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 ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
The Authentic Sound Of A Fazioli Grand Piano Is Captured By DPA Microphones posted: 07/11/2019 
