Jim - Center Valley's about 4 miles south of Bethlehem. And I played in Philly plenty back in the day - '87 to '98. A lot of gigs at Khyber Pass and the Troc!

Sampling that old Steinway could be great! But, at this point, any sampling I do would be with a programmable key striker, an electromechanical thingie that can hit the key at very exact velocities. The first Baldwin I sampled I did by hand, and even though I've played for years, for all practical purposes, I could only squeeze out eight discrete velocity levels. With my new system, though, I can theoretically get as many velocity levels as are defined by MIDI - 127. Although that's REALLY overkill. 20 should do.

Long story short - humans are not needed to sample any more. Besides, it's horribly tedious and time-consuming. Some tasks are best left to the robots, like bomb-defusing, deep water exploration - and sampling pianos.

It's not that humans are bad (a brief glance at the headlines notwithstanding), but it's physically impossible (for me, anyway) to reproduce exact velocity levels from key to key beyond just fff, ff, f, mf, mp, p, pp, and ppp. My brain and fingers are just not that accurate. My mechanical contraptions, whether powered by gravity or electrical impulses, do a much better job of keeping things right where I want them.

As far as precision in the studio goes, when I'm recording music the first take is often the best. We all know that trying too hard to drop every note where it's "supposed" to be can easily ruin things.

But, when it comes to accurately modelling how a real keyboard behaves, precision IS key. If I want the sampled piano to react just as the real one does, the keys need to be struck precisely when I'm recording the samples, so that in the final product, a velocity of 67 on your midi keyboard triggers the exact same note that a velocity of 67 would play on the real piano. I like to think of an invisible thread from your studio to mine, linked to the actual piano that's been sampled. The more precisely I can connect your midi keyboard to my grand piano, the stronger that thread becomes.

When you use the sampled piano in the studio, my precise picture of the piano can be played however you like - sloppy, drunk, emotively, clumsily, spontaneously - and that's how it will sound, reflecting whatever you put in it. My preoccupation with precision doesn't affect anything but that solid link between the virtual and the real.

But my effort at precision stops at trying to create that virtual mechanical link between your keyboard and my piano. There's no effort to improve the sound here, to better organize the way the piano responds after the samples are gathered, no effort to clean up or edit real life. If the piano sounds a little twangy at times, or doesn't respond in whatever mathematical curve seems "correct", there's no effort to fix it. I love the piano as it is, and that's what you're going to get, the piano as it is.

There's no synthesis, no tuning apart from what my piano tuner does, no stretching or swapping "purer" sounding notes for wonky ones. That's the idea behind the name "Whole Sounds". Apples with peels, and seeds. (Hopefully, no worms.)

A company like Pianoteq goes in the other direction, processing and synthesizing pianos, creating instruments from whole cloth, which is a fine way to go. I've nothing against processed products - Doritos & American cheese are staples at my house. More power to Pianoteq! I'm simply committed to going the other way.

Precision where it counts, but leaving the sounds as they are. That's the deal.

And, yes, I miss the Troc & Khyber! And Brownies, and the Continental in New York, Maxwell's in Hoboken...

The good old days...

Hello I am Zippy Kid

discogs link

and iTunes link

Hey guys, I'm a newbie and I am from Arizona.

Hi! My name is Gastón and I'm from Argentina. I got here cause i love gear as much as all you do i guess. This site is addictive and i wanted to approach to thank everyone who do this possible. I play guitar since 11/12yo (i'm 26 now). I got a job two years ago and since then i can satisfy all (or at least some of them haha) my desires about guitars, pedals, etc. My favourite guitar is Les Paul, i got an Epiphone Tribute Plus two months ago and i can't describe how happy i am with her. I like many styles, specially classic rock. My favourite bands go from The Beatles to Guns N' Roses, going through Bon Jovi, Rush, Queen, The Who, Poison, INXS, Ramones, etc. Most closer in time i love Coldplay (told you i like many styles haha), blink-182, Jack White, John Mayer, The Darkness, The Front Bottoms and surely i forgot a lot. I don't know if some of you knows any band from my country, but some of my favourites are Rata Blanca, Sui Generis, Airbag and Manal. I also play piano, mandolin and now i'm learning violin. In the near time i'd love to learn bass and drums too.

Cheers!

Hello Equipboard !

My name is Alexander and i am a bassist/producer/recording artist from the Inland Empire region of Southern California, City of Rancho Cucamonga. I have been playing bass for 15+ years. I currently hold endorsements with the following companies,

? Intune Guitar picks
? Kahler Guitar and Bass Bridges Usa, ? Dunlop/mxr pedals ? Emg Pickups ? Morley Pedals ? SIT Strings ? BTPA Cables ? Strictly 7 Guitars/Basses ? Rockboard Pedalboards

My social media and links are: www.facebook.com/officialgbassmusic instagram: @officialgbassmusic

I am also on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/officialgbassmusic

When i am not doin the music i can be found at the shooting range training as i am a Firearms Instructor as well. being able to follow my two passions in life is an awesome thing, i thank my creator for giving me the ability to do music.

God bless !

Hi im Pablo from Uruguay, im new to the site, i play mainly the electric guitar. Currently im playing in Ontario, Opalos and with Santiago Cutinella.

Im a huge fan of the smashing pumpkinsm and my main genres are Alternative Rock, Postrock and shoegaze.

Hi mikey! Thanks for your welcome! always in for some chat about gear!