Here at The Piano Studio we couldn't be more excited about our new location!

Not only does the main 700 ft² tracking room have almost twice the square footage of our previous Capitol Hill location, but with 16 ft. cathedral ceilings, we have a total acoustic space that is 150% larger. The room is spacious, featuring beautiful oak floors and giving performers the feeling of being in a small concert hall. The acoustics are controlled by means of large area rugs and absorption/diffusion treatment on the walls and ceiling (customizable if a more lively sound is desired).

Downstairs is a 600 ft² control room, with plenty of space for musicians and friends to relax while mixing and editing. Having the control room on another floor from the tracking room and engineer provides musicians a less stressful environment in which to record - without prying eyes, you'll feel like you're comfortably alone in a beautiful space, free to let your music speak.

The main room holds both grand pianos with space enough left over to comfortably allow a drum set, double bass, and other musicians. Recently a piano concerto competition used both pianos simultaneously with judges and an audience. We eagerly await a group large enough to actually test the limits of this wonderful room.

We love to give tours, so schedule an appointment soon to see our new space!

Neumann M147 2

Double Diaphragm Capsule (Tube) [Cardoid]

The Neumann M147 microphone is a top-of-the-line, full frequency vacuum tube condenser microphone known for adding warmth to vocals and acoustic instruments.

We use it in combination with other microphones on piano and it's our go-to mic for vocals (both jazz and opera). A versatile microphone with a rich, clean sound in any situation.

more information @ www.neumann.com

Earthworks PianoMic System

Random Incidence Internal [Omni]

This premier microphone system built especially for piano applications offers the ability to record with or without the lid on the piano and achieve a crystal clear, even sound across the whole range the keyboard.

We often use it inside the piano for ensemble work where the piano is completely isolated; it provides an amazingly clear piano sound that holds its own against a full combo of drums and horns.

more information @ www.earthworksaudio.com

Mojave MA-200 2

Large Diaphragm (Tube) [Cardoid]

These are great microphones for adding warmth, richness, and color to both vocalist and piano recording. They have a smooth sound perfect for jazz vocals.

Designed by David Royer in 2001, and based on the Neuman U47 (with a K67 capsule).

more information @ www.mojaveaudio.com

Audio Technica AT4050 2

Controllable Polar Pattern (Condensor) [Multi]

These are all around versatile microphones, especially useful with their switchable polar pattern.

Generally we use them as room mics on the piano (positioned further away, to capture the natural acoustic effects of the space), providing an ambient stereo sound. We also use them as drum overheads in ensemble recordings.

more information @ www.audio-technica.com

Pearl MS 8CL

Dual Mid-Side [MS]

Recently acquired, the Pearl has become one of the standard microphones in our piano mix. It has a dual microphone configuration (a cardoid and a figure-eight orthogonal to each other) that allows for mid-side recording. This gives the engineer control of the overall width of the stereo image, and adds a beautiful richness and depth to the sound.

more information @ www.pearl.se

AKG C414 B-ULS 3

Large Diaphragm (Condensor) [Multi]

The switchable polar pattern AKG 414 is a studio standard. We have three, often using two as a near/mid pair on the piano, with the third as a secondary vocal microphone for added color and warmth.

more information @ www.akg.com

AKG Drum Package

D112 2 | C418 4

We have a fully equipped drum recording setup, with four C418 clip-on percussion microphones (also great for trumpets), two D112 kick-drum microphones, and a few large diaphragm microphones for overhead pickup.

more information @ www.akg.com

AKG C3000

Large Diaphragm (Condensor) [Multi]

AKG C1000S2

Small Diaphragm (Condensor) [Cardoid]

Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel

192 kHz I/O 2

Pro Tools is the industry standard recording environment, used in recording studios world-wide. With two Pro Tools 192 interfaces networked together, we are able to record a full 16 channels of analog audio. We use the Waves Platinum array of effect plugins while mixing.

more information @ www.avid.com

Digidesign Control|24

24 Channel Mixing/Recording/Editing

Our control surface gives us complete mixing and editing capabilities across 24 channels of audio - it interfaces directly with Pro Tools allowing for easy session management. We also interface it with a wireless controller that provides limited recording control in the tracking room if desired.

Mackie HR824 2

High Resolution Studio Monitor

As our primary studio reference monitors, the Mackie HR824's (an industry standard), provide a beautifully clear and rich sound. This allows for the highest fidelity of mixing and editing in our control room. We also have the additional monitors listed below, to test audio on a variety of playback devices.

more information @ www.mackie.com

Yamaha NS-4 2

Natural Sound Speaker System

Sony MDR 7506 6

Dynamic Stereo Headphones

All perormers can be set up on headphones if needed to listen to a live mix of their performance (useful in ensembles with drums and louder instruments). For this and playback, the headphones we use are the Sony MDR 7506's, providing clean sound with professional quality and fidelity.

more information @ pro.sony.com

Presonus Monitor Station

Desktop Monitoring & Communications

Our new monitoring system gives us great control over all of the different distribution devices in the studio. We can dynamically control and switch the primary, secondary, and auxiliary signals that are sent to the control and tracking room monitors, as well as the output to the performers' headphone mix.

more information @ www.presonus.com

Samson S-Phone

4 Channel Headphone Mixer/Amp

Yamaha P2150

Power Amplifier

True Systems Precision 8 2

8 Channel Microphone Preamp

Our two Precision 8 preamps provide a pure sonic transparency for beautiful recording quality. We customize all of the gain controls for each and every session, to optimize the range of sound required for your performance.

True Systems are marketed and distributed through Neumann/Sennheiser.

more information @ www.true-systems.com

Tube-Tech LCA2B

Stereo Tube VCA Compressor

A versatile 2-channel tube compressor/limiter that adds warmth to any microphone. The channels each have their own separate compressor and limiter (giving the ability to compress one channel and limit the other for example), six presets and manual controls, and a link switch for applying the same compression to both channels.

Great for drum overheads and other stereo sources.

more information @ www.tube-tech.com

Art Pro VLA II

2 Channel Vactrol-based Compressor

Eventide H3000 SE

Ultra-Harmonizer Effects Processor

Alesis Masterlink ML-9600

High-Resolution Master Disk Recorder

Korg Wavestation A/D

Vector Synthesis & Wave Sequencing

MOTU MTP AV

MIDI Timepiece

Roland R-70

Human Rhythm Composer