The Piano Store in Rocklin, California has equipped its facilities with a control room built around a PreSonus StudioLive 32 Series III digital console/recorder and Studio One Professional DAW.
“It’s my dream to be a film composer, and I’ve wanted a studio for a long time,” said Ben Nieves, founder and owner of The Piano Store. “My friend Eric Chun, with his company Creative Music Services, has been deeply involved in music education and in the music community in the Sacramento Valley. Talking with him, I realized there’s a need for a network to help young musicians learn and promote their music. When I was creating The Piano Store, it came to me that if I had a recording studio in the store, it could serve multiple purposes.”
The devices both offer a competitive edge in a challenging market, but also allow customers to compare how they sound on different pianos.
“We record customers playing so they can hear how they sound on different pianos,” Nieves explains. “We have tie lines to the studio, so we grab a couple of 50-foot cables, set up mics and mic stands, plug in, choose our session template in Studio One, and record any piano in the store without moving it. We can set up a live session in eight minutes, and if you want to try a different piano, we just move the mics and cables. Afterward, you can hear recordings of you playing each instrument.”
Musicians in the area can also use the studio to record music for family members.
“Local musicians come in the store who write and want to give their music to family members,” said Nieves. “If they buy something, we sometimes give them two free hours of studio time. We provide quality video and audio for kids so they can create a portfolio for scholarships and make audition tapes. We lower the price for them—and parents love that. It’s about community and a healthy place for musicians to go.”
When a customer buys a new piano, Nieves sometimes gives them a free PreSonus AudioBox iTwo Studio bundle, which combines PreSonus’ AudioBox iTwo audio/MIDI interface for Mac, Windows, and iOS, an M7 condenser mic, HD7 headphones, and Studio One Artist.
“A lot of the youth who play piano are YouTubers now, and they want to record themselves,” Nieves points out. “In the context of the cost of a piano, giving away an AudioBox iTwo Studio is a smart investment that makes the close easier.”
