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dzilizzi said:
If you are only looking at pianos? You would be better off grabbing the True Keys sale if it is still on. Komplete is great. And you are getting a lot more than pianos. But you really have to go for the Ultimate for the full piano array. And I don't think it is on sale right now. So close to $1K. I would grab True Keys and wait for the sale next June. It is usually half off.
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The True Keys offer is a great deal, although its pianos (in my view) are almost the opposite of cinematic: they're super clean and detailed - I think of them as "reference grand pianos." There are no built-in presets beyond basically light and full versions. Definitely one can turn them into colourful cinematic/epic/scoring pianos with tweaking, but the advantage of the basic Ultimate package (not the cheap, "select" one) is that it includes all the Kontakt acoustic pianos except Alicia's Keys (I don't believe there are any other exceptions), and those 5 pianos are loaded with characterful presets right out of the box and great tweakability that way. They're much more of a palette for piano textures while True Keys is substantially better as an unvarnished solo/studio/concert piano VI - again, very much IMHO. So that Komplete package is expensive now, but will hopefully be as cheap as $200 again as an upgrade by the time the next wave of seasonal discounts washes in.
 
I agree that Komplete is great. But if he wants pianos now, I wouldn't spend the money on Komplete. If the OP can wait, I would definitely go for Komplete. However, at $92 for three good pianos that a little reverb will make great, how can you go wrong?
 
tiago said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Soundiron's Emotional Piano yet on this thread... While not my very first personal favorite, it seems to match the description of the kind of piano you're looking for quite well. While a bit old in comparison to some of the pianos mentioned previously, its cinematic tone still holds something special (Malmsjo is even older and it's still the favorite of many composers...) and it's, in my opinion, definitely worth considering it as well.
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Ah, completely forgot about this and feel it may be perfect. The SI Emotional Piano is defitinley along the lines of what I'm looking at.

As for Komplete, I would be able to wait for a sale as there is no pressing need for the library at the moment. I believe they often have 50% discounts which would be quite affordable!
 
dzilizzi said:
I agree that Komplete is great. But if he wants pianos now, I wouldn't spend the money on Komplete. If the OP can wait, I would definitely go for Komplete. However, at $92 for three good pianos that a little reverb will make great, how can you go wrong?
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Clearly the solution is to buy both - and not stop buying until you've bought all the piano VIs your heart desires. that's my policy.
 
dzilizzi said:
LOL! This is what I have been doing....every time I see one on sale. I have way too many pianos.... :D
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I now have all of Pianoteq 6's variations on the Steinway D, The Grandeur and True Keys American Grand. But if they add half-pedal functionality to Piano in Blue, my roving ear will find it hard to resist. Similarly, Garritan's CFX Lite serves up a very satisfying Yamaha grand experience. But I still lust after others. A very expensive addiction.
 
Quasar said:
I still have no earthly idea what a "cinematic" tone is. I do watch films and (like probably most everyone here) listen more intently to the music than the average person, and I hear lots of tones.

I have and like Galaxy Vintage D for its authentic concert grand piano sound and for its extensive tweakability; both Una Corda and Spitfire's free Felt pianos for ethereally soft and otherworldly nuances; and Pianoteq (Stage) for the superior tactile sensitivity afforded by the physical modelling. IMHO this much more than amply covers anything you might ask a virtual piano to do.
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I love this piano...



Suggested similitude by @lux : https://new.dreamaudiotools.com/product/dream-keys-complete-piano-samples/

QUOTE: "Our goal has been to provide composers with a plug-n-play solution to get that typical ambienced/cinematic piano sound heard on movies and TV, plus a variety of creatively crafted patches great for styles like soundtrack, electronica, hip hop and a lot more. The piano sets have been processed using a specific effects chain in order to obtain a great ambient/soundtrack sonic flavour."

Very affordable too. I just got the TrueKeys and really like it, but as someone suggested it is a very clean piano, will need processing to extend its emotional range. FluffyPiano is fascinatingly organic, although maybe a few quirks put some limits for me.

Haven't found the Holy Grail yet!
 
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You can pick up the Arturia Piano V 2 for $99 right now. The CPU usage is almost nonexistent and it sounds pretty amazing. You get a number of pianos from uprights to grands to experimental glass pianos. Someone called it the poor man's Pianoteq. I'd say it's certainly on par with theirs.

 
tiago said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Soundiron's Emotional Piano yet on this thread... While not my very first personal favorite, it seems to match the description of the kind of piano you're looking for quite well. While a bit old in comparison to some of the pianos mentioned previously, its cinematic tone still holds something special (Malmsjo is even older and it's still the favorite of many composers...) and it's, in my opinion, definitely worth considering it as well.
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You're absolutely right. I believe it's a Kawai BTW.
 
creativeforge said:
I love this piano...



Suggested similitude by @lux : https://new.dreamaudiotools.com/product/dream-keys-complete-piano-samples/

QUOTE: "Our goal has been to provide composers with a plug-n-play solution to get that typical ambienced/cinematic piano sound heard on movies and TV, plus a variety of creatively crafted patches great for styles like soundtrack, electronica, hip hop and a lot more. The piano sets have been processed using a specific effects chain in order to obtain a great ambient/soundtrack sonic flavour."

Very affordable too. I just got the TrueKeys and really like it, but as someone suggested it is a very clean piano, will need processing to extend its emotional range. FluffyPiano is fascinatingly organic, although maybe a few quirks put some limits for me.

Haven't found the Holy Grail yet!
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Thank you for pointing this out!

I wasn't aware of their offerings and it seems like another great option. Their approach of having 'plug-and-play' pianos with an ambient/cinematic tone is perfect and it's definitely affordable.

Now, if only I can find a piano library that comes with a mini Thomas Newman built in...:P
 
robgb said:
You can pick up the Arturia Piano V 2 for $99 right now. The CPU usage is almost nonexistent and it sounds pretty amazing. You get a number of pianos from uprights to grands to experimental glass pianos. Someone called it the poor man's Pianoteq. I'd say it's certainly on par with theirs.

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Wow. I just downloaded the demo, and it's an instant hit with me. I have Pianoteq 6.
 
I can't highly recommend enough on the Galaxy Piano's Vintage D. I've just recently bought The Grandeur. It's nice but it's a bit too clean sounding or what some called it as "Vanilla" sounding which is still useful. On the other hand, i still love the Vintage D a lot. It has the right sound and it's pretty good to be used as a standout sounding piano. It's the library which i've never regret buying and will continue to use it a lot in my scores.
 
BenG said:
Definitely agree! In this instance, I was looking for something mote 'plug-and-play' so to speak. Either geat sounding out of the box or with some available presets.
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Not something I'd normally recommend, but for 15 Euro you could try Cinematique Instruments' Grand 3P:
https://www.cinematique-instruments.com/inst_grand3p.php
Has a range of presets including some heavily processed ambient sounding pianos, which may be useful.
 
As @synthpunk noticed, it is true... piano thread :) We should provide bonus coupons on each 1000 tread about piano and best string library :)
And then each Kontakt or non-Kontakt library is listed...

If you want all rounded piano library you should check:
  • Native Instruments - Grandeur (about 4.5 Gb)
  • Native Instruments - Gentleman (around 3.7 Gb)
or
  • Pianoteq 5/6 (don't know what is latest version)
+ Valhalla shimmer

And that's all. Each library is small in space and no philosophy, you will get quality controls over piano where you can oblique your sound as you wish.

Why would you check something like Keyscape - C7, do you want 80Gb extra space on your hard drive or not.
Why would you check some other Kontakt library of size 20Gb or more... HZ piano 200Gb !???

That "cinematic" tone is always passed through amount of fx (reverbs, delays) and you can use any piano for that purpose, it's really just important that your piano is velocity responsive and that's all.
 
sazema said:
and you can use any piano for that purpose
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Maybe, but some take to a cinematic environment more fluently and convincingly than others and it’s got nothing to do with EQ, reverb or delay, it’s the naked timbre of these instruments that makes all the important difference.

Some time ago, I did a comparison of ‘virtual pianos in a cinematic guise', and below are a few of the resulting examples. (The complete piece, "Rikke", a blatantly Newman-esque demo for Pianoteq’s ModelD, can be heard (broken link removed).)

1. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_CinematicStudio.mp3 (Cinematic Studio Piano)
2. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Emotional.mp3 (Emotional Piano)
3. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Galaxy.mp3 (Galaxy VintageD)
4. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_OTRosewood.mp3 (OT Rosewood)
5. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Ravenscroft.mp3 (Ravenscroft)
6. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Fluffy.mp3 (Fluffy Scoring Piano)
7. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_PianoInBlue.mp3 (Piano In Blue)

Say what you want, but certain of these instruments succeed much better than others, to my ears anyway, and that difference is entirely determined by what these virtual pianos have to offer all by themselves, rather than by how they were processed.

_
 
re-peat said:
Maybe, but some take to a cinematic environment more fluently and convincingly than others and it’s got nothing to do with EQ, reverb or delay, it’s the naked timbre of these instruments that makes all the important difference.

Some time ago, I did a comparison of ‘virtual pianos in a cinematic guise', and below are a few of the resulting examples. (The complete piece, "Rikke", a blatantly Newman-esque demo for Pianoteq’s ModelD, can be heard (broken link removed).)

1. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_CinematicStudio.mp3 (Cinematic Studio Piano)
2. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Emotional.mp3 (Emotional Piano)
3. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Galaxy.mp3 (Galaxy VintageD)
4. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_OTRosewood.mp3 (OT Rosewood)
5. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Ravenscroft.mp3 (Ravenscroft)
6. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_Fluffy.mp3 (Fluffy Scoring Piano)
7. https://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Pianos/FilmScoringPiano_PianoInBlue.mp3 (Piano In Blue)

Say what you want, but certain of these instruments succeed much better than others, to my ears anyway, and that difference is entirely determined by what these virtual pianos have to offer all by themselves, rather than by how they were processed.

_
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Very helpful, thanks for sharing. I can't help but go back to the Cinematic Studio Piano demo, I find it more intimate, clean and least "noisy" for some reason. Indeed "cinematic." Are all the demos using the same treatment with regard to effects, or using their own effects?
 
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