Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Your input please -- Guess the piano used in these nice jazz recordings...

The recordings were very simple to make, using a Samson H2 SD portable audio recorder, found here:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/03/samsons-zoom-h2-sd-voice-recorder/

88Key_PianoPlayer says:

I'm fairly sure the bass/tenor break is at E2/F2.
The low bass does not sound like a concert grand, though.... sounds like it could use some voicing in that area, as I've played some 5'8" grands that sounded better.

Is it a Hamburg Steinway B?

That's amazing! I had the piano checked, and sure enough, the bass/tenor break is at E2/F2. Guess it needs a little voicing then!

Lots of sustain pedal makes it hard to tell.

my guess is a 7'+ Yamaha (C7 or S7), in very good tune.

2nd guess would be a hamburg B.

88key,
do you have perfect pitch? your correct call of the break is most impressive!

and to jeff bauer,
why do you say that if it's indeed a steinway, the strings should be leveled? what does having unlevel strings do to the tone and how can you tell from a recording? is this a common problem on steinways? moreso than on other pianos?
sorry for all the questions, but i just haven't heard of that before.

I don't think it's a Hamburg S&S-- the tone is not sumptuous enough.

I'm thinking a large Yamaha or possibly Baldwin.

Oh, and the playing is great! Love those arrangements!

Sophia

The tone is a bit brassy for my taste, but at least it seems rather clear. The bass seems to be coming from a large piano (7' at least).

I hear some dampers not damping on a couple of the bass notes - it seems to be a momentary thing that doesn't repeat.

I'm going to guess that it is not European or American.

I'm changing mine back to one of the ultra-high-end pianos. It might just be the reverb that gets me, but I'll go with Bösendorfer, not the imperial, but bigger than 7 feet.

My guess is a very large Kawai. It is very, very well recorded. I am very interested to know how you did this recording.

He said a Zoom 2...158.00 on Amazon

I agree that the piano could have been voiced a little bit mellower, but remember that this is some pretty heavy duty jazz playing that would bring out some brashness in just about any piano!

But where was the Zoom 2 placed? In the case? On the music desk? Which way was the mic positioned?

i agree, the recordings are impressive. i'm going to think seriously about getting one of those little devices.

now when will you let us know what the mystery instrument is?

It's a Shigeru Kawai SK7.

Ok - listened carefully. I would say Kawai Rx6 or Kawai RX7. It's the lower tenor - which in these instruments are very well defined. But why is the upper treble a bit thin?

Ok everyone, here is the story:

I visited one of the local dealers and found a piano that I was very impressed with, and asked if I could bring my friend and piano teacher, who is an incredible jazz pianist, back to the store to get his opinion, and also I wanted to make a recording of it. The owner of the store had heard of this pianist and was eager to meet him and grant our request to come and audition the piano and have a recording made. He is a piano technician and his pianos were all very well tuned, voiced, etc., so he welcomed the idea of us making a recording.

My friend is the jazz pianist Mike Markaverich, and he sat down and was astounded with this piano. He loved the tone, deep rich bass, and the responsiveness of the action. His playing on it was absolutely superb in my opinion - a lot of his creativity is inspired by the experience he is having with the piano while playing it, and it seems as if quite of few of you have enjoyed these recordings as much as I have.

The piano is a 7' Brodmann, model 212. It was recorded at Nick's Piano Showroom in Venice, FL (Sarasota area).

We are going to go back and record the 6'2" Brodmann and if you like I can post some new songs!

I will also add a couple more tunes of the 7' Brodmann for you to hear to the library:

http://www.box.net/static/flash/box_explorer.swf?widgetHash=d3aybqtf2i

I knew it had that viennese sound... j/k

Ha! Chalk one up for Brodmann. I played a 7', and actually considered buying it too, but I couldn't fit it in my place without huge amounts of hassle.

Well I guessed it was a non-American, non-European 7' piano.

I suspected the brassiness or "zing" I heard might have been from the exuberant playing... but on the other hand it seems to be present in the quieter passages as well.

I'd like to hear one that has been voiced a bit more mellow, and am looking forward to hearing the 6'.

wow, well that goes to show you what some excellent prep can do. newguy's right; chalk one up for brodmann indeed!

looking forward to hearing the 6'

I listened to the recording but could not judge what the piano is only by the recording, though it sounds pretty similar to my C7.