# The Soniccouture Piano - The Hammersmith - Coming Soon!



## soniccouture (Nov 16, 2014)

Hi All,

We'd like to share some information about our upcoming piano instrument, and some audio demos, on our blog.







All feedback and questions very welcome.

Cheers
James


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## airflamesred (Nov 16, 2014)

Recorded not 2 miles from me.


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## soniccouture (Nov 16, 2014)

it's your local piano library then!

James


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## Dryden.Chambers (Nov 16, 2014)

From the demo's James I would say Rich, but perhaps lacking a little warmth. Very Classical and not extremely cinematic. Again from the demo's. Looking forward to hearing more. This is going to be the SC Christmas Freebie right ? : )

How is the Imogen library coming btw ? Dry


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## soniccouture (Nov 16, 2014)

Hi Dry,

i don't think it lacks warmth overall, but in these classical demos Dan was pretty keen on sucking out the 300-400hz 'fuzz' which is actually quite fashionable these days with cinematic types. There are 6 mic positions to choose from, from a mono D19 'in the hole', right through to a Neumann Binaural Head, so all kinds of piano sound are possible.

there will of course be plenty more demos in the weeks to come.


Imogen Heap - Box Of Tricks is nearly finished, and should also be out Q1 of 2015.

cheers
James


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## gsilbers (Nov 16, 2014)

+1 on drydens comment of warmth. 
maybe have more options for mic levels on the UI? 
and more mic positions available? 
any further mics for a natural verb? 

the demos sound good, transparent and present.
then again, there are plenty of piano libs. out there. good luck.


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## soniccouture (Nov 17, 2014)

thanks for the interesting feedback - this is exactly what we're interested in.

A little more info about mic positions: The instrument is structured so that you have up to 3 channels available (with level, EG and EQ controls for each). For each of the 3 channels you have a choice of 2 mics:

Close: AKG D19, Neumann M49 Pair

Mid : Shoeps MK4 pair, Neumann KM133D pair

Room: Neumann m50 Decca tree, Neumann KM100 binaural head

Given the high level of sample detail - 21 layers with an additional full layer of real sustain samples - running any more than 3 of these channels at once starts to introduce performance issues, which is why it is limited to 3 at once. There are also IRs of the room available as a further reverb source.

In terms of setup and performance options there are key-off, damper and pedal noise samples. The velocity response can be fully adjusted with several different curves, and you can also 'learn' the velocity response of your own keyboard and save the curve.

There is a library of tuning presets, and the ability to completely retune each note as desired.


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## Penthagram (Nov 17, 2014)

Hi There soniccouture,

congrats on the new piano, 

there are some really good things in the sound and dynamics. i really like the forte sound in the rachmanninov demos.

however, let me say that i find ( perhaps is a matter of mixing, not of the piano library per se ), i find, that the cantabile, the melodic line in the highs is not shining over the left hand lines. a pianist will try to make a legato cantabile of this section and this will sound promiment in the perfomance. Perhaps the fundamental notes of the basses in some cases in rachmanninov will support the same "weight" as the melodic one. Anyway maybe is just a matter of mixing, but will sound better if you balance the right hand part in the front of the mix 


Looking forward to hear more things.

regards. 

( sorry for my terrible english )


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## soniccouture (Nov 17, 2014)

Penthagram @ Mon Nov 17 said:


> there are some really good things in the sound and dynamics. i really like the forte sound in the rachmanninov demos.
> 
> however, let me say that i find ( perhaps is a matter of mixing, not of the piano library per se ), i find, that the cantabile, the melodic line in the highs is not shining over the left hand lines. a pianist will try to make a legato cantabile of this section and this will sound promiment in the perfomance. Perhaps the fundamental notes of the basses in some cases in rachmanninov will support the same "weight" as the melodic one. Anyway maybe is just a matter of mixing, but will sound better if you balance the right hand part in the front of the mix




Thanks for the comments, that's very interesting feedback. we'll take a look at the MIDI used for that demo and see if the piano balance needs tweaking a little.


James


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## paoling (Nov 17, 2014)

I wish you good luck with your piano! Potentially it could be the best sampled piano in the market, so now I suggest you to work with a small number of trusted pianists (like the great David) to tweak the sound optimally!


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## kj.metissage (Nov 17, 2014)

I really like the crisp sound of the high velocities in that *Rachmaninov* demo.

Seems like it's gonna end up in my "most wanted" list :D !

Can't wait to play it, and I hope it's only the first piano (maybe a FAZIOLI, and a modern Upright in the future, wish wish ).

Any idea about the prices yet ? Both for the *PRO* and *LE* versions ?


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## soniccouture (Nov 17, 2014)

Glad it's tickling your ivories!

Pricing is pretty definite ( although obviously subject to possible change) :

LE :€99 / $129

Pro €199 / $249


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## kj.metissage (Nov 18, 2014)

Alright ! I'm in !

Will you offer a DVD/USB key version ?


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## soniccouture (Nov 18, 2014)

kj.metissage @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> Will you offer a DVD/USB key version ?




We're hoping not to need to: we're developing an ultra-fast downloader tool that will get it all down for you in one hit, very quickly. However, if there is demand for a USB version, we will do that.

Would you be unable to download 50GB, even if it was a simple one piece resumable download?

James


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## kj.metissage (Nov 18, 2014)

soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> kj.metissage @ Tue Nov 18 said:
> 
> 
> > Will you offer a DVD/USB key version ?
> ...


Well, let's say that I could.

But the space is shrinking fast on my external drive. So there is not much space left to keep a copy in case a hardware problem happens.

But I'll manage.

With my bandwidth it will still take *29 hours* non-stop of download to get the 50 GB...

If the downloader supports pauses in the download, it would be welcome. Because I'll need my bandwidth when I'm using the computer during the day .


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## soniccouture (Nov 18, 2014)

thanks for the feedback. We'll look into all the options to deliver this product smoothly.


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## kj.metissage (Nov 18, 2014)

soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> thanks for the feedback. We'll look into all the options to deliver this product smoothly.


You're welcome  !


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## soniccouture (Nov 18, 2014)

I should also point out that you don't necessarily need to keep a back up of Soniccouture products, because you can always download them from our site, whenever you need to, as many times as you need to.

James


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## kj.metissage (Nov 18, 2014)

soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> I should also point out that you don't necessarily need to keep a back up of Soniccouture products, because you can always download them from our site, whenever you need to, as many times as you need to.
> 
> James


That's great but between a 20 minutes copy/paste and another 29 hours download, it's obvious which one I'll choose.


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## soniccouture (Nov 18, 2014)

kj.metissage @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:
> 
> 
> > That's great but between a 20 minutes copy/paste and another 29 hours download, it's obvious which one I'll choose.



Ha, you've obviously never tried to copy 50GB from a USB stick! I found it quicker to download, and I'm not kidding. But then our new Google Cloud Storage downloads are blisteringly fast.


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## kj.metissage (Nov 18, 2014)

soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:


> kj.metissage @ Tue Nov 18 said:
> 
> 
> > soniccouture @ Tue Nov 18 said:
> ...


Good point, I was thinking more from an external "fast" USB 2.0 hardrive (at least).

My bandwidth is : 5Mb/s, I have a phone line way too long... Damn fiber optics that are never gonna come here hehe !


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## soniccouture (Nov 18, 2014)

Hi All,


We've made some demos without the instruments channel EQ on the mics, to show the naked sound:

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F177538633&secret_url=false[/flash]

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F177538635&secret_url=false[/flash]

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F176858245&secret_url=false[/flash]

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F177538636&secret_url=false[/flash]



Again, all comments and feedback very welcome. 

We're tweaking out the instrument with the aid of some testers as we speak, and it's coming along very nicely!

cheers

James


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## kj.metissage (Apr 5, 2015)

So, where are you at with this piano ?


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## soniccouture (Apr 5, 2015)

Ha, good timing.

it will be available this week. Here's a little video


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## kj.metissage (Apr 5, 2015)

Thanks, that was fast. Even harder to wait now.

Thanks for the frustration haha  !


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## wcreed51 (Apr 9, 2015)

It looks like this has been released. Anyone have it yet?


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## DDK (Apr 9, 2015)

Can it do the thomas Newman sound???
If yes please supply a demo
Dave


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## Fleer (Apr 9, 2015)

Just chiming in to say that I love what these SonicCouture guys do. 
I have their EP73 and Broken Wurli. They rock!


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## feck (Apr 13, 2015)

wcreed51 @ Thu Apr 09 said:


> It looks like this has been released. Anyone have it yet?


Yep, I have been playing it for several hours and am really loving it. Even with all the piano libraries I own, this has a very unique voice. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.


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## ceemusic (Apr 20, 2015)

feck @ Mon Apr 13 said:


> wcreed51 @ Thu Apr 09 said:
> 
> 
> > It looks like this has been released. Anyone have it yet?
> ...



+1
Very pleased here as well.


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## Greg (Apr 20, 2015)

wcreed51 @ Thu Apr 09 said:


> It looks like this has been released. Anyone have it yet?



I love it! Definitely my new go-to piano for practicing as well as in mixes. SonicCouture is a very smart dev, I am thrilled with their other products too. The downloader was sent instantly and the easiest one I have ever used. These dudes know how to make a happy customer!


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## The Darris (Apr 21, 2015)

This is my new workhorse piano. Well done Soniccouture.


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## re-peat (Apr 21, 2015)

I’m not completely convinced, I fear.

I bought this library because piano is pretty important, even centre of focus, in much of my music, and therefore any new and fresh perspective on that most fabulous of instruments — the Steinway grand — is always welcome at my place. Furthermore, given the fact that most everything which I bought from SonicCouture thus far — quite a few things, as it happens — usually brings a smile to my face (as does the wonderful XML-service of SC's Eddie), I trusted this Hammersmith would be no different, and so I fully expected to be in for a pianistic treat.

Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. This, in its current state anyway, is closer to a disappointment than a bringer of joyful excitement, I’m sorry to say. 

My biggest problem at the moment, are some unignorable balance inconsistencies — quite remarkable that everybody else appears to be able to ignore them —, which occur all across the keyboard and in just about every dynamic range.
Take the C4-octave for example (well, almost the entire upper range, for that matter): quite powerless to fly above or sparkle on top of anything played with the left hand. Solo over some chords, and either you have to play quite hard with your right, or unnaturally restrained with your left, or else your solo will get nearly buried underneath whatever your left hand is generating.
Play chords which include notes from both the C3-octave and the C4-octave and the latter will be almost totally overpowered by the former. The upper half of the C3-octave — A3 and its neighbours — comes ringing out annoyingly loud compared to the lower half of the C4-octave (the notes D4, E4 and F4 are unbelievably weak in any context).
Or play very softly and observe how certain notes barely emerge within a chord, while others jump out claiming all the attention. This really is most frustrating, as it makes subtle shading of chords virtually impossible.

And talking about subtle shading: a pity, I find, that the gentle, round timbre of a grand piano at its most delicate and tender, is so difficult to summon up, tucked away as it seems to be in the extreme lowest velocities exclusively. Only when playing very, very softly can we hear the instrument at its roundest, warmest and sweetest. The moment velocities go up just a little (> velocity value 15-20), this piano already acquires a fairly hard ‘mezzo’ sound which I only want to start hearing when playing significantly harder still. 
I would have thought that, with 21 velocity layers, the timbral richness of a piano could have been distributed much more evenly (and with less abrupt jumps in the timbre) and that a little more dynamic and timbral ‘space’ could have been reserved for that tender, caressing side of the Steinway, but it appears there is very little of that which made into the final virtualization.
Test the note F#3, for example: at around velocity 15 (in the default.nka), the timbre suddenly skips from soft and mellow to prematurely hard and even harsh. Things like these should have no place in a ‘Pro’ instrument.
(I know that with clever curve adjustment, the softest timbres can be given a bit more range, but such a curve, which is inevitably unnatural, causes all sorts of other problems which I don’t want to have to consider while playing.)

To get back to that C4-octave: the note D4 has, more than all the others, a distinct metallic ‘zing’ in its sound. Quite nice on its own, sure, but since none of the other notes in its neighbourhood have that similar timbral quality, it makes that D4 draw attention to itself every time it appears. And when you’re playing a phrase which has plenty of D4’s in it, this becomes quickly rather irritating. Well, I find so, anyway.

All of which makes me wonder if this instrument was ever properly beta-tested. And I mean, by people who can actually play more on a piano than “Frère Jacques” with one shaky finger. It certainly doesn’t sound like it, to be honest, because anyone who *can* play piano would, and should, most certainly have pointed out these unsettling inconsistencies (both timbrally and dynamically) during the earliest stages of any serious beta-test.
Virtually all of the things which I mentioned above, I discovered after only a few minutes of playing … (By the way, it’s not my job, but I can produce telling audio examples to illustrate all of the above.)

However, all is not lost. The vast majority of the samples sound very good indeed, so the raw materials are definitely there to make a seriously impressive virtual piano with it. If I may, I would humbly suggest the following: for the update, invite a few rigorously stern, discerning and merciless beta-testers — people who can really play and who are also not afraid to point out flaws and weaknesses with brute, blunt and surgical accuracy — and together with this little group, rebuild this virtual piano from scratch, paying close attention to things like (consistency of) balance and a true piano-like dynamic and timbral response. And then the Hammersmith MkII might have something of a future. In its current version however, I fear I very much hesitate to say that it does. At least, not at my place. Sorry.

_


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## kj.metissage (Apr 21, 2015)

I like your honesty man !

That said, which piano libraries you reach for in general ?


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## Penthagram (Apr 21, 2015)

ARGG, i have wrote a long post , and session expired...

I have purchased the Hammersmith, and right now the hammersmith is broken. Some months ago, if you look at this same post, i have posted just listening to a demo they share with us, that the piano lacks cantabile. What happen is that there is no balance in the piano. I have played rachmanninov preludes, beethoven sonatas, bach, Chopin scherzos, what i mean is i know how a piano sounds and responds, and i expect a piano to play and yield a response in a way pianos do, and hammersmith only do till you reach C3. From here to c8, is broken, there is no balance between lows and higs, and higs feel weak and cannot execute "cantabile" or create layers between different melodys. 

i will be more than happy to help to fix this. Perhaps is done in this way on purpose, but will be better then to have the possibility of having a "normal" piano balance between all the register. 

Im sorry to say, but for me, right now the instrument is unusable. And i really like some things. The lows are one of the best i have listened on a library. 

as i say, i want to help in any way i can to fix this. as sure, you have a great material to create an impressive library.

Also if anyone is curious i can record the same passage with this library and with any other so you can listen what i mean, as my english is poor per se, but late in the night it becomes worse 

regards,
David.


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## prodigalson (Apr 21, 2015)

my two cents:

While I do understand the issue here regarding the perceived imbalance in registers and I do think it should be looked at for an update, I personally don't think it's QUITE as dramatic a problem as has been suggested here. I've found that a little tweaking on the velocity curve does even things out and I've found a nice setting that seems to suit me well. I personally can get a nice "sparkle" in the upper registers without having to back off the left hand too much. It's not that dissimilar to adjusting to the action and response of an unfamiliar real piano. I also have yet to discern the D4 "zing" that re-peat mentioned. I've tried at a few different velocities and can't really hear it. 

Like I said, I do perceive the balance problem and think it should be addressed in an update and I have noticed that that some velocity layers to jump in a little quickly but so far I've only noticed it on a few notes and to be completely fair, with 21 velocity layers they're not going to get everything right on the initial release. 

In my humble opinion, I don't think the piano is "broken" by an means and I certainly don't think its unusable. In fact, it sounds fantastic overall and has some of those layer velocity layers sound incredible in the lower register. 

And before the superior opinion police attack: I am a professional pianist having played classical piano for 25 years and with a degree in Jazz Piano from a well-known music school so i've played all the rachmaninov preludes and beethoven sonatas too...


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## Penthagram (Apr 22, 2015)

Prodigalson glad you are confortable with it 

im just giving my opinion  nothing more.

i feel uncomfortable playing it. 

regards,
David.


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## Hannes (Apr 22, 2015)

Same here - especially when I use my pedal, I am not able to play because of the strange balance... 
But when I turn the "real pedal" samples off, it's okay (but not perfect)... 

I hope for an update for this library, because I really like the sound... :wink: 

greets


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## prodigalson (Apr 22, 2015)

> Prodigalson glad you are confortable with it Smile
> 
> im just giving my opinion Smile nothing more.
> 
> ...



Absolutely David! and like I mentioned in my post I'm not disagreeing with your opinion, I certainly perceived the issue. I just didn't think it was as much of an issue for me and I wanted to show how I dealt with it. That being said, I'm not doing exposed mockups of Ravel or Chopin very often and if I do I probably would use something else as of right now. Though if they address this issue with an update I think this piano could really be a fantastic and great value instrument.


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## Penthagram (Apr 27, 2015)

Well i have just received an update email from James & Dan, regarding an update that fixes the Hammersmith balance.

now i find the playing more enjoyable. I find that responds very well on a virtuoso style like lizst or rachmanninov. 

I want to thank you the devs for the effort. I appreciate a lot as i know there´s a lot of work involved and a lot of care.

but i have so high expectations...now i feel way better as it has a beautiful tone, great lows, and now it fits my weight and playstyle.

thank you for the quick turnaround.

yours,
David.


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## kj.metissage (Apr 27, 2015)

So it's official, there is an update coming ?! Great !


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## soniccouture (Apr 30, 2015)

The first update is already available, just to be clear.

We're grateful for all the feedback, and are taking all suggestions into account. There is likely to be another update in the next few days, since another small bug has been uncovered (only spotted by one person so far!).

The instrument was of course beta-tested by some experienced players, but it just goes to show there's nothing like the acid test of the market.

Rest assured that we'll continue to tweak this until perfect.

Thanks for all your kind comments.

James


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## soniccouture (May 1, 2015)

we've now uploaded an additional update, which tweaks the velocity response to be smoother.


James


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## Greg (May 1, 2015)

Thanks for the updates James, this piano is even more of a joy to play now. Love it!


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## soniccouture (May 1, 2015)

Greg @ Fri May 01 said:


> Thanks for the updates James, this piano is even more of a joy to play now. Love it!



Great to hear.

James


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## Stiltzkin (May 2, 2015)

Interesting, only just found this piano... Seems very nice indeed!


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