[ Jim Neher wrote in 041005 MMDigest:


>> A comment on the project to record Charlie Straight's piano rolls:
>> I beg you to reconsider, and play those files on a real acoustic
>> piano, rather than a sound card.


Hi MMD'ers,  I believe Jim Neher is referring to the Charley Straight
piano roll project that Charles B. Davis has initiated, and for which
I am doing the roll scanning and will do the audio recording.

First, I would like to say that while many player piano owners might
indeed offer the use of their piano for the project, it is extremely
difficult (and certainly much more time consuming) to get a
professional, studio quality recording from a piano recorded on
location in a private home.  Trust me on this, I have done it.

To get a professional result, the piano would really have to be moved
to a soundproof recording studio to avoid background noises from
creeping in.  Then, there is the issue of tuning and voicing the piano
to ensure it will give as close to perfect sound as it is capable of
producing.

Nevertheless, if there is a MMD member out there who has a MIDI capable
(or e-roll capable) piano in a studio quality recording environment,
I would be more than happy to consider making the recording from such
a live real acoustic piano.

Next, to quell your fears, the plan is to make the recording using
a professional quality set of piano samples, with the appropriate
electronic sampler software, not your typical computer sound card.
You probably don't realize it, but much of the piano music you have
heard on TV programs, commercials, and films has been created using
this sampler technology in recent years.

The sound samples used are recorded from each individual note of
a real acoustic piano, at a variety of strike volumes, and the playback
of a MIDI file using this technique is virtually indistinguishable
from the piece played on the live piano.  I have performed precisely
this comparison with some sample sets recorded from a Steinway grand
piano, and have the feedback from many musicians and audiophiles to
back up this statement.  This is particularly true of the piano roll
renderings, which are from plain 88 note rolls which have no dynamic
expression embedded in the roll coding.

The advantage of using a professional quality sample set and sampler
software is that the samples are free of extraneous background noises,
the acoustic environment is fixed and controlled at the time of the
recording, the tuning and voicing is known and stable.

Finally, the costs and the amount of time needed for the project are
much lower using this technology, while the results obtained are
generally superior.  So, while I'm quite willing to do the recording
from a "live" MIDI capable acoustic piano in a professional recording
studio if a MMD member wants to volunteer such a setup to assist the
project, I don't think anyone will be disappointed with the audio if
the sampled piano technology is used.

Regards,
Warren Trachtman

 [ A description of Warren's sound fonts is at
 [ http://www.wstco.com/pianosounds/  -- Robbie