Acoustic Pianos - The Ultimate List (so to speak)

It's not just pianos, of course.

Isolated, a Tele and a Strat would sound quite different to people who know them well. But if they're buried under dozens of overdubs and have a similar distortion, same amp, same mics, same engineer, same player, then they can get mixed up especially if they're playing a supporting role.

When a piano's on its own (e.g., Lily of the Valley), trained ears can easily identify its make just by listening to it. When it's buried in the mix (e.g., Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll), it's getting trickier and trickier.

Same for vocals ... once isolated, it's obvious that Fred sang everything on 'Get Down Make Love,' but when they all sound together it's entirely forgivable if anyone thought other people were there as well.

By the way I think that the Steinway that Roger had/has at Cosford Mill (OK, I know he's moved from there now) might be his own. I have no idea if the unblinking eye was recorded in Roger's studio or not (the video I mean), but the piano he plays on there is without a doubt a Hamburg steinway, and it looks smaller than a D, it looks like a B.

Yeah, that's a very valid possibility. I also heard Roger had taken the studios' piano (which is not necessarily the same as Freddie's).

I watched the video of the We are the Champions studio sessions. From what I can see, the piano is a Steinway, but it is most certainly not a model D (it's not big enough). Looking at the shots where you can see the inside of the piano, it looks like there is no bolt-on cross bar over the frame (only found on the B, C, and D), but I can't see for definite. Going on the size and shape of the tail - it has a squared off tail - so it is, in my opinion, a model A, 6'2. Looking at the cabinetry of the piano, it is a Hamburg model (rounded cheeks on the keyboard), and looking at the music desk and the keyboard end of the piano, it has a style of cabinetry that was in production between 1910 and 1930. I know my Steinways. I hope that helps!

Another tidbit for you - I know a man who rebuilds pianos, and he was asked to value a Yamaha (can't remember the exact model) that had been in a London recording studio, and had been used by many famous people including Freddie, and apparently the studio had a letter of provenance proving this, with the serial number of the piano.

The owner of the piano wanted it restored but in a way that would keep as much of it original as possible. However, given that the piano was, internally, in terrible condition (the action was completely gone, needing re-felted, re-centred, complete new set of hammers, the keyboard key tops were needing replaced, the keys themselves were split on some notes, the strings were awful, the soundboard had lost its shape, it no longer held its tuning - it was one abused piano), the only way to restore the piano in any useful sense would be to perform a complete internal restoration installing new keys, action, soundboard, plank, and the owner had decided that this was too much for this piano to go through given its rock history. I suspect rather that it's more to do with the fact that rebuilding a piano is worth it for Steinway, Blüthner, Bechstein, Bösendorfer etc which start at £60,000 for a new grand (rebuilding is labour intensive and expensive - about £18,000 but the results are amazing), whereas a new Yamaha grand costs about the same or less than the rebuilding process.

[QUOTE] [b]Sebastian wrote:[/b]


When a piano's on its own (e.g., Lily of the Valley), trained ears can easily identify its make just by listening to it.
.[/QUOTE]

So after disagreeing with my post, you're now saying the same thing that I did. That one make of piano has a different sound to another. Forget Baboons, studio's and other instruments because I didn't mention any of those things in my original post.

[QUOTE] [b]Vocal harmony wrote:[/b]

So after disagreeing with my post, you're now saying the same thing that I did. That one make of piano has a different sound to another.[/QUOTE]

Not just one make vs another make, but a piano vs another piano, even if they're the same make and model. Yet, that difference is minimal compared to the difference between a piano and a baboon, which is why, having just the stereo mix as evidence, most people (me included) will barely go further than identifying that the instrument in question is a piano rather than a violin/flute/organ/baboon. That does NOT mean or imply AT ALL that two pianos sound the same. Similar is NOT the same.

Is the Baboon an upright Baboon or a . . . . . :)

Digital.

A digital baboon, nasty things you know!

you know what it depends on the digital, and the application of that digital. for instance - a Yamaha CP300 or Roland RD700NX/GX/SX as a piano for a rock recording studio - excellent.

the same for teaching someone or trying to play Rach 2 (or pretty much anything classical) - horrendous.

Question: when Queen toured in the early days (probably pre ANATO), did they always have a piano taken round on tour, and if not, did they rely on in house ones at the venues?

An additional question; I always found it odd that Freddie set up his piano facing off stage, away from the band, and thereby preventing any eye contact or interaction on some quite tricky material. I am assuming that early on this was purely a way of saving stage space by having the main bulk of the piano almost in the wings, but by the time they moved to bigger stages I wonder if Freddie/the band ever toyed with turning the piano around for him to be sat further in and facing the band (a la Elton John - or to be honest virtually any other pianist!!)

Good point about eye contact between Freddie and the others. I think one of the reasons for the piano's position was so Freddie could move easily from the keyboard to stage centre during songs like SSOR or WATC

I think it was simply so he could dance around the stage, and get his microphone off stage quickly. If he'd put it on top of the piano there would be a danger that it wasn't switched off properly and would pick up the vibration from the piano, or not switched on at the right time when he put it back to his mouth. In the don't stop me now vid the piano is centre stage, but the tail is the opposite way round from how most people would have it.

You're right, I'd have thought they'd have had a different solution, but actually they never changed the way they were set out on stage did they, right from the start when they started using piano they had it stage right in the wings.

Another reason for the piano's position could be down to sound too possibly so that Freddie could sit in an area where his monitors could shelter him from from the volume that BM played at.

[QUOTE] [b]miraclesteinway wrote:[/b]

I think it was simply so he could dance around the stage, and get his microphone off stage quickly. If he'd put it on top of the piano there would be a danger that it wasn't switched off properly and would pick up the vibration from the piano, or not switched on at the right time when he put it back to his mouth. In the don't stop me now vid the piano is centre stage, but the tail is the opposite way round from how most people would have it.

You're right, I'd have thought they'd have had a different solution, but actually they never changed the way they were set out on stage did they, right from the start when they started using piano they had it stage right in the wings.[/QUOTE]


I'd always taken it that the piano was centre stage in the DSMN promo purely because it had been pulled across to frame the shot smaller and have them closer together, rather than on a wide expanse of stage. The same applies for John remaining tucked back in that video.