Yamaha C7 with Renner + Room acoustics = your thoughts?

[classicalmix]

HI everyone!

I'm hoping to get some thoughts here.
So in my piano shopping,  I found a really nice Yamaha C7- used- 1994- at a local dealer- played it twice on 2 separate trips so far. The dealer is a straight shooter and has excellent reviews- he's also offering 10 year warranty.
Just from my personal preference, normally I prefer the sound of European pianos over Yamahas, however the previous owner of this Yamaha had Renner action installed, so it is not as bright as the standard Yamahas & therefore sounds much more mellow. Everything seems to be in very good shape- as the previous owner also used it for recording. What I really like about it is that because of its size, the low end really sparkles and doesn't sound "muddy", which I've noticed on the smaller pianos I've played.

If I decide to go through with it, I'm going to have a piano tech give me his/her blessing before making the purchase.

My goal is to use this piano for recording- so I'm looking into investing in the Earthworks PM 40 mic setup- which also has excellent reviews. 

The room this will be going into is 12x14 (basically a living room) with 8 ft high ceilings, BUT does have wall- to - wall thick carpet. Ceiling is that "popcorn" stucco. So I know that small rooms + big pianos = potential disaster, but I'm wondering if anyone has had experience in recording in this type of scenario (or even with the PM 40's, which supposedly even sound good with the lid closed). I'm also going to contact Auralex to see what their thoughts are re: inexpensive acoustic treatment.
 
The only thing I noticed- since the PM40s really pick up piano "sounds" due to their close proximity to the strings, when I stick my ear close to the strings on this piano, the damper sounds really come across- no squeaks or anything- but just the dampers themselves going onto and coming off of the strings when I use the pedal. I did notice this on the other pianos at the shop as well, but some seemed softer. Is this normal? Is it louder just because of the piano's size? Are you aware of anything that can be done inexpensively if this becomes a problem in recordings?

So- I'd love to get your thoughts / blessings / warnings/ advice /  etc!
Also let me know if you have other questions about the piano in particular.

Thanks!

[sirpazhan]

You can always brighten or soften the sound by having a good technician voice the piano. 

as far as your question about the sound of the dampers.. yes they all make noise, and yes, some are less than others.. and yes, the size of the piano does make a difference (larger, more noticeable) - I don't think you can tamper with the dampers too much,, I once had my tech mess around with a couple bass dampers,, I made it worse (it wouldn't mute the sound as fast as it did before).  so in reality, you don't have much room to play around. 

Ive never seen the damper sound an issue when recording.. you need to place the mics accordingly, adjust if necessary until desired sound is achieved. 

When it comes to recording, also look into big brands,,like AKG, neumann, shure etc -- also look into ribbon mics, dont just look at the frequency of the mic... listen to ribbon mic recordings, listen to large diagram condensers -- research all the possibilities, because they're endless when it comes to recording.  Personally, I like to keep one of my mics a few feet away from the piano,, so it can capture the natural distortion... something you cannot if you place small condensers close to the strings. 

[classicalmix]

Ok thanks! Good insight on the mics- I appreciate that :-) I'll look into those other options as well.

BTW- I did make one terminology mistake when describing the piano- it has Renner hammers installed- which I guess is more common of a thing to go- not full Renner action- which I'm told would be a  huge undertaking to replace the entire "action" on a piano. But I'm not sure what kind of difference that makes in the sound, if any :_)

[pbryld]

Ok thanks! Good insight on the mics- I appreciate that :-) I'll look into those other options as well.

BTW- I did make one terminology mistake when describing the piano- it has Renner hammers installed- which I guess is more common of a thing to go- not full Renner action- which I'm told would be a  huge undertaking to replace the entire "action" on a piano. But I'm not sure what kind of difference that makes in the sound, if any :_)

It doesn't matter what hammers it has, it's the voicing that makes the sound soft or harsh.

[pianolive]

Sounds like an interesting piano.
About the damper sound it is typical, go right into the mics.
On Steinway pianos we use a pair of scissors and carefully cut the damper felt so it is upon the strings and not deep between. It is a delicate job so have someone with experience to do it. Then you will not hear that sound again.
The quality of the hammers are off course very important. There are hundreds of different kinds of felt. Generally it is easier to harden than to soften the felt. You could even install Steinway hammers