Piano action noises

[big country]

grand or upright?

maybe just maybe you could block the sound of the action with a
jeckline disk type absorber

then point the Mic's away from the mechanical sound
using a Cardiod Mic

good luck with the acoustic coupling


this is all speculation

that or hire a piano tec.

[dementedchord]

if your very careful... you could pull the action and blow it out with canned air to make sure it's not a debris issue... then try some graphite powder to lube it...

[joelpatterson]

Yeah... some actual repair that stopped the noise from happening would seem like the best solution, even some improvisation that buffered the noisy bits from hitting each other... trying to "filter" that kind of thing after the fact, who knows....

[mohthom]

You're in NYC . . . if it's for a big recording why not get a Steinway/other good piano tech to come have a look? Better to cure the problem than the symptoms!

I'm fortunate that we get Steinway guys in a couple times a year to service the innards of the two Steinway Ds in the hall - as well as a tuner coming down every couple of weeks. At the Bridgewater Hall (concert hall down the road, 4000 seats) they have a choice of pianos (3 or 4 I think), and for big concerts they get a tech in to set the action as the soloist requires.

If it's for a record that's going to make money, why not spend some money and get it right? Nothing worse than regretting skimping on the 'perfect' recording!

No wonder people use electric stage pianos eh?!

MohThoM

[Legacy]

Hi tone,

As has been said - better to solve the problem acoustically but if its on the recording already a Spectral Editor like ReNovator or Retouch can work wonders. You'd have to work on each instance individually but it has the capacity to remove the noise without any artifacts.

There are versions built into some inexpensive programs like Adobe Audition but I haven't used them and don't know how flexible the parameters are for noises like that.

-Silas

[Robobo1]

Get a piano tech in... it won't cost too much (in the scheme of things) to have this looked at.

[John Brook]

dementedchord - you suggested using some graphite powder to lube the action. Do you have a death wish? Some might find that justifiable homicide.

[dementedchord]

granted my personal expertise runs more towards the electronic... but i've used it before on wooden actions on keyboards before with no ill effects... also when i rebuilt an old starck grand (30 yrs ago) i used it then at the suggestion of a tuner... so rather than rip me either enlighten or FO...

[John Brook]

dementedchord - not meant as a personal attack, rather just a heads up that people are very sensitive about their instruments, and before you start fiddling with someone else's piano, be darn sure to let them know what you're doing and of course, have their permission. My studio grand cost me $65,000 and no one, but no one, except for my personal technician, touches it. For many owners, it can be an ultra-sensitive issue.