piano from “take five” by the dave brubeck quartet | ToneDB
take five
the dave brubeck quartet
piano
80% ai confidence
Tone Profile
A clear, percussive, and dynamically expressive grand piano sound characteristic of late 1950s jazz recordings. Features a bright attack with natural room ambience.
Signal Chain
Instrument: Steinway Grand Piano (likely Model D or B)
Amp: N/A (Acoustic Instrument)
Microphone: Neumann U 47 (Likely multiple, possibly blended with room mics)
Processing: Console Preamp (Tube), Subtle Console EQ, Ampex Tape Machine Saturation
Other: Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, known for its natural reverb. Likely close-miked with potential ambient mics.
Recording Notes
- Recorded in 1959 at Columbia's 30th Street Studio, a large former church with desirable acoustics.
- Engineered by Fred Plaut.
- Likely recorded to an Ampex 3-track tape machine.
- Minimal processing typical for the era, focusing on capturing the natural sound of the instrument in the room.
- Microphone placement would have been key to capturing both the direct sound and the room ambience.
Recreation Tips
- Use a high-quality grand piano sample library (Steinway models preferred) or a well-maintained acoustic grand.
- Employ large-diaphragm condenser microphones for capturing.
- Experiment with mic placement: try a spaced pair over the hammers/strings and potentially a room mic.
- Use minimal EQ, perhaps a gentle high-shelf boost for clarity if needed.
- Add subtle tape saturation via a plugin.
- Utilize high-quality room reverb (convolution reverb based on a large hall or studio space is ideal) rather than plate or spring.
- Focus on capturing a wide dynamic range in the performance.
Recommended Gear
- Steinway Model D Grand Piano(piano)
- Keysight Spectrasonics Keyscape (Steinway D)(software instrument)
- Neumann U 87 Ai(mic)
- Telefunken U 47 (Reissue or Clone)(mic)
- Neve 1073 Preamp(preamp)
- Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder Plugin(plugin)
- Altiverb 7 Convolution Reverb(plugin)