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piano from “anti-hero” by taylor swift | ToneDB

anti-hero

taylor swift

piano

75% ai confidence

Tone Profile

A clear, bright acoustic piano sound with controlled dynamics and subtle reverb, providing a clean foundation for the pop arrangement.

Signal Chain

Instrument: Yamaha C7 Grand Piano (or similar high-quality grand, potentially a VST like Keyscape)

Microphone: Neumann U87 (pair, close mic'd), potentially AKG C414s or Schoeps CMC6s

Processing: Neve 1073 Preamp/EQ, Light Compression (e.g., Universal Audio LA-2A or Empirical Labs Distressor), Studio Reverb (e.g., EMT 140 Plate or high-quality digital reverb)

Other: Recorded in a professional studio environment. EQ likely used to sculpt brightness and remove low-mid mud.

Recording Notes

  • The piano provides the main harmonic structure in the verses.
  • Sound is focused and present, not overly ambient.
  • Dynamics are carefully controlled via compression to sit evenly in the mix.
  • Likely close-miked to capture detail and minimize room sound, with added reverb later.

Recreation Tips

  • Use a high-quality grand piano sample library (Yamaha C7 emulations are a good starting point).
  • Apply EQ: cut lows below ~80Hz, potentially dip slightly in the low-mids (~200-400Hz) to reduce boxiness, add a gentle high shelf boost (~5kHz+) for brightness.
  • Use subtle compression (2:1 or 3:1 ratio, moderate attack, moderate release) to control dynamics without squashing the sound.
  • Add a clean plate or small room reverb with a short decay time (~1-1.5s) and keep the mix level low.
  • Ensure MIDI velocities are played relatively consistently or use velocity compression.

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