The Montclarion Hall Grand Piano is a classic Steinway 1926 parlor grand that lives in one of our favorite recording halls. We captured in wide stereo from three distinct microphone distances (internal, external/mid and far/hall) to allow custom and surround mixing and provide different ambient flavorings. It has a crisp, solid tone ideal for classical composing, yet works equally well for soul, jazz, rock and pop. But this 7+ GB library goes well beyond a simple classical grand piano library. It also includes a wide selection of extended “prepared piano” and very useful creative FX articulations, such as percussive pounds, slams, string scrapes, steel guitar slides, mallet and pick glisses, sweeps, plucks and much more.
Originally released in 2010, the Montclarion Hall Piano was recorded in a steep A-framed long hall in the hills above Oakland, CA. It’s a place that truly resonates with us, in the same space that Mars, Venus, Mercury and the Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble were captured in, along with a whole host of former Tonehammer epic percussion and choral libraries. It has lush, rich, clear, well-defined and balanced natural acoustic reflections. In our ears, something about this magical room combined perfectly with this piano, creating the right holistic balance. The true instrument here is the piano and the hall together as one.
CONTENTS
We recorded in wide stereo from three distances. The close microphone pair is ideal for more intimate scoring. The mid microphone is great for a larger acoustic live feel and the far microphone has an incredibly dreamy texture to it. We also included a selection of live sfx ambiences, abstract atmospheres and evolving soundscapes that can accompany the piano in real-time, just to provide a bit of added inspiration.
We recorded sustains and release samples, as well as pedal sfx, bench, lid and sheet music sounds. Then we popped the hood and went to work, capturing a decent selection of sweeps, scrapes, glisses, rumbles and other effects. Then we pre-pared the piano for a little special treatment, capturing 3 buzzy, resonant and raw tuned string per-cussion sets. Finally, we decided to to a little bare-handed 3-man ensemble percussion at the piano’s expense.
- Grand Piano recorded at 3 microphone distances: Close (player perspective), Mid (6m), Far (30m)
- 20 Sustain and release samples Natural pedal sfx recorded at multiple velocities Full effects section
- 3 unique experimental prepared piano sets (tuned) Glisses, scrapes & sweeps piano body percussion Player sfx
- 10 Ambient room tones, both from the hall itself and a variety of interesting locations and environments
- 20 specially designed custom FX presets
- Includes a selection of 34 custom convolution reverb impulses.
- A full multi-effects rack, with EQ, filter, phaser, flanger, delay, distortion, amp speaker simulation and more.