compressed piano sounds

[Theo Verelst]

?????????????

 

Moving on:

 

What the hell does that mean ?

[mate stubb]

Maybe that your post above was pretty hard to follow.

[Dana.]

Speaking of uprights, I was just listening to Keith Jarrett's American Quartet and wondering if some of the pianos he played were uprights; they don't sound like grands, and the tunings are on the loose side. Anyone know?

[Steve Nathan]

Maybe that your post above was pretty hard to follow.

 

Give that man a cigar

 

Back on topic:

Dipping into my little pond.....A few years ago I played a somewhat quirky piano part on a Tim Mcgraw record (song called "Something Like That"). I say it was quirky mostly because it was not your typical "Country" piano playing, and it's pretty unusual for piano to "drive" any uptempo Country record, but this one did. Julian King compressed the dog doo out of that Oceanway piano for the single and I don't for a minute believe that that record would have been as successful without the compression. It made the part "snap" and jump out of the radio speakers, and to this day, Mcgraw still tells me it's his favorite piano playing on any record he's ever made. In that context, it was the right compression for the record.

 

IMHO, on certain ballads, there's nothing like the sound of a Neve 33609 applied judiciously. Or an SSL buss compressor on a rock record. I have a pair of Tofts that sound downright elegant on my Yamaha, and I frequently use the UAD 4K or Neve 88RS on Ivory's Fazoli for aggressive tracks.

For those who say they "hate" compression, I say it's just a tool like EQ or reverb. Perhaps what you hate is overcompression, or poorly applied compression.

Oh.....and I want to hear the compressor while tracking, so I can "play to it".

[Mr. Nightime]

Oh.....and I want to hear the compressor while tracking, so I can "play to it".

 

That's something that's bothered me the few times I've gone in the studio.

 

The engineers will insist on recording the keys very dry, which sounds very unnatural to me. I understand the philosophy...you can always add, but you can't take it out. But like Steve mentioned, I'll play to the effects. I do it in live performance, so it would be nice to get that while recording.

 

In a band I was in, we did the Vanilla Fudge version of "Keep Me Hangin' On". In performance, I would crank the internal reverb up on the XB-2 so I could play with it. I loved chopping off chords at high volume, then having the reverb ring through a fast speed Leslie. But if we were to record that, the engineer would require me to turn the reverb off, defeating the purpose.

 

Similarly, I like hearing back in the headset what I think it should sound like while performing. Too bland, which the majority of recording engineeers that I've dealt with seem to prefer, and much of the playfulness in the performance can be lost.

 

Of course, part of that could be the level of recording engineers I work with, compared to the level that Steve works with. I've never been happy with the sound, balance, or effects that I hear when recording. It may be going to the recording media fine, but it doesn't sound right to me. I'll get it just how I like during a rehearsal and level check, then everything seems to change when the record button is pressed.

[Steve Nathan]

The engineers will insist on recording the keys very dry, which sounds very unnatural to me. I understand the philosophy...you can always add, but you can't take it out.

 

That's just sad, and there's no excuse for it. Even if you're afraid to commit, there's no reason not to let the player at least hear an inspiring sound in the phones. It's a sign of a crappy engineer, obsessed with "control" and unable to see the bigger picture.

 

The great Bob Clearmountain once was asked (in an interview for Mix or EQ or some other major recording mag), what was his "most important" piece of gear. The interviewer clearly was looking for some insight into perhaps a mike-pre, EQ or monitor speaker. Bob, without hesitation said "the coffee maker". He went on to say what difference does it make what kind of board or compressors you use. If the coffee sucks, the musicians will be unhappy and they wont play as well. I've always loved that guy.

[Dana.]

The great Bob Clearmountain once was asked (in an interview for Mix or EQ or some other major recording mag), what was his "most important" piece of gear. The interviewer clearly was looking for some insight into perhaps a mike-pre, EQ or monitor speaker. Bob, without hesitation said "the coffee maker". He went on to say what difference does it make what kind of board or compressors you use. If the coffee sucks, the musicians will be unhappy and they wont play as well. I've always loved that guy.

I read an interview with Jon Brion in which he said something similar: his ears.

[jimmymio]

 

That's just sad, and there's no excuse for it. Even if you're afraid to commit, there's no reason not to let the player at least hear an inspiring sound in the phones. It's a sign of a crappy engineer, obsessed with "control" and unable to see the bigger picture.

 

 

Don't know if it was mentioned earlier in this thread but, with DAWs, the engineer could easily record both a dry and a compressed piano. I think it's common to compress a tad on the way in if you have a great "vibey" compressor and then once it's in the mix, compress again to taste.

JP