Better for piano input

[allysonmarie]

I have been working with a TASCAM DP-008EX  for the past few months. The only instrument I use with it is my kawai cs11 digital piano. The problem I'm having is when I connect the piano to record the piano, the piano sound quality is coming up short from how it sounds naturally without listening through the headphones as I monitor the recording. The bass notes are coming across muffled and "fake" sounding, as if it's coming from a simple keyboard, not the rich sound of the kawai. I'm using a Mogami GOLD TRS-TRS-06 Balanced cable from the piano to the recorder. Is there anything I can do to improve this issue, or a better recorder that may process the sound from the piano better? I try tweaking the volume levels on the recorder and coming from the instrument, but really haven't been able to figure out anything better to help. Thanks.

[banjaxed]

Are you using monitors from your Tascam recorder ?

[allysonmarie]

I'm just listening through headphones plugged into the back of it. It sounds pretty much the same when I transfer the mastered version to my computer.

[cuthbert]

Very thorough description of the problem! Always best to have the correct connectors when connecting gear.

From looking at the two manuals, it appears that neither device actually has a TRS (1/4 inch stereo) jack, so you wouldn't want to use a cable with TRS connectors since you'd be connecting it between mono L or R jacks (one jack from each device). Instead, look for a stereo 1/4 inch cable (with a total of 4 TS connectors, with a L & R pair of plugs on each end). They are usually color-coded, with the red plug being Right and the other Left, so from Kawai Out to Tascam In, plug R to R and L to L. And then record to stereo tracks on the Tascam.

[cuthbert]

Something like this:



https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPP-201-Stereo-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068O1A/

[allysonmarie]

Very thorough description of the problem! Always best to have the correct connectors when connecting gear.

From looking at the two manuals, it appears that neither device actually has a TRS (1/4 inch stereo) jack, so you wouldn't want to use a cable with TRS connectors since you'd be connecting it between mono L or R jacks (one jack from each device). Instead, look for a stereo 1/4 inch cable (with a total of 4 TS connectors, with a L & R pair of plugs on each end). They are usually color-coded, with the red plug being Right and the other Left, so from Kawai Out to Tascam In, plug R to R and L to L. And then record to stereo tracks on the Tascam.

Ok I understand that. I only used one cable because I'd read that you could use one going through the right channel and it would carry for both. I guess it would make sense then why the higher notes on the piano sound just fine through the recorder while the bass notes sound strange coming through. And I assumed the less wires I connected, the less chance I'd hear clicks and pops from the recordings. Luckily I've had no issue with that sort of thing though. Thanks for your help. 

[WarpCanada]

I'm totally guessing here but perhaps this piano sounds good in a room because of the room.   What you get direct is a very flat sound from a digital piano because what you're recording is the direct piano samples.     I would try mixing, adding compression and reverb, and the quality of the sound may go way up.  It might also of course be as discussed above that the mono sound of this instrument really is lackluster, and that it needs a stereo recording to sound decent because perhaps kawai has as true stereo image coming out.