The marvelous sound of the Synchron Fazioli F212, meticulously sampled at our Synchron Stage Vienna. Unlike its big brother F308 that was captured in the grandeur of Stage A, the F212 was recorded in the smaller, dryer Stage B, which turned out to be the perfect match for Fazioli’s classic mid-sized piano. In this intimate setting, with more direct signals and less room sound, every nuance of its rich sound shines, from the powerful bass to the warm mid-range to the crisp upper registers..
As with the C. Bechstein upright piano that is available as the German Upright 1904, this Fazioli F212 is owned by pianist and film composer Mick Baumeister, co-creator of the Hornberg breath controller. Mick acquired this Fazioli 212 after an intense testing phase in 1998, and it was set up to meet the musician’s requirements by Mr Paolo Fazioli himself.
In order to capture this marvelous instrument on Stage B, our recording engineers used multiple high-end microphone arrays, affording an abundance of options for creating your individual sound. The Full Library features 8 microphone positions – three different sets of close microphones with condenser, ribbon and tube options, two pairs of mid mics, as well as the Decca tree with additional surround outriggers.
Room Mic (Mix):
The Room Mix channel contains a stereo mix of all available room microphones from the Full Library.Condenser - Close 1 (Neumann KM 184):
"ORTF" setup with a pair of Neumann KM 184 positioned as closely as possible over the hammer area. Ideal for producing the typical "pop piano" sound.Mid 1 (Sennheiser MKH 40):
"ORTF" setup with a pair of Sennheiser MKH 40 mics behind the piano for a warm and dark timbre.Main/Room Mic (L/R) - Decca Tree Stereo (Neumann M 150):
Decca Tree array (L-C-R) with three Neumann M 150 mics. These very neutral microphones captured even the smallest detail of Synchron Stage Vienna. Used in a stereo mix, you can easily hear where the piano is placed. In a surround setup, the Decca tree microphones will be the feed for your front L-R speakers.Main/Room Mic Center - Decca Tree Mono (Neumann M 150)
Even if you're not using a surround setup, you get more ambiance variation and spatial depth out of the Full Library by adding the room microphones' signals to your stereo mix.
Ribbon - Close 2 (Royer SF-24):
"Blumlein" setup with two ribbon figure-eight capsules of a Royer SF-24 mic, for a fast, direct, and natural sound.Tube - Close 3 (Neumann M 149):
“ORTF” setup of a Neumann M149 stereo pair, capturing the beauty of the Fazioli with the analog warmth and richness only a legendary tube microphone can provide.Mid 2 (AKG C414):
A-B stereo setup with a pair of AKG 414 mics for a wider, warmer, and centered sound.Main Surround - Stereo (Sennheiser MKH 800):
Wide A-B stereo setup with two Sennheiser MKH 800 omni directional microphones. In a surround setup, these signals would be used for your rear speakers.
The instrument Presets also include different mixer presets. By default the classic room mixes are loaded which include the Standard Library microphone positions. These are balanced in the stereo field to represent the instrument's position in the Synchron Stage set-up.
Auro 3D is an immersive audio technology that allows for three-dimensional sound perception. The Belgian company Auro Technologies developed this technology based on a special speaker configuration, adding four additional speakers to a 5.1 surround configuration. These speakers (so-called "Heights'') are situated above the front and surround speakers and generate acoustic reflections that are perceived naturally due to the fact that sounds originate from around as well as from above the listener. Thanks to the comprehensive selection of discrete audio channels the Full Library allows you to mix your instruments in Auro 3D as well as in Dolby Atmos.
About Pitch
For designating pitch, the Vienna Symphonic Library uses International Pitch Notation (IPN), which was agreed upon internationally under the auspices of the Acoustical Society of America. In this system the international standard of A=440 Hz is called A4 and middle C is C4. All pitches are written as capital letters, their respective octave being indicated by a number next to it. The lowest C on the piano is C1 (the A below that is A0), etc.
Fazioli's classic medium sized grand
Recorded in the smaller, dryer Stage B of Synchron Stage Vienna
Less room, more piano
Huge sound, beautifully rounded tones
15 microphones for a multitude of timbral variations
Pre-configured mixer presets, FX presets
To capture the Synchron Pianos with all their subtleties, our engineers developed a highly precise motion-control system based on a solenoid that controls a noise-free "robot finger". The micro-controller moves the finger with super-human precision, providing flexible curvatures for down-strokes and release movements. The MIDI controlled system delivers more than 100 velocities and various release samples, depending on the preceding note length and various release speeds.
This innovation represents the pinnacle of our long-term sampling robotics development. An earlier version of the robot finger was used for sampling the Celeste found in our Synchron Percussion I Collection.
In addition to creating your sound by mixing several microphone signals, the free Vienna Synchron Pianos software offers multiple options for shaping the sound of the piano and your playing experience. Hosting a high-performance playback engine, the software provides a full-blown mixer with a broad range of effects such as EQ, compressor, saturator, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, rotary, and many more. You may also adjust the volume of body resonances, sympathetic strings, and pedal noises right in the main Play window. In the Edit window you can even tweak EQ, volume, tuning, dynamic range, etc. for each individual key!
In the browser window of the Synchron Pianos player you may select from four general preset categories
Ready-made, resource saving presets with as few microphones as possible. The "Room Mix" Channel contains a mix of all available microphones from the Full Library.
The classic sound of a Decca tree stereo recording features a more slender sound with less diffusion compared to the "Room Mix" Presets.
These presets include all available room microphones with various runtime delays, creating more diversity in the perception of room depth.
Designed to send the microphone signals to your available surround channels.
Our engineers captured the rich resonances of the piano’s warm, colorful, and sparkling sound with an array of phase-aligned microphones, all of them separately available in the mixer section of the Synchron Piano Player, and perfectly pre-configured with Mixer Presets which lets you focus on your music. The Synchron Pianos player interface offers instant and direct access to seven pre-configured character presets.
Preset Comparison
Concert:
Character: Classic stereo version of the Fazioli F212, with added Room Reverb.
Perspective: Conductor, centered.
Recommendation: Ideal placement in your orchestra, compatible with all Synchron Series products.Intimate:
Character: Dark, warm and close sound with a focus on the condenser close microphone and a gentle touch of the stage. Added plate reverb to enrich the sound.
Perspective: Player, centered.
Recommendation: For ballads and intimate settings.Player:
Character: Immediate response with full stereo width of the keyboard and a natural room response. Authentic and direct.
Perspective: Player, centered.
Recommendation: Ideal recording preset for pianists, the pure playing experience.Pop:
Character: Powerful and assertive, with added compression in the close microphone. Increased MIDI Sensitivity. Room Reverb with a short reverb. Decca Main microphones are delayed to create a short slap-back sound.
Perspective: Player, centered.
Recommendation: For the modern songwriter, for live solo performances and within a band context.Ambience:
Character: A spacious yet assertive sound with a lot of algorithmic reverb to add a spacious impression.
Perspective: Conductor, piano centered.
Recommendation: For film scores, elated piano melodies and an impressive piano sound in the background.Vintage:
Character: Narrowed stereo image with a phasing effect and a delayed plate reverb, with a cabinet speaker, phaser and compressor on some microphones.
Perspective: Conductor, centered.
Recommendation: Great for intimate accompaniment and a "personal" sound.
FX Presets
The specially designed FX Presets offer an easy way to achieve more drastic changes to the sound of your Fazioli F212, and transform it for pop and electronica applications! Here’s a list of the available FX Presets.
01 Evolution
A spacious sound with a synced delay.
02 Diamonds in the Night
Fragile chorus piano with a magical aftermath.
03 Reality Check
Discreet 80ies piano, great for accompaniment.
04 Stadium
Bigger than life, with a slapback echo.
05 Time Warp
Dreamy keys with intense use of delays.
06 Wormhole
Reverse FX in combination with delays create a Bluthner from another galaxy.
07 Magic Doors
Distant E-piano with a singing tone.
08 Blunt but Friendly
A harmless but useful flat piano sound.
09 Fuzzmaster
Slightly distorted stage piano.
10 Harpsichord
A classic harpsichord sound.
11 Candy Cotton
A muffled piano, for reflective moments.
12 Donnie
Dark piano in a large hall.
13 Glittering Clouds
Modified attacks with delays in a shiny room.
14 High and Mighty
Singing, hovering piano sound with a very light sonic appearance.
15 Morphology
Shimmering FX on a shiny piano sound.
16 From a Distance
A warm piano sound from far away.
17 Megatrump
Thinned-out pop piano with a great level of built-in distortion.
18 Pierce
Shivering piano in a beautiful hall.
19 Intimate Timbre
Alternative version to the classic Intimate preset, with added Timbre Shift.
20 Pop Timbre
Alternative version to the classic Pop preset, with added Timbre Shift.
21 Vintage Timbre
Alternative version to the classic Vintage preset, with added Timbre Shift.