# NEW! Synchron Pianos: Bösendorfer Upright



## Ben (Dec 16, 2019)

Hello everybody!

I'm happy to anounce the new Synchron Bösendorfer Upright!
It was sampled in Hall B of our Synchron Stage, with the same care as our other Synchron Pianos.

If you love pianos you should definitly check this one out!
Introductory prices available until December 31.
Standard Library 125€ (regular: 165€)
Full Library 220€ (regular: 290€)

Audio Demos

(By the way: If you put 4 vouchers in the basket until December 31, you have to pay only the first 3 vouchers! And you can use these directly after you got the voucher keys and use them to buy this brand new Piano!)

Happy holidays!


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## Gerbil (Dec 16, 2019)

Very nice. Any chance of a walkthrough so we can hear the mics and the difference between the standard and extended libraries? Thanks


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## Ben (Dec 16, 2019)

@Gerbil Check out the audio demos.
You can click on the "i" next to the song title and see what microphones / presets were used.


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## Gerbil (Dec 16, 2019)

Ah...ok. Thanks. I was just triggering them from the top left panel.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 16, 2019)

Too bad I only have a bit over 30 GB free on my 2 TB SSD. I can't really clear anything that is non-VSL as I specifically loaded my other piano libraries that require SSD's and use them all the time. I suppose it will go on sale again at some point though. I'm hoping to get a 4 TB SSD sometime early next year.

The demos sound incredible; more akin to a really good Baby Grand than a typical Upright Piano. I can see this being really useful for more intimate works and moods.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 17, 2019)

I thought the voucher sale was 5 for 4, not 4 for 3? If it's 4 for 3, then there wouldn't necessarily be a long wait (for new products) before using the other two vouchers after using two on the full library for this one.


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## CGR (Dec 17, 2019)

Anyone bought this yet?


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## Gerbil (Dec 17, 2019)

Yes but I haven't installed it yet. That intimate decca mic sounds very nice and I know that the Synchron CFX is very playable and tweakable so have high hopes for this one.


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## CGR (Dec 17, 2019)

Gerbil said:


> Yes but I haven't installed it yet. That intimate decca mic sounds very nice and I know that the Synchron CFX is very playable and tweakable so have high hopes for this one.


Standard or Full version? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. And here I was thinking I didn't need any more sampled pianos!


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## Gerbil (Dec 17, 2019)

Standard for now. But I'll check back in once I've had a good play.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 17, 2019)

I myself plan to buy Advanced due to even the specific additional close mic choices.

Unfortunately, I just priced SSD's tonight and they are the same cost, or even higher, as two years ago when I bought my 2 TB portable USB3/Thunderbolt-C Glyph Atom, and there are still none with capacity greater than 4 TB either, not to mention the scale of cost still means no benefit beyond the 2 TB size. Maybe February is a month when these prices come down and/or new models are released?

I could also move some less greedy libs off my SSD by vendors who have specific libs that need the SSD, but I hate splitting vendors' products across multiple drives.

I did notice though, that the actual INSTALLED size is a bit under 50 GB vs. the 100 GB that I initially thought, so one could download the installer on a free drive first.

As a reminder to everybody, these libs do NOT work well on standard mechanical drives. I got further than most when I bought my first Synchron products, but it was the final straw that broke the camel's back and got me to buy my current SSD (before my MacPro 2010 model died, I had an internal SSD but it was small capacity and would have cost as much to house as an external drive for the 2017 iMac as to buy something new that was also higher capacity).


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## Ben (Dec 19, 2019)

Here is a screencast by Guy Bacos, featuring the different mic-presets:


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## IvanP (Dec 21, 2019)

As a never satisfied Virtual Piano Customer in a continuous search for a Sampled Piano with balance, attitude, not clatty nor Muddy, etc, I bought this one.

I am absolutely Amazed with this library. What a unique sound. Pristine, character, feel...I'm very, very satisfied with it. It seems like all these sampling years at VSL have made a difference in capturing and programming pianos.

I could play this for hours.


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## Michael Antrum (Dec 22, 2019)

I've just ordered the full version. 

I got completely lost in the D274. You know, when the music just drips from you fingertips and falls onto the keys. I haven't spent so much time just playing the piano in ages.

If the Bosendorfer is a tenth as good, i'm going to love it. I reckon Best Service will have my codes over to me on Monday.


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## Sovereign (Dec 22, 2019)

Purchased, gonna try it now.


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## Michael Antrum (Dec 22, 2019)

Would love to know your thoughts. 

A short while ago you gave me some good advice on Synchron Strings, which turned out to be spot on.


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## Gerbil (Dec 24, 2019)

I'm having problems installing this one. I've gone into the Volume Scan Paths in the synchron piano interface settings and selected it. It shows up but when I click on the folder to select the presets the only thing there is the CFX grand already installed. There's no trace of the bosendorfer. It's showing up in the elicenser no probs and I've been in to check that all of the correct vsynfiles are in place (there are five of them). They downloaded correctly. Anybody know how to remedy it? I must be missing something.


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## Buz (Dec 24, 2019)

You have to update the Synchron software


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## Gerbil (Dec 24, 2019)

Yes, I missed that bit! As usual. I always do that with VSL stuff. Not my favourite developer as far as installing things goes but this piano is really nice. Definitely recommend.


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## Sovereign (Dec 25, 2019)

Michael Antrum said:


> Would love to know your thoughts.
> 
> A short while ago you gave me some good advice on Synchron Strings, which turned out to be spot on.


It's a really good-sounding upright piano, but ... I have all the Synchron pianos and if I had to pick my favourite it would still be the Steinway, all day long.


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## JJHLH (Dec 26, 2019)

This piano sounds beautiful!


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## Zedcars (Dec 26, 2019)

Are you able to turn the pedal noise off or down? I found the pedal noise on Guy Bacos’s beautifully played Gnossiennes No. 1 a bit distracting (I was listening on headphones).

The tone of the piano is wonderful. Intimate and delicate in quiet passages but can do powerful as well.

EDIT: I’ll answer my own question: Yes, you can adjust the volume of the pedal noise and presumably turn it off entirely if you want to.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 27, 2019)

Wow, this piano is amazing! It took a long time to clear up enough disc space, culling libraries from other vendors one by one that aren't Kontakt Player and/or aren't used regularly and/or aren't known to absolutely fail when not run on an SSD, but I just finished installing it and am starting to play with it, and find it tonally balanced and possibly easier to work with than the others when it comes to quickly setting up a proper sound stage and mic mix.

I see what you mean about the pedal noise, which defaults to -15 dB but is quite distracting and mud-prone. I think I like it best turned off, but turning it down to -30 dB at least keeps it from muddying up the note transitions. I suspect this has to do with the unique miking needs of an upright, and how much closer almost all of the mics are to the pedals due to the configuration of an upright vs. a grand.


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## CGR (Dec 27, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Wow, this piano is amazing! It took a long time to clear up enough disc space, culling libraries from other vendors one by one that aren't Kontakt Player and/or aren't used regularly and/or aren't known to absolutely fail when not run on an SSD, but I just finished installing it and am starting to play with it, and find it tonally balanced and possibly easier to work with than the others when it comes to quickly setting up a proper sound stage and mic mix.
> 
> I see what you mean about the pedal noise, which defaults to -15 dB but is quite distracting and mud-prone. I think I like it best turned off, but turning it down to -30 dB at least keeps it from muddying up the note transitions. I suspect this has to do with the unique miking needs of an upright, and how much closer almost all of the mics are to the pedals due to the configuration of an upright vs. a grand.


Standard or Full version Mark? Feel free to post some of your playing here - would like to hear more contemporary/pop/blues/jazz demos.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 27, 2019)

Full Version. I think it's essential for the pianos, as my own personal mic preferences are often only in the extended set of closer mics. The differences between Standard and Full are a bit different across the various product ranges. I don't bother with Full for the strings, etc.

I'm hoping to try this piano on some reggae/ska/dub/calypso and jazz/blues tomorrow, but also some pop that is 60's through 80's influenced (think Beatles, Stones, New Wave, etc.).


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## JJHLH (Dec 27, 2019)

I’ve decided to buy this piano, which will be my first VSL product. I understand that I need to also buy a USB key for the license. Can I use this VST on two separate computers? Do I need a separate USB key on each computer?

Thank you in advance.


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## Ben (Dec 27, 2019)

JJHLH said:


> Can I use this VST on two separate computers? Do I need a separate USB key on each computer?


You will get one license you can activate on one Steinberg eLicenser or ViennaKey. You can install the library on all your computers and it will run on the computer that has the eLicenser plugged in. To use it on a different system, just plug the key to the other computer.
If you want to use it on an additional system, you will need an additional eLicenser and an additional license. In this case contact [email protected] directly.


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## stargazer (Dec 27, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I'm hoping to try this piano on some reggae/ska/dub/calypso and jazz/blues tomorrow, but also some pop that is 60's through 80's influenced (think Beatles, Stones, New Wave, etc.).


I would appreciate if you could post some examples!
Does it include una corda and sustainpedal down-samples as the three grands?


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 27, 2019)

As far as I can tell, those are included just as with the three grands. They didn't update the user manual from what I can tell when logged in to my account. I notice that one's mix choice carries over when switching piano models too, which is really useful for direct comparisons without losing continuity of thought. I think they added that feature after the initial version of the interface.


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## CGR (Dec 27, 2019)

stargazer said:


> I would appreciate if you could post some examples!
> Does it include una corda and sustainpedal down-samples as the three grands?



I'd like to hear what you can do with the VSL Bosendorfer Upright Mark in those different styles you mentioned.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 27, 2019)

Well, I can probably talk about it afterwards, but I haven't looked into how one posts audio here, and what the legal implications are, if it's a cover, or even an original that hasn't been released yet.


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## CGR (Dec 27, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Well, I can probably talk about it afterwards, but I haven't looked into how one posts audio here, and what the legal implications are, if it's a cover, or even an original that hasn't been released yet.


You can attach mp3 files to a post, but they'll be downloadable. If that's an issue, I've posted private links to non-downloadable Soundcloud uploads here in the past.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 27, 2019)

Thanks. I still haven't finished looking into Soundcloud either. The most I've uploaded this past year was with regards to sharing my personal Synchron Pianos presets, and I'll definitely do that again with the Bosendorfer Upright as well.


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## stargazer (Dec 28, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Well, I can probably talk about it afterwards, but I haven't looked into how one posts audio here, and what the legal implications are, if it's a cover, or even an original that hasn't been released yet.


I can’t imagine there would be a problem uploading a few bars of a piano version, or the piano part, of a cover song. Moderators?


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## JJHLH (Dec 28, 2019)

I went ahead and purchased the Bösendorfer Upright, as well as the Blüthner, taking advantage of the introductory discount and 4 for 3 voucher savings.

Wow, all I can say is that the Bösendorfer is amazing! It has displaced the venerable Garritan CFX from its perch as my favorite piano VST. I love the warm tone and playability. Well done on this one!

It’s funny because I never really considered uprights before, assuming that grands would always sound better. I need to rethink my assumptions after this haha.


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## Paul_P (Dec 28, 2019)

JJHLH said:


> Wow, all I can say is that the Bösendorfer is amazing! It has displaced the venerable Garritan CFX from its perch as my favorite piano VST. I love the warm tone and playability. Well done on this one!
> 
> It’s funny because I never really considered uprights before, assuming that grands would always sound better. I need to rethink my assumptions after this haha.



There are similar comments from others and I'm wondering what it is that makes the sound of an upright (at least this one) so special. I'm a very basic piano player who just picked up a Grand vsti thinking the bigger/classier the better, but I'm curious as to why one would prefer a particular piano type/model over an other.


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## Guy Bacos (Dec 28, 2019)

I like this piano very much as well, but sometimes you want an upright piano sound and other times you want a piano with a tail. An upright piano has its own personality and charm and I think it's appreciated more today than ever. kind of making a comeback. There's this artist in my home town who recorded an entire CD with an upright acoustic piano, from his home, and it sounds amazing. I guess the ambiece plays a large factor.


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## JJHLH (Dec 28, 2019)

Paul_P said:


> There are similar comments from others and I'm wondering what it is that makes the sound of an upright (at least this one) so special. I'm a very basic piano player who just picked up a Grand vsti thinking the bigger/classier the better, but I'm curious as to why one would prefer a particular piano type/model over an other.



For me it’s the warm woody tone of this particular piano that I find so appealing. It’s smooth, buttery, and mellow. 

Some pianos sound cold, bright, and sharp. Almost harsh. This little Bosie is just the opposite, it’s much more gentle, which is a good thing. 

I also like the smaller more intimate room where it was recorded.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 28, 2019)

I just spent about five hours (interrupted by dinner) fine-tuning and closely listening in and out of context and in comparisons to other tracks, and after adjusting to the slightly darker sound of the Bosendorfer, I'm all in. Not sure if it's appropriate to attach my preset file to a sale message vs. a general discussion, so I won't do that, but might post it at VSL's forum soon.

Although I intend to try it on lots of other material, the main initial candidate was a dub reggae song (with some calypso influences) that has been an ongoing challenge for me regarding the piano (even using a trashy Korg M1 at one point, as that's what most reggae recordings used at the time it came out). And though my preset is a work in progress that could still use slightly more up-front-ness and brightness, it has by now surpassed everything else that I tried, for a variety of important reasons.

I wrote the bass line first, ten years ago, and there are about seven distinct sections to the song. The drums and percussion got added shortly thereafter, then it languished until a year or two ago, as it had been slated to serve as background music in a film (whose director died). After coming up with the lyrics and the main melody (although the bass itself is highly melodic here), I added B3 organ, Clavinet (instead of guitar), and upright piano. Getting those all to groove and to sit together is a challenge.

The beautiful thing about this upright library in this context, is that it lets the bass guitar breathe and pulse, more than any other, and more than most grand piano libraries or electric piano options. That's quite a feat right there, but it also indicates one of the reasons (besides budget) why upright piano remains popular in most Caribbean musical forms. And yet the Bosendorfer has more body to its low end than most uprights, due to being an Upright Grand and thus making no compromises on string count.

I did have to drop even the mid mics, but left them in my preset with proper balance but simply disabled. Other songs might work well with the mid mics present. I also set the other mics but disabled them; I may find that this preset becomes a good starting point template for other genres and contexts as well.

The other adjustments discussed earlier were made here, as this experiment reinforced that the upright piano needs slightly different global settings than the grand pianos do, to avoid problems. And of course I always turn the reverb off entirely; especially as I'm not yet using any of my Synchron Pianos in the context of orchestral projects (though most of my music contains a few orchestral instruments as a matter of course, they aren't staged the same way).

Another thing that struck me while working on my dub/reggae upright piano preset, is that the range of sounds with this particular library seems the widest so far, in terms of the overall impact of changes to settings. Even so, I do hope that a Bechstein Upright is around the corner. Somewhat surprisingly, the library whose timbre I was abler to get the closest to this one (though not as rich overall) is The Gentleman (which is a Bechstein Model A from 1908).

Although it may not be recommended to engage all three close mics, that was how I got my best sound for the reggae context, where the intricate blending with B3 organ and Clavinet is so critical. It also means that my preset requires the Full Library vs. the Standard Edition.


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## Adam Takacs (Dec 30, 2019)

It's a beautiful piano and the synchron player is fantastic.

I'm not a pianist, but I like to compose piano works, as an amateur composer.
I used the Synchron Bösendorfer Upright Standard library for this piece and although it's not a live performance, I made a complex tempo track curve in order to bring life to the composition.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 30, 2019)

I think that piece shows why some of the impressionist composers preferred uprights.


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## JJHLH (Dec 30, 2019)

tadam said:


> It's a beautiful piano and the synchron player is fantastic.
> 
> I'm not a pianist, but I like to compose piano works, as an amateur composer.
> I used the Synchron Bösendorfer Upright Standard library for this piece and although it's not a live performance, I made a complex tempo track curve in order to bring life to the composition.




Beautiful! I played this on my iPad while sitting near my significant other. She almost never comments on music but said, “I like that. It’s very nice.” That‘s a high compliment in these parts.


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## Adam Takacs (Dec 30, 2019)

JJHLH said:


> Beautiful! I played this on my iPad while sitting near my significant other. She almost never comments on music but said, “I like that. It’s very nice.” That‘s a high compliment in these parts.


Thank you!


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## bobulusbillman (May 8, 2020)

how many velocity layers/RR does this bosie upright have?


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## Ben (May 8, 2020)

bobulusbillman said:


> how many velocity layers/RR does this bosie upright have?


30


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## bobulusbillman (May 8, 2020)

thanks Ben!


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## good (May 14, 2020)

Roughly, the sounds of f2~b3, f5~b6 are like felt piano sounds. I'm not sure if this is intended for a warm, dark tone, or a sampling problem. I may be the only person who feels stuffy because I play the classical piano mainly, but I was wondering if VSL intended it because I heard that only those areas have different tones unlike other areas. Miking or EQ control could not change the fundamental sample sound. I wish there will be a sample update, but if the sound of that area was intended and many users are satisfied with it, my wish would be just my personal matter.


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## Mark Schmieder (May 14, 2020)

I've never seen or played that model in person, so don't know how it would sound in a room or even at the bench. Possibly it's just how the piano sounds? Uprights are quite different from grand pianos in design, and this one is different yet again, in ways that are unique. I just don't know the details.

Some uprights make different choices about how many strings per note, across different ranges. Depending on how many pieces can be lifted (some Baldwin models have four or five separately adjustable "lids" in front, sides, top, rear, and even below the keybed in some cases), this might also affect the balance between registers in ways that will simply be truthfully picked up by the mics.


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## star.keys (May 18, 2020)

I have played Bosendorfer upright and it sounded very different as compared with this instrument VSL has sampled. Also I agree with the comment about some parts of piano sounding more like felt piano. The sound of German architecture (warmth without losing the clarity and amazing sympathetic resonance) is missing in my view. However, changing velocity curve and mic mixes helps in bringing out some depth or clarity. Legato is one of the best in the market. This is easily one of my favorite piano libraries now.


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## Adam Takacs (Jun 2, 2020)

If anyone is curious about it, here is the midi sequence of my piece:


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## keepitsimple (Jun 16, 2020)

Well....if it wasn't for the 30-day trials, i wouldn't have found out how beautiful this piano is. Wasn't expecting such a rich clear tone out of this one.

Here's a little improv i made with it.

0:00 Player Preset
6:31 Vintage Preset


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## CGR (Jun 16, 2020)

keepitsimple said:


> Well....if it wasn't for the 30-day trials, i wouldn't have found out how beautiful this piano is. Wasn't expecting such a rich clear tone out of this one.
> 
> Here's a little improv i made with it.
> 
> ...



Really good to hear some dynamic contemporary solo piano on the Bosendorfer Upright. Sounds wonderful


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## PaulieDC (Jun 16, 2020)

keepitsimple said:


> Well....if it wasn't for the 30-day trials, i wouldn't have found out how beautiful this piano is. Wasn't expecting such a rich clear tone out of this one.
> 
> Here's a little improv i made with it.
> 
> ...



Methinks you'd better turn that improv into a finished piece, you have some melodic lines in there I want to stea... that just sound great! And that upright tone, WHOA. Not only sounds better than any upright patch I've heard, but what you're playing fits like a glove. WTG (both you and VSL!)


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## Ben (Jun 18, 2020)

A great performance by Jordan Rudess:




Here is what he says about the Synchron Bösendorfer Imperial:


> With the VSL Bösendorfer Imperial at my fingertips, the moment my hand and the keys connect, I am instantly transported from the confines of my home studio to the thrilling expanse of a concert stage. It is a mighty new virtual instrument, with nuance, power, and purity that parallels the finest grand pianos I’ve ever played.


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## good (Jun 18, 2020)

Ben said:


> A great performance by Jordan Rudess:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I like this performance..
however here is Upright thread


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## Ben (Jun 18, 2020)

good said:


> I like this performance..
> however here is Upright thread


Oh... Thanks for the hint, I wanted to post it in the other thread


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