UNIK
An old French upright piano with adjustable stereo width controls
ByVINCENTBrice
The story
UNIK is an old French upright piano.
On the wood, we can read :
“Ancienne Maison P. SCHOTT & Cie
QUEREUIL Sénior
70 Faubourg St Honoré, PARIS”
My parents got this piano from an old shed, in the French countryside, 70 miles from Paris.
The owner was looking for someone to give it to for free.
He told us that the piano had been used for 20 years at the train station pub and then for 15 years without being played in that shed..
That’s all we know.
My parents live in a old house, in a small French village and this piano has found its place in the family living room.
I recorded it in the middle of the afternoon, in spring, with two Oktava microphones.
You can hear the sound of birds through the bright window sometimes.
I think that’s what makes it unique.
Brice
PS : This is my first Kontakt sampling and scripting. And Sorry for my bad english, as you can guess, I’m French !
Reviews
Still not very harmonious, but very fast, with a feeling of being cut offwer range nor lacking in substance,
while the higher notes are strong and resilient. It might not suit every tune, but for my original compositions, it accurately conveys pain and scars, cutting through confusion and madness, awakening slumbering souls. So far, it's the best in the performance, and I'll make sure to support the creator when I get the chance.
Weird panning choices, but great character
As you open the instrument you will see a very unique and aesthetically pleasiing GUI. There are will help you tweak the sound a little bit, but beware, the knob labels are in French and I have no idea what they say.
Also, I find that the hitbox - the way of controlling the stereo field - on the lower right is not very clear, especially if the mics are open wide - you need to grab it from the middle and pull down or up. The piano is very dynamic though and it has great character. The important problem is that the samples are noisy and you can really hear birds chirping as you play.
The worst thing is though that in the Stereo setting, you will hear that the higher range is wrongly balanced to the left instead of the right, which is kind of a dealbreaker in many cases.
Unique UNIK
The recording consistency of each note is top notch, I particularly enjoyed the natural ambience of the room. The GUI design is pleasing to the eye, and the parameters all lead you somewhere creative. A well executed example of what piano book stands for.. Good Job!