Grand Studio A

To start of my sampling-journey, I decided to sample this beautiful Steinway Grand Piano at the Arts College where I study “Tonmeister”. It resides in our lovely Studio A, a big room with high ceiling.

This piano has seen a lot of different hands. Music students record everything here, from classical literature to wild free jazz to cheesy pop-tunes. In a way, this piano is a teacher: It provides a learning experience for many, playing a great sounding grand piano in a (possibly a little intimidating) studio, maybe for the first time ever! But the sweat of fear on the keys diminishes with every time they return, and after completed studies this piano has taught them the fine art of great session-musicianship. We try out every possible way of micing this piano day in and out, learning everything about a great piano recording. Sometimes with two, sometimes with 20 mics. It tirelessly serves us greatly, it is open for a lot of crazy experiments, and we treat it with care and the respect this professor of a piano deserves.

I recorded 9 different mic positions, but ultimately decided on three of them for the instrument. Maybe I can expand on that in the future. This was my very first endeavor in the world of sampling, but I’m already hooked: I designed a custom UI, figured out how to skin knobs, and programmed custom scripts for the pedal and the release triggers. The main view lets you change the volume of the different mics. With the little gear-icon in the bottom right you get into the settings, where you can change the volume of the release triggers and the pedal. Have fun!