What mastering goes into classical piano?

[jakromm]

Hi, right now I do classical piano recordings, and I do no sort of mastering on them, I just record, pan adjust and mix down. I am curious what kind of mastering is typically done to classical piano recordings. I am basically determineing if its worth me learning to improve my recordings, or if I should keep it natural.

thanks

[MASSIVE Master]

It depends completely on the recording. I generally try to leave classical "as is" as much as possible. But there have been more than a few occasions that a lot of tweaking goes on...

[pelliott]

I second what John mentions here and add that (providing it's an actual piano and not a keyboard) it can be one of the more tempermental types of recordings. Treading lightly is always a starting point for me and then I go from there. But just like every other recording.... good source material to start and it just needs a little nip and tuck.

Paul

[Cellotron]

Most classical mastering is more about the editing than anything else. Having said that there is indeed many times when receiving classical/acoustic recordings that they benefit from some kind of processing, primarily eq, but once in a while stereo image enhancement or even sometimes tiny bits of compression can work well depending on the sound of the source. It's not uncommon for me to apply small gain changes to various sections (or even single notes) via DAW automation in order to balance out (or sometimes exaggerate) the dynamics of the recording as sometimes this can give more transparent results than using a dynamic processor. But again in general - the idea with most "purist" classical recordings when mastering is to do absolutely the most minimal processing possible.

I listen to quite a bit of contemporary "crossover" classical recordings for pleasure in my off time myself (usually more modern tonalists such as Arvo Part, Henrik Gorecki, John Tavener, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Nyman or minimalists such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich) and one thing I've found opposite of the problem of current pop CD's vs. their vinyl counterparts is that often the dynamics are over exaggerated in some classical recordings on the CD vs. what used to be lower dynamic ranges when the same recording was cut on vinyl. Often I find that some classical CD's require a hand on the dial in order to listen to them with all sections audible but without the fortissimos making you wince in pain - and that this is not a problem with the vinyl versions though.

I'm hearing a few recent CD's where the loudeness war has gotten to some chamber releases though - i.e. Joe Lambert's master for the NYC based string quartet Ethel which actually shows evidence of some clipping when you examine the wav files - whch would have been unheard of anyone doing a few years ago.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[lucey]

I was fortunate to be asked to do a 9' Steinway record recently ... and it was eq only. All the edits were done, as there were none! Improvisations by Dick Halligan - formerly of Blood Sweat and Tears, and a great player.

[MBishopSFX]

I've handled dozens of classical piano releases. Not one was "mastered." The recorded sound and the dynamics were intentional on every one, so to mess with any of that would have been a no-no.

[lucey]

Originally Posted by MBishopSFX

I've handled dozens of classical piano releases. Not one was "mastered." The recorded sound and the dynamics were intentional on every one, so to mess with any of that would have been a no-no.

Mmmmm .... you processed none ... but mastered them all thumbsup

[Coyoteous]

Originally Posted by MBishopSFX

I've handled dozens of classical piano releases. Not one was "mastered." The recorded sound and the dynamics were intentional on every one, so to mess with any of that would have been a no-no.

Telarc? - WOW!

[Coyoteous]

Originally Posted by lucey

Mmmmm .... you processed none ... but mastered them all thumbsup

- mastering can be deciding not to process, right?

[Adam Dempsey]

Originally Posted by Coyoteous

- mastering can be deciding not to process, right?

Too right. thumbsup

In my experience with piano, also very little processing, if any. Minor EQ or, on occasion, a little parallel/upwards compression without any additional EQ. (Generally) with this genre excellent attention is already put into to the mic'ing, pre's and A-D conversion.

Compile. Edits/fades/gaps. Best possible SRC and/or dither to delivery. Mastered.

[tsvisser]

Originally Posted by Coyoteous

- mastering can be deciding not to process, right?

i highly respect this statement...

[MBishopSFX]

Originally Posted by Coyoteous

- mastering can be deciding not to process, right?

Well put! The best contribution can be knowing when to get out of the way.

[Coyoteous]

Oops, I accidentally said something wise - must be like that typing monkeys thing...