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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
I had Dave Stahl spend a couple hours with my Schimmel 120 today. I wasn't actually there when he was working inside the mechanism, sadly, so I have only an amazing piano to judge his effort by. I recorded the same piece of music with the same settings on my camera before and after. I think the results speak for themselves. It was like he added an extra 5 feet onto the back of the piano, but without changing the positive aspects of its character.
Yes, a good technician can make quite a difference but there so many incompetents. One regulated my Estonia and it's barely playable. Now I have to try to find someone to re-regulate it and re-voice it so it is good again. What a sad thing to have something done and it turns out worse than when it was started. I didn't want anything done to it.
I have a new Bluthner grand that's still going through growing pains as it's barely a year old. Depending on weather conditions, it can get wonky in as little as a month...despite D.C. and trying to control humidity.
The instrument sounds so good it practically makes me weep after my tech gets through with it. I just wish it would last longer.
Jeffrey, I believe you but I couldn't hear a thing... Both recordings are extremely soft to the point that even with the loudest settings possible on my laptop it's barely audible... Is anyone else experiencing that?
Jeffrey, I believe you but I couldn't hear a thing... Both recordings are extremely soft to the point that even with the loudest settings possible on my laptop it's barely audible... Is anyone else experiencing that?
Jeffrey, I believe you but I couldn't hear a thing... Both recordings are extremely soft to the point that even with the loudest settings possible on my laptop it's barely audible... Is anyone else experiencing that?
To listen to almost any classical music I have to use headphones.. my laptop's speakers are just too quiet and crackly.
I don't have any difficulty listening to music from my laptop because I have external speakers with subwoofer attached. That said, I had to turn the volume to maximum on both the Youtube video and on my laptop's volume control; at that, I got relatively faint recordings, not loud enough to distinguish between the two.
Listening with a reasonably good headset didn't significantly change the results except to point out that the second recording is even fainter than the first.
But, yes, a good technician can do wonders, if you can find one.
Are these Zoom Q3 recordings? I've found the low-input setting to produce faint recordings exactly like these. (And the high-input setting to produce distortion. And the auto setting to be OK, with reservations. I'm not a Q3 fan.)
Are these Zoom Q3 recordings? I've found the low-input setting to produce faint recordings exactly like these. (And the high-input setting to produce distortion. And the auto setting to be OK, with reservations. I'm not a Q3 fan.)
I listened to this as soon as you put it up--like when the views said "3."
1) Your playing is excellent, and a joy to listen to/watch.
2) You are so very fortunate to have David Stahl as your tech. Very, very fortunate, indeed!
3) It was very difficult to really hear what you wanted us to hear, because you changed the recording set-up... The first recording is close and muffled. (BTW, did you have the lid open for both recordings?) The second recording is more clear, but distanted. I think what I am hearing in the second recording is a really nice ET, with excellent unisons and a really nice octave stretch for your piano. I definitely hear in the second recording very beautiful resonance and harmonics in some of the chords, AND, that seems to cause you to play more sensitively. Am I seeing/hearing this right?
4) Is there any way David can chime in and tell us what he did to your piano?
I did have the lid open both times. What I notice is that the melody lines sing out more easily, because now the instrument is capable of a pianissimo, as well as a fortissimo without harshness. Before, there was a very narrow range of hollow tones.
I did have the lid open both times. What I notice is that the melody lines sing out more easily, because now the instrument is capable of a pianissimo, as well as a fortissimo without harshness. Before, there was a very narrow range of hollow tones.
... and I don't care if the top is on it, get that damned water bottle off the top of the piano. After all his work, Dave would have a fit, wouldn't he? Shame!!
I did have the lid open both times. What I notice is that the melody lines sing out more easily, because now the instrument is capable of a pianissimo, as well as a fortissimo without harshness. Before, there was a very narrow range of hollow tones.
... and I don't care if the top is on it, get that damned water bottle off the top of the piano. After all his work, Dave would have a fit, wouldn't he? Shame!!
That's on a bookcase behind the piano. No sacrilege committed.
I did have the lid open both times. What I notice is that the melody lines sing out more easily, because now the instrument is capable of a pianissimo, as well as a fortissimo without harshness. Before, there was a very narrow range of hollow tones.
... and I don't care if the top is on it, get that damned water bottle off the top of the piano. After all his work, Dave would have a fit, wouldn't he? Shame!!
That's on a bookcase behind the piano. No sacrilege committed.
I see that now. I should have asked. (Duh!) Whew! What a relief, though!
Are these Zoom Q3 recordings? I've found the low-input setting to produce faint recordings exactly like these. (And the high-input setting to produce distortion. And the auto setting to be OK, with reservations. I'm not a Q3 fan.)
-J
The auto setting cuts out high peaks. If you set the volume level at a midway point in the high-input setting it works great, with excellent sound. And of course pay attention to placement.
Are these Zoom Q3 recordings? I've found the low-input setting to produce faint recordings exactly like these. (And the high-input setting to produce distortion. And the auto setting to be OK, with reservations. I'm not a Q3 fan.)
-J
The auto setting cuts out high peaks. If you set the volume level at a midway point in the high-input setting it works great, with excellent sound. And of course pay attention to placement.
I didn't realize the volume control made a difference in the high-gain mode.. that changes everything!
Are these Zoom Q3 recordings? I've found the low-input setting to produce faint recordings exactly like these. (And the high-input setting to produce distortion. And the auto setting to be OK, with reservations. I'm not a Q3 fan.)
-J
The auto setting cuts out high peaks. If you set the volume level at a midway point in the high-input setting it works great, with excellent sound. And of course pay attention to placement.
I didn't realize the volume control made a difference in the high-gain mode.. that changes everything!
Well, I may have misspoken. I just did a test run and it seems that the volume slider only affects playback (sorry). I didn't notice this because I always leave the slider at a midway point. But I do get excellent results by placing the Zoom a significant distance away (15 feet or so) and I always record at hi input, reducing the volume at playback as needed. I've made very nice DVDs and youtube uploads with this setting. The audio can be extracted in iMovie and burned to CD, if desired.
The auto setting might be okay if your performance has a relatively constant volume level. The low setting is if your loudness level is consistently high.
I don't have a room big enough to keep the piano 15 feet away from the soundboard, unfortuantely. I have 10 feet to the back wall and 10 feet to the front wall..
Is anyone else experiencing that?
