The Authentic Sound Of A Fazioli Grand Piano Is Captured By DPA Microphones posted: 07/11/2019
Sound Designer Paolo Principi chose DPA for this prestigious recording project because he knew he could rely on them not to colour the sound in any way.
When musician and sound designer Paolo Principi was asked to record the authentic sound of a Fazioli Grand Piano for a new Silent System and Virtual Instrument multisample, there was only one microphone brand that he felt could do the task justice - and that was DPA
I wanted to capture the rich and complex sounds of this piano in the most natural way, he explains. For this it was important that I used the best solution for each element of the audio path. I chose DPA for the microphones, Vovox for the cables and Apogee for the converter because each of these brands is renowned for delivering very high quality audio without colouring the sound in any way.
Principi, whose company PSound specialises in sampling and creating virtual instruments, says he was delighted when Fazioli asked him to record its flagship piano - the F278 Gran Coda. To accomplish this task he chose two matched pairs of DPA 4006 Omnidirectional Microphones (including one pair with nose cones for a perfect omnidirectional response across the whole audio frequency range) and a pair of 4015 Wide Cardioid Microphones. These were supplied by DPA's Italian distributor M Casale Bauer and used to record binaural', close' and side' sounds respectively.
I was really delighted by the naturalness, precision and detail that all the DPA microphones delivered. I was also very surprised by the linearity of their frequency response, especially for the off axis sounds (thanks to the incredible nose cones).
Paolo Principi and Paolo Fazioli
Principi recorded the piano note by note (all 88 keys) and across numerous dynamic levels (12 main levels, plus noises and different articulation levels), so that he could accurately realise its entire range of sounds. He also used a special machine to play each key with the same dynamic level and spent a great deal of time working out the best microphone position for each of the three sounds (binaural, close, side) that he was recording. He then listened to the audio in his own studio until he was sure he was obtaining the real sound of the instrument.
I knew I was getting a great sound during the recording session, but it was only when I got into my studio that I realised how wonderful the DPA microphones were because they didn't in any way colour or change the real sound of the piano, he says. What I was hearing was exactly what I had recorded.
Principi adds that, as one of the world's most famous and prestigious piano brands, he finds Fazioli pianos both technically and musically fascinating.
The company has been in existence for nearly 40 years but this project was their first experience with digital sound, so it was important to get it right, he explains. Until now they have been using a standard Silent System made by an external company. While this allowed customers to play an acoustic piano and hear a digital sound through headphones, it didn't give them the original Fazioli sound. Now, thanks to this project, customers buying their very expensive acoustic pianos can hear the original and beautiful Fazioli sound when they play the digital version.
The same attention to detail applies to the Virtual Instruments multisample that Paolo Principi is releasing later this year through PSound (www.psound.it), in collaboration with Fazioli. It will be the only official Fazioli digital virtual piano on the market and will be aimed at composers, keyboardists and digital pianists who want the highest quality sound samples.
The recording sessions for this project took place over the course of one week in Fazioli's own concert hall in Sacile, Italy, using a Gran Coda piano made in 2005 and signed and tested by Aldo Ciccolini.
The binaural 3D sound, for the Silent System, simulates the F278 Gran Coda in the Fazioli Concert Hall, which has excellent acoustics and allows for the possibility of changing the reverberation by moving wooden panels on the stage, Principi says. The close' sound, which is incorporated into the Silent System and the Virtual Instrument, replicates the real sound of the piano from a pianist's point of view. The side' sound gives the audience' perspective and is only used for the Virtual Instrument.
My greatest satisfaction is that when I play the virtual instrument in my studio, I can close my eyes and feel like Im back in the Fazioli hall playing the Fazioli F278 signed by Aldo Ciccolini. As a pianist, musician and composer, the musical feeling is the best test.
Paolo Prinicipi is now so sure that he chose the right microphones to record the Fazioli that he has bought a matched pair of 4006's for his own mic locker and will now be using them for all future PSound Virtual Instrument recordings.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
The Authentic Sound Of A Fazioli Grand Piano Is Captured By DPA Microphones posted: 07/11/2019 
