‘Very Close Piano 2’provides the piano sound with more precision, more attack, and more density that you have never heard before. In addition to the classic stereophonic recording, new 2 microphone positions were adopted to the piano recordings which are regarded as impossible works in traditional recording sessions. With one microphone at the hammer and the other at the tail of the being played piano string, all the musical potential of each piano note turned into the real. In order to deliver the density and precision of Bösendorfer sound to users,‘Very Close Piano 2’was recorded at an acoustically neutral place with high-end recording equipments.
‘Very Close Piano 2’ is a virtual instrument running under the full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher.‘Very Close Piano 2’ comes with more than 1,300 sound samples and provides an exclusive X-Fade mode which allows users to change microphone positions during each note of the piano is being played. Now, you can take full advantage of the extreme proximity microphones on the attack of piano note while considering the use of ambience microphones on the tail of string for adding width to the sound at the same time.
Catching Every Details from Piano Sound
Inouï Samples applied two proximity microphones to the piano Hammer and Tail each for the catching of greatest details from the piano sound. Both proximity microphones - Hammer and Tail - were placed just over the piano strings being recorded and moving along with the played sounds passing through the strings. The Hammer samples were taken with a high-precision super-cardioid dynamic microphone placed perpendicularly above the string being recorded. Using the same technique as the Hammer, a large-diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone was placed 2 cm above the string near the piano tail for taking Tail samples. In addition to the proximity recording techniques, the AB stereo microphone technique, named as Room, was adopted to provide users with the integration of the sound into the mix, a softer sound, and a wider stereophony. It is also useful to create a more complex multi-channel mix by placing the close microphones into the front channels and the AB into the rear channels. This AB take is very neutral, made with a pair of small-diaphragm omni-directional condenser microphones. Thus, ‘Very Close Piano 2’ offers the closest sound possible, while maintaining a very homogeneous sound throughout the range, which makes it unique and absolutely inimitable in recording sessions.
Interface and Controls
The interface of ‘Very Close Piano 2’ is made up of 2 main areas - The mixing console and The mode specific controls.
▲ The Mixing Console
The mixing console is made up of 3 channels, one for each microphone position (Hammer, Tail, and Room). Changing the phase between the different microphone positions provides the possibility of radical change of the sound and can be particularly useful between the Hammer and Tail. For this purpose, a micro-delay control has been added to each channel.
In order to maximize the potential of the 3 microphone positions, ‘Very Close Piano 2’ provides users with 3 modes - Legato/Portamento mode, Reverse mode, and X-Fade mode.
▲ Legato mode
The Legato mode allows you to transform your piano sound into a monophonic legato sound. You can also use the Portamento option in this mode. In order to attenuate inherent attack and sustain of the piano, you can increase the value of Attack attenuation or Compression.
▲ Reverse mode
In the Reverse mode, you can adjust the reverse time in beats or in milliseconds. The Attack attenuation will be helpful to attenuate the front region of short reverse sounds. The Compression is useful to reduce the difference between the very low attack and the loud end of long reverse sounds.
▲ X-Fade mode
Once enabled by clicking on the ‘In’ button, the X-Fade processor sets the microphone positions that will play during the attack and tail of each note. Thus, it is possible, for instance, to play the Hammer position on the attack to get a very percussive sound then move to the Room to get a softer and wider sound on the tail of the note.
Inouï SamplesInouï samples was created to offer composers, producers, and sound-designers unheard sounds with strong musical potential. Whether the object of novelty is about the instrument, the sound pickup or processing, each of the virtual instruments produced by inouï samples is designed to fit naturally into your compositions. All acoustics experiments, physical and digital sound research we undertake are made with the aim of pushing forward artistic creations.
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