6 Bad Piano Sounds We All Loved
Although it’s one of the most recognisable sounds on the planet, there are some times when the piano on record can sound anything but its exquisite self. With various electronic, digital, and acoustic sounds on record with something amiss, here we list some of our favourite pianos that went astray…
Bad Or Just Mad?
What makes a bad sound? After all, we’re dealing with art here so who exactly calls the shots when it comes to a decision? What is true is that there are sounds that we like and sounds that we don’t. Although we’re calling the sounds in this article “bad”, don’t get us wrong. We might be branding these sounds as such, but we do it with affection. Some we love, others we don’t. Here they are…
1 - The Portable One - Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles
The sound: Yamaha CP-70 grand
When you think about it, taking an electro acoustic guitar, tipping it backwards, making it bigger with dozens of strings, plus adding some keys, hammers, and chrome legs was a pretty practical way towards getting a portable grand piano that worked. The Yamaha CP70 got a little closer to its inspiration than the Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos of the day, while still being less likely than the real thing to break the bank, the crew, or the lift on the back of the truck.
Whether you like the sound or not, this instrument underpinned tonnes of records looking for a different take on the piano; many of the acts using it certainly could have afforded the real thing. Undeniable are the physical limitations of trying to squeeze the same register and dynamics out of something that is far shorter and lighter than a real piano. Although the CP-70 was always going to be the road crew’s favourite, tastes moved on after the Radio Star had been successfully killed off, with the acoustic grand living to see another day.
2 - The Compressed One - She’s A Rainbow by The Rolling Stones
The sound: heavily compressed acoustic piano
Taking both the “piano” and the “forte” out of the instrument, our next choice is a sound that deliberately stands on the instrument’s dynamics for artistic effect. Compressing pianos needs clear intent, and this sound has that by the truck load. Unless Keith Richards tried to hang his kaftan on the Input knob just before mixdown, we’re guessing that Glyn Johns and others knew what they were doing when asked to conjure this piano. With a simple, musicbox-like charm, this one moves far away from the rarified studio grand sound to underpin a Technicolor escape into psychedelia.
3 - The Pitchy One - Double Barrel by Dave and Ansel Collins
From 0:22
The sound: detuned acoustic piano
OK, so there are rich pickings to be had when finding records with detuned piano, but this one is as crunchy as any. Whether unintentional or prepared, the detuned sound is well-known, with countless engineers and musicians knowing it as the Honky Tonk piano. Informed by the sounds of the Old West, before moving to the Victorian East End, this tired old piano had some time to dry out from the rain of London before taking in some Jamaican rays in this cut from 1970.
Who’s to say whether this one was tweaked or just a little pitchy after years of being wheeled around the studio? I’m guessing the latter, as contrasted with the buttoned-up sounds coming out of studios elsewhere.
4 - The 90s One - Vogue by Madonna
At 1:40
The sound: Korg M1
Following a number of digital piano sounds that emerged during the 1980’s it was during the crossover into the next decade that the unmistakably short, bright, ivory-lite Korg M1 piano hit the airwaves and the dancefloor. Finding a home in pop, dance and electronica around this time, this piano arrived along with a whole raft of other signature keyboard sounds courtesy of the M1 and another dancefloor favourite, Roland’s D50. It may not have been the pinnacle of hammered realism we enjoy today, but the M1 played a significant part in ushering in the era of sample-based pianos for all.
5 - The Disguised One - Birthday by The Beatles
At 1:29
The sound: filtered and re-amped acoustic piano
When it comes to effects on piano, it wasn’t just electro and digital pianos that had all the fun. In the 1960s and 70’s, it was the studio acoustic piano that found itself being flung around inside Leslie speakers, filtered, ‘prepared’, or otherwise wobbulated by studio pioneers with ideas and time on their side.
No strangers to studio subversion, The Beatles’ catalogue does of course feature dozens of pianos in disguise, but this one is perhaps unique even for the Fabs. Back in their denims, the band were still looking for the next sound to play with as this track shows.
Birthday enjoys varying treatments depending on who you ask, but to our ears if this thing isn’t Leslie’d it is almost certainly re-amped in some way as well as being heavily bandpass-filtered. Not appearing until later on in the song, these ivories only add to the slightly skewed vibes of this ode-extraordinaire.
6 - The Oddball One - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us by Sparks
The sound: RMI Electra Piano
And to finish, something completely different. Unless art-punk-opera is a normal day at the office for you, Sparks’ classic This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us is of course notable for being completely bonkers. However, dutifully plinking without blinking throughout the whole thing is Ron Mael on his RMI Electra Piano.
This curious electronic instrument made its sound using filters and oscillators, delivering a noise that was quite unlike its better-known electro-mechanical rivals such as the Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos. With thin, short, piano-like timbres by the bucketload, any band that used it instantly sounded, dare we say, a bit weird. Let’s face it, This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us was the perfect juggernaut for the Electra Piano’s oddball vibes as well as that moustache.
You can read more about the Electra Piano and RMI’s other weird and wonderful creations here in Gordon Reid’s definitive article.
How About You?
Which are the piano sounds that keep you awake at night, and not in a good way? Which do you like, love, or hate? Have we missed any essential sounds that no collection should be without? Let us know in the comments.