He emphasised the importance of the relationship between player and technician, pointing out what an unusual state of affairs it is for a musician to be unable to tune their own instrument! With a wry smile, he remarked that this situation can come with a lot of baggage, and that the relationship between serious players and their technicians can become very personal. So Marcel demonstrated how much the instrument's tonality and playing feel can be changed. So, before he even started to tune it, Marcel asked, "How do you want your piano to sound?" I'm not sure I really understood the question! I'd hitherto considered my piano an instrument with its own sound, with the piano technician's job being to make the most of it. While tuning, Marcel explained that you don't simply tune a piano to be perfectly in tune in one key - it's an equal-temperament instrument, designed to work in any key, and the relationship between certain notes is crucial.A good piano technician can, obviously, tune a piano - but he or she can also change its sound considerably, even tailoring the tone and dynamic response to suit a specific player or recording. Marcel's also a great pianist and keen recording engineer and, with fellow SOS writer Matt Houghton also joining us on the day to take some photos, we all took the opportunity to compare notes on some recording techniques. To help me in this, I invited Steinway-trained piano technician Marcel Kunkel along to service my piano, to talk me through his approach, and to offer readers a few pointers on what to look and listen out for if they're considering buying an old upright. In the first part of this article I'll explore how an upright piano can be set up and maintained to a recordable standard, and in the second I'll compare several miking techniques. For starters, pianos require regular tuning - which really isn't a DIY job - and they occupy a good chunk of space too. However, owning a real piano and keeping it maintained to a decent, recordable standard is quite a commitment.
#Weber upright piano stick out from the wall plus#
I love the character it can bring to a recording session, and the availability of the real deal is also seen as a big plus by many clients. So, despite having only a moderately sized live room here at Half‑Ton Studio, I choose to keep and maintain an upright piano. Yes, there are dozens of great-sounding sample libraries, but I always enjoy the challenge of recording the real thing and tailoring the recording to the track I'm working on it's a very different, and arguably more satisfying, experience for both player and engineer. Whether a grand or an upright, a real acoustic piano is a beautiful instrument. With a little TLC and the right miking technique, even the most neglected piano can produce great recordings. The author's Knauss Coblenz, a century-old underdamped, overstrung piano, in its usual corner of Cambridge's Half‑Ton Studio.
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