Bluehorse Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Does anyone know how the Moody Blues got that deep, fat, percussive, grainy piano sound in the song Tuesday Afternoon? I've looked everywhere I can think of and I can't find any mention of it. I thought maybe they recorded it, then played it and recorded it again at half speed. Or can the melotron make that sound? I have no idea, but I want to recreate that sound on two songs of mine. Thanks in advance for any ideas you might have about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 There was a piano recording on the Mellotron, but to me it sounds like a real piano on Tuesday Afternoon '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400; Wurlitzer 200; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 A CP80? Sounds like a nice big Hamburg Steinway D to me. Straight out of the box with some very expensive mics on it. Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London was a downright popular place to record in the 1960s. Lots of classical stuff. I found talk of a great sounding Steinway there with google, but I was too lazy to hunt down if it's really a Hamburg D. Notice that when they did this tune on Leno in 1995 it was cheaper to use real strings than a Mellotron. You can find other "live" clips of this tune where the B3 sounds a lot like a Mellotron and a piano. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanczarek Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 The Piano part is a low-note overdub that roughly doubles the Bass Guitar in that one particular section of "Tuesday Afternoon". There is no Piano heard anywhere else in the song. The band recorded the Days of Future Past album in 1967 at Decca Studio One in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hempstead which had the label's newest and most advanced recording equipment at that time. Studio One was normally reserved for recording classical music and very few rock artists were allowed to record here. A 1967 photo of Studio One shows a Steinway Piano as well as a Mellotron: http://www.philsbook.com/decca.html C3/122, M102A, Vox V301H, Farfisa Compact, Gibson G101, GEM P, RMI 300A, Piano Bass, Pianet , Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, Matrix 12, OB8, Korg MS20, Jupiter 6, Juno 60, PX-5S, Nord Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Very cool... Thanks! '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400; Wurlitzer 200; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 While no doubt mellotron was used in DOFP, most of the string work was by the London Festival Orchestra. This album had a huge impact on me when my big sister got it, when I was about 11. The piano sounds funky to me, with the exact same harsh ringing overtones on the top note every time, a bit like a bad soundfont piano. However, it's clearly a dynamic part, which couldn't have been done on a Mellotron. It sounds like a big piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehorse Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Thanks very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It always sounded to me like they were overdubbing an anvil hit or something on that top F note. Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Notice that when they did this tune on Leno in 1995 it was cheaper to use real strings than a Mellotron. Anybody else amused by the irony of this? It's either a classic example of old string players getting the last laugh, or a sad testimony to how cheaply string players will work just to get gigs. ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyS Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It always sounded to me like they were overdubbing an anvil hit or something on that top F note. +1. I was thinking the same thing. The top sounding note has something really metallic in it. Rudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It always sounded to me like they were overdubbing an anvil hit or something on that top F note. +1. I was thinking the same thing. The top sounding note has something really metallic in it. If they had a CP80 back then they wouldn't have needed the anvil. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 An anvil with duct tape to stop the ringing would have done it. Unfortunately, the CP-70 came along about 5 years too late. Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLaw Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It always sounded to me like they were overdubbing an anvil hit or something on that top F note. It sort of reminds me of a phase-cancellation artifact resulting from mic placement. They certainly knew how to record a piano; elsewhere on the album (e.g. buried in the orchestral sections of the next track) it sounds fine, suggesting that they either did it on purpose or it was a serendipidous sound that they decided to keep. Larry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehorse Posted September 1, 2013 Author Share Posted September 1, 2013 Everyone's ears and ideas have helped me be able to move on this. Thank you again! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 I just had to look up the original track. My guess at a Hamburg D wasn't too shabby working from memory. Especially my memory. It sounds like they used the exact same copy of that lick every time rather than recording it through. My guess is they picked the one where he hit the top note real hard and short and copied that one. It's a little too consistent to explain any other way. I could be wrong, but that's my guess. No anvil. They certainly had some impressive sounding grease tanks that studio. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Swimming in reverb.... Why King Crimson refused to use Tony Clarke.... '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400; Wurlitzer 200; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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