#InspiredBySound

In this video, I'll take you through the six different microphone positions of Embertone's rather stunning Walker 1955 Steinway Piano for Kontakt.
Weighing in at just over 200 GB (according to my Mac) or 190 GB (according to Windows) this will set you back quite a fair chunk of disk space.
You will not want to run this beast off of a mechanical drive if you can at all help it.
This piano is versatile, huge both in sound and size, and extremely impressive. Once you hear this video I hope you'll agree.
For this video I loaded the 'Default' preset for each of the six mic positions, as I'd tried to load 'Max Memory' but it took my machine down to the ground and it behaved very erratically.
Some info about the microphones taken from the website:
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Main (Default)
Mics: AKG C414 XLS, ORTF Stereo
Position: 2 ft off the side lip at the curve of the piano.
Qualities: Balanced piano/room tone with a beautiful twinkly high register and tamed low end. Vibrant and hearty with enough air space to breathe.
Close
Mics: Neumann U87, A/B Stereo (Omni)
Position: 6 in off the strings
Qualities: Extremely intimate and warm with very little room ambience. Rich with string reverberance while capturing all the subtle mechanical sounds.
Hammer
Mics: Superlux S241/U3, X/Y Stereo
Position: 1 ft above pointed directly at the hammers.
Qualities: Punchy and percussive dynamics, great for pop/rock music.
Room
Mics: Schoeps CMC 6, A/B Stereo (Cardioid)
Position: 6 ft away 8ft high, pointing towards the inside of the lid from the audience perspective.
Qualities: More room ambience and reverb coloration while allowing the piano to fully resonate into the room. Great for achieving a traditional/classical sound in a concert hall or recital setting.
Wide Perspective
Mics: Modified Oktava Mk012, A/B Stereo (Omni)
Position: 1 ft from the piano at the playerís perspective, spaced at the full width of the keyboard.
Qualities: An experimental mic pair capturing an ultra-wide stereo image with a unique and enveloping character.
Binaural Perspective (Bruce!)
Mics: Stereo binaural dummy head (affectionately named Bruce)
Position: 2ft from the keyboard at the playerís perspective.
Qualities: Realistic spatialization, especially when listening through headphones.
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Find out more about the @Embertone Walker 1955 Piano here: www.embertone....
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[@2kfordprefect]

So great presentstion👍

[@jaybzjaybz]

Brilliant overview of the instrument and mics, thanks

[@freetown10]

WoW,you are a good pianist. Respect man

[@TheOnjLouis]

Thank you very much 😆

[@mrketts]

Great overview! I appreciate your playing. I wish you could blend the mic positions together, but I guess that’s for other libraries like the Hammersmith Pro. That’s on my list for when it goes on sale. I think based off your video, I like the binaural, close, and room positions the best. Thank you for this video.

[@ChristianBlandford]

Can I ask what compressor you used with what settings? Also I’m writing a classical piano album and wondering what mic position I should use! I’m thinking the room mic. Got any advice? ❤️

[@TheOnjLouis]

Hi there. Honestly, I'd say you should pick up all the mic positions, especially considering the price. I wouldn't want to say 'Get xx position because I like it' only for you to find out it's the wrong one. It's better to have everything and use one thing, than to buy the wrong thing and still have to go back and get the rest, anyway. As for the compressor I used, it's part of Native Instruments Reaktor and it's just called '1 Knee Compress' I believe. I activated it via my Komplete Kontrol keyboard and the FX slot. Unfortunately I can't tell you more than that. However, any good compressor should do the job, once you have the correct piano sound you're looking for. Again, I recommend trial and error here, don't just go with exactly what I did, even if you enjoyed the sound. Different scenarios will require a different touch in almost all cases. Rarely does one situation fit every possible setup. I hope this helps a little.

[@ChristianBlandford]

@@TheOnjLouis Hey dude! Sorry I worded it wrong. I have every mic position already. I was just wondering which one you reccon I should use for this piano album, I guess it's hard for you to say what you haven't heard it though!

[@citywitt3202]

When Apple releases their Mac Pro cube / M1 cube or whatever, I’m maxing out the storage just to make room for stuff like this. Yes I am blaming you Andre 😂

[@TheJoyofFingerDrumming]

I can almost feel it playing in my mouth. Do you ever get that? Feel something that you hear, as if it were a taste in your mouth? It happened at around 10 minutes.

[@TheOnjLouis]

The Joy of Finger Drumming That sounds like synaesthesia to me. I have that for some things, like days of the week, where each day of the week feels like a different object, but despite being a musician (of sorts) I don’t really get it with music. I know any people that do, however. Justin Kauflin is one, Jacob Collier I think, is another.

[@jakobrosin]

!; Could you now show us the real virtual instrument? There's no way i'm going to believe this is not an actual fysical piano.

[@jakobrosin]

soooooo lovely

[@ScottChesworth]

Well, piano is solved.

[@TheOnjLouis]

Scott Chesworth Might I take it from this answer then, that you’re buying? Will you buy all the mic positions or just pick’n choose what you feel like? Curious minds want to know.

[@ScottChesworth]

Oh I’ll probably only pick up the lite version here because my piano playing is about as compelling as a wet sock, but i’ll definitely be recommending it to people. All about the binaural and the hammers for me man. So good!