The Keane Piano Sound

[plurgid]

Does anyone know what is going on here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VxxxH_vT8

The piano sound ... does anyone know how they're doing this? There's this crispy attack that almost sounds like the sound of a pick on acoustic guitar strings ... or like a mallet or something.

I've heard of putting tacks on the piano hammers, but it doesn't sound quite like that either.

Clearly there's some processing going on with the piano sound as well ... I suppose it could be some kinda synth/sampler thing ... but just wondered if anyone here has any experience with getting this sound ... or maybe one of you pros here actually worked on this ... I'd love to know the story of this piano sound ... and of course get it myself

[Electro-Voice 664]

Yamaha cp70
http://www.keanebackline.info/site/qa/

I only know this because I was looking for info on the CP70

[plurgid]

*facepalm* ... electric grand, of course that's what that sound is.

thank you.

I need more coffee.
Also I need a CP70 or 80 on the cheap.

or this "nostalgia" software instrument it looks interesting.
Anyone have reccomendations on a software instrument that'll play nice in logic/mainstage?

[Gentleman Jim]

Anyone have reccomendations on a software instrument that'll play nice in logic/mainstage?

Have you played around with the parameters in EXS24? I'm by no means a connoisseur of piano sounds, even less so with piano sample library sounds, but I think just playing with the ADSR settings, the filter section, and a compressor or two might get you 95% of the way there.

Then there there's also the trick of copying/pasting the MIDI pattern to another track and accentuating the attack there. I just did that by lowering the Release and Sustain down to nothing, and lowering the Decay to ~90ms. Voila, instantly the attack is twice as loud. Season to taste.

It's so tempting to go and buy a solution off the shelf, but really there's a ton of stuff that most DAW's can do that most people don't really even bother experimenting with. Ok, maybe I should replace the phrase "most people" with the word "I."

[plurgid]

I haven't played with the ADSR in ESX24 on it too much ... I have tried some tricks with multipressor that do get a sort of similar twacky sustainy sound ... but just nothing at all approaching the detail on that recording.

The sustainy/chorusy thing I can do pretty well, but it's that extra detail on the high end ... like I said ... almost like a pick sound on guitar ... it just makes that piano sound freakin' incredible.

I must have that sound ...

[Gentleman Jim]

So try the double track thing I spoke of, then eq the 'attack track' appropriately.

Or go spend $200 on the Arturia CS-80V. Either one will probably work.

[b3groover]

Any of the Yamaha Motifs have good CP type sounds in them.

[thunderboy]

I toured with their support this Summer - there are a few racks full of synths/samplers as well as a few MBPs sidestage, but yeah, it's the CP70. Sounds like they slipped a mic in there too, similar to the way some folks mic the strings of an electric guitar.

Side note: super-nice guys, great musicians (they play constantly, with a full music room backstage).

jt

[decocco]

CP70's and CP80's are actually pretty darn cheap these days. I love them!

[evets]

I seem to remember reading an article sometime ago maybe in sound on sound that said they re-amped the piano's through guitar amps. It was a few years ago so I can't really remember to many details!