio or anything so I was kind of stuck. Then I realized I could just buy a relatively cheap microphone that will get me good enough results. When I went to search how to use the microphone, however, I could only find result for pianos that were wide and flat (forgot the names for those) but I have a tall piano. So, thank you thank you thank you for this wonderful video!

[@yobhsiFehT]

Thanks again for the response on your other video! Sounds so good! And I've been trying to make myself accept the fact that I love Ableton and now just need to LEARN it better, so I'm thinking you have yourself a new subscriber 😄 Take care!

[@mattwildemusic]

Awesome! Ableton is great I really enjoy the workflow. Have fun 😍🙏🏼

[@nashboogaloo1549]

Thanks for sharing these tips with your community. At which sample rate and bit depth are you recording? Which audio interface are you using?

[@mattwildemusic]

Thanks! I’m using an Universal Audio Apollo (no Unison plugins for this recording) and recording 24 bit / 44100 sample rate 👍

[@alanmoreno1479]

@@mattwildemusic I switched from 44.1khz to 96 kHz and it was a game changer. Before it would sound muffled but now it’s clear.

[@acollectionofdaves]

Awesome stuff Matt - thank you! What mic stand is that btw? Would be useful for my studio!!

[@hisatotsuji]

Great video👏🏻 By the way, I didn't know that Yamaha made piano with such a warm sound in wood color .

[@johnhansenbristow2900]

Lmao this was my reaction too

[@GoodGoodergoodgooder]

It's because he has the mute pedal on

[@bassinblue]

Just discovered your channel and really loving it man! I'm sure you're aware of this, but if you're after something specific and super characterful, I would suggest either Soundtoys (Decapitator/Tremolator/Echoboy) or even RC-20. Keep up the good work!

[@MondoLoops]

Legend mate, super helpful vid! Planning to mic my new piano up this week so idea timing! What mic stand are you using here? Need to grab something similar!

[@mattwildemusic]

My pleasure! That sounds fun, look forward to hearing how it sounds 🙏🏼

[@kalapaouta]

same quesiotn here, what is this mic stand? thanks

[@mattwildemusic]

@@kalapaouta it’s by latch lake, just dropped a new video where I talk about it ☺️🙏🏼

[@sjmusiket]

Thank you so much! Absolutely superb video, information, playing, explanation. Literally awesome! I like all three techniques, probably I will try the first one with one mic, since I only have one, but play around with the felt as I like this idea very much. The processing info is so succint, love it. Would you have any suggestions for a basic process using Logic Pro or Garageband perchance?!

[@mattwildemusic]

Hey, thanks for watching! I’m unfamiliar with Logic and GarageBand but my basic chain is Preamp > EQ > saturation > compression. You’ll be able to find plugins for all of those things on both DAWs I imagine. Have fun! 🎹

[@sjmusiket]

@@mattwildemusic thanks so much, I'm gonna give it all a go!

[@vysochinr]

🔥🔥🔥

[@marianopaul42]

Great Video! Just pickup a pair of the Soyuz! Can you tell me which mic boom you are using? Thank you!

[@danmyersmusic]

Hi Matt - thanks for a great video. Can I ask - where did you get that mic boom? I have the same mic setup but that thing your using looks so practical and quick….

[@luvr]

Hey Matt, thanks for breaking all this down so simply! I'm currently looking at the Universal Audio SP-1s for my acoustic piano, these sound amazing, also slightly less 'hollow'. Do you think it's worth spending the extra money for the Soyuz 013 FET microphones?

[@hellopsp180]

1st = quite nice 2nd = muddy 3rd = was good. similar to 1st but different

[@Dddlllfff]

I'm about to get a pair of 013 for this application. What stand are you using?

[@RichardOlsenQuispeUrbina-xv5yn]

Hi Matt, hoy you doing ? which wireless mic are u using ?

[@minchy2]

can anyone advise me on the mic stand he uses in this video?

[@XuLucas-wh9pt]

Hi! I have a question. I am using Adobe Audition, and recording my piano in a big room using Behringer microphones. The sound was very light, not blurry, and the chords turned out to be really loud and hard. I wonder if there's any way to make the sound softer and pleasing

[@aydensherba]

Why do I like setup 3 so much?

[@mattwildemusic]

I honestly use it a lot! The mono piano sound is really special 🙏🏼

[@aydensherba]

@@mattwildemusic It really is!

[@PetexZen]

mannnn you rip, we should do a video together

[@CarlosMayaOfficial]

great, now WITHOUT the mute pedal... -_ -