How do you guys tend to mix keyboards/piano in a rock band? I've jjst been wondering because it seems like the traditional way is to pan the bass (left hand)to the left and the right hand to the right. It seems like that could be weird though in a rock mix, because it's not necessarily very realistic.

what do you guys do?

It depends on the use of the piano in the music.

If the piano is a lead instrument, then I treat it like the drum kit: It should sound pretty much like it does when you're playing it: Bass on the left, treble on the right, loud enough to get your attention.

If it's accompaniment, then I let the arrangement dictate the volume, and I may narrow the stereo if it's not very loud.

If it's an accent overdub, it can be almost anything.

If there is an ensemble with bass, drums, 1 or 2 guitars(or one doubled) vocals and piano. Would you still do it as a drum kit? do you ever kind of pan maybe a guitar left and piano right or something of that sort?

If the piano is stereo miced, summing L and R to mono can sound pretty fucked, unless it's a coincident pair. Most piano sample libraries (as us proles are condemned to use) have poor mono compatibility.

I often high-pass the piano in the mix. Maybe a little compression to help it compete with the other instruments. But few compressors work well on piano, because they bring out the inherent dirtiness of the sound. Hammer thunk, pedal noise, inharmonicity, etc.

You could try a Dave Brubeck mix -- mono piano R, mono drums L, bass and sax center.

Fenris wrote:Maybe a little compression to help it compete with the other instruments. But few compressors work well on piano, because they bring out the inherent dirtiness of the sound. Hammer thunk, pedal noise, inharmonicity, etc.8)

Those are my favorite sounds.

I kind of thought this would get more replies. Is it just that standard that piano will be mixed stereo bass-left, treble-right

Steve summed up just about every scenerio but to get a bit more specific:
sometimes I'll mix in mono if it's a very busy mix, or a lot of instruments going on at once. If it's just piano, I usually will mic it in stero, from players position and rely on a room mic for the decay.

Also, lately I've been trying to record whole bands (mostly folk/jazz/soft music) with a sm69 and a few close mics for attack. I've found an MS room mic to be my favorite on a piano when it's possible. (except the mid mic is not cardiod, it's omni)

Jeremy

A vs B wrote:I kind of thought this would get more replies. Is it just that standard that piano will be mixed stereo bass-left, treble-right

I record it in mono compatible stereo with a pair of mics and either use it in wide stereo, or mono it up and bit and move it over to the side where it doesnt compete with something. depends entirely on the arrangement of the tune. try several things and use what sounds best. if youre doing this for the first time, it can help to split it between multiple faders and set up a mute group which will allow you to toggle between different panning scenarios. hope this helps.