Piano Miking 3 - Kevin Edlin

This is Part 3 in a series of blogs dedicated to my late brother, Frank Jaszcz who passed away earlier this month while fishing in Yellowstone National Park.  My brother was such a fan of Frédéric Chopin.  He would always try to play his favorite piece, the Polonaise in Ab Major, Op. 53, and though he wasn't the greatest pianist I've ever seen, his passion was a joy to watch.  In light of his love of classical piano, this week's blog posts are all about recording piano.  We started with some of our thoughts in Part 1, got opinions from Randy Poole in Part 2, and this is Part 3 with special guest Kevin Edlin.

Kevin is an extraordinary engineer who has done many classical recordings for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra and has done recordings of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for Decca Records, and the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 on Naxos among many others, in addition to his role as a guitar player and sound designer for his band Seven Cycle Theory.  My Brother would have loved him because he obviously has a genuine love for classical music.  He was kind enough to offer GetYoshed his thoughts on recording classical piano:

Piano Miking 2 - Randy Poole

This is Part II of a blog in tribute to my brother, Frank, who recently passed away while fishing in Yellowstone National Park.  After spending a weekend in Iowa with my family remembering his life.  One of those memories was his love of Frédéric Chopin, so it is in his honor that we wrote our blog on recording classical piano, and in his honor we are posting this follow-up today.

Randy Poole is a good friend of mine, and also a marvelous engineer.  Working for such artists as Take 6, Natalie Grant, Smokie Norful, and Anita Baker, Randy has gained a reputation for quality engineering.

Of course, every engineer will have a slightly different take on mic techniques, choices, and placements, so we asked Randy for his thoughts on miking a piano.  Here's what he said:

Classical Piano

My brother, Frank, recently passed away in Yellowstone National Park. A biology professor for many years, he retired this year at age 65 and was doing what he loved most… fishing. I spent the weekend in Iowa with my family, celebrating the life he lived and the lives he touched. So many memories were re-lived, and one of my favorites was his love for Frédéric Chopin. I’ve seen him attempt to play the “Heroic” Polonaise in A Flat Major countless times, a piece he truly loved. It is that memory that inspired this blog entry on the recording of classical piano.