# Harpsichords



## korgoasys (Jun 13, 2016)

I was at a local concert last night involving a small string orchestra + trumpet and oboes as well as the above.It's not the first time I've heard the harpsichord giving a certain depth to the music behind these other instruments and I would like to create the same from sample libraries. I have no harpsichord yet. Which does anyone use? I expect it would be bundled in with another library? 

Patrick


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## JPQ (Jun 13, 2016)

Quick solution if you have Kontkat in Orchestral side there is Keybroad instruemtns which have harpsicord. i dont say its good i cannot comment it more but it has limits but maybe still suitable something. to me harpsicords i think work well with woodwinds and strings.


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## muk (Jun 13, 2016)

Realsamples has quite a collection of harpsichords in their catalog. Probably not the cheapest option, but might be worth checking out.


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## re-peat (Jun 13, 2016)

If, at first, you want to find out how you get along with the sound and character of the harpsichord, but you don't want to spend any money on this instrument just yet, there's two pretty good harpsichords (and a couple of other nice things) available for *free* here: *The Small Italian*, which sounds like this, and the *Blanchet 1720* which sounds like this.
Both can be downloaded in Soundfont- or Kontakt-format.

And either you continue with these, or you're ready to start spending some money, in which case there's very good offerings from a.o. Spitfire, XSample, Sonic Couture, PrecisionSamples, Pianoteq and, like Muk already suggested, RealSamples.

_


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## EvilDragon (Jun 13, 2016)

I'm absolutely in love with Pianoteq's Rückers harpsichord.


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## bap_la_so_1 (Jun 13, 2016)

IMO, realsamples has best ones, but the tunning make it a bitch to work with
Sonnicouture's one is the runner up
Spitfire's, kontakt's factory one, or suprisingly, the one from Ewql Symphonic orchestra are really good


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## TGV (Jun 13, 2016)

EWQL is a bit limited. Sampletekk had a nice set of historical instruments; don't know about the current offer, but they are very affordable, and then there is the Spitfire light-weight harpsichord (only one register) and Versilian Studio's harpsichord (two registers).


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## korgoasys (Jun 13, 2016)

re-peat's suggestions are a sensible start as are sampling resamples and Sampletekk. I have a feeling for the other helpful suggestions I'm going to need to buy into a larger lib to get at that harpsichord.


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## Living Fossil (Jun 13, 2016)

i like the vsl harpsichord.


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## korgoasys (Jun 13, 2016)

I've just finished listening to the VSL harpsichord playing alongside other instruments. Yes:I like the balance very much. Can see why you (Living Fossil) prefer it--me too now. It's only 55 euros. I have a vienna key and VEPro5 but not loaded yet. Do I need anything else from VSL to be able to play it on my Cubase-DAWed PC?

Patrick


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## bill45 (Jun 13, 2016)

korgoasys said:


> I've just finished listening to the VSL harpsichord playing alongside other instruments. Yes:I like the balance very much. Can see why you (Living Fossil) prefer it--me too now. It's only 55 euros. I have a vienna key and VEPro5 but not loaded yet. Do I need anything else from VSL to be able to play it on my Cubase-DAWed PC?
> 
> Patrick


You should be all set


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## ScarletJerry (Jun 13, 2016)

Some other recommendations, a little less obvious than the others:

Hollow Sun's VkS20. It's an electronic harpsichord with a bright, beautiful tone. Listen to it from the one minute mark:
http://www.hollowsun.com/HS2/products/vks20/index.htm

Miroslav Philharmonik (version 1.0) An oldie but a goodie:


Scarlet Jerry


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## korgoasys (Jun 13, 2016)

I could never play chords like that.I've got fingers like spades. Runs and tremeloes for a harpsichord--ok.

Patrick


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## David Stiles (Jun 14, 2016)

I have the lite version of the Spitfire harpsichord. I like it a lot, except that the harpsichord is a real pain in the neck because it really suffers quality loss when you compress it. I'll give you an example. Here's a track I did with the Spitfire harpsichord that I tried really hard to make sound good on Soundcloud, but I was never able to quite get rid of all of the compression artifacts.


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## korgoasys (Jun 14, 2016)

The harpsichord has no pedals so to play as many articulations as you can requires dexterity. I think it is a very expressive instrument. Staccato runs bring excitement and immediate change in pace to the music: double it up with arpeggiated chords and solo strings as above. Wasn't there a short harpsichord 'bridge' in the Beatles "In my life"--or rather it sounded like a harpsichord.


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## re-peat (Jun 14, 2016)

korgoasys said:


> Wasn't there a short harpsichord 'bridge' in the Beatles "In my life"--or rather it sounded like a harpsichord.


That was a sped (or is it 'speeded'?) up piano. But the style of that piano solo is a bit suggestive of a harpsichord, yes. There's an harpsichord in a.o. "Piggies" (The White Album) and "Fixing A Hole" (Sgt. Pepper), and a few other tracks.

_


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## EvilDragon (Jun 14, 2016)

ScarletJerry said:


> Hollow Sun's VkS20. It's an electronic harpsichord



Actually it's a digital piano module, but it had a harpsichord sound as well...


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## Erik (Jun 14, 2016)

I would like to add this one to the list. This one has a real _body _imo. From Supremepiano.


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## bigcat1969 (Jun 14, 2016)

While you seem already set for anyone who wants to play with harpsichords, 2 fairly pleasant ones come as freebies with PianoTeq if you already have that.


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## fcangia (Feb 17, 2019)

Hi guys! I've just released a new harpsichord, *XPERIMENTA Harpsichord*
Made from a beautiful Italian harpsichord sampled in Helsinki SiBa Studios with the best gear.
Here's a demo!



Check out more at:

https://www.xperimentaproject.com/xperimenta-harpsichord/


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## SoundChris (Feb 17, 2019)

I stil use the Premier Sound Factory Cembalo Harpsichord. But I think it isnt availiable anymore (?). Mayb they overhaul it or something.


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## muziksculp (Feb 17, 2019)

Living Fossil said:


> i like the vsl harpsichord.



+1 

Yes, VSL has a great sounding Harpsichord, and it is very reasonably priced.


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## axb312 (Feb 17, 2019)

fcangia said:


> Hi guys! I've just released a new harpsichord, *XPERIMENTA Harpsichord*
> Made from a beautiful Italian harpsichord sampled in Helsinki SiBa Studios with the best gear.
> Here's a demo!
> 
> ...




The demos are really loud and show off very little dynamic range...


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Feb 17, 2019)

I purchased Cineharpsichord from Cinesamples specifically for this: 



The tone of the instrument is full and rich, and the Sony Room sounds gorgeous.


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## muziksculp (Feb 17, 2019)

+1 for CeineSamples CineHarpsichord. 

This and VSL Harpsichord are both great sounding Harpsichord Libraries, both have very good playability as well.


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## rocking.xmas.man (Feb 17, 2019)

Based on my experience with the light Version of spitfire harpsichord in the one side and cinepiano and all kinds of tuned or keyed percussion from cinesamples on the other side I'd prefer investing in cineharpsichord


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 17, 2019)

It helps to have studied and played the harpsichord. I also had the privilege of a half-day tour of a harpsichord factory, seeing each stage of the process, as the luthier (also a music school professor) was a friend of my best college mate. I will never forget ANY of the details I learned that day, as I am passionate about the instrument and absorbed everything he had to teach.

Most harpsichord libraries are pretty bad. In some cases, only a few notes were sampled, and the others were derived from the ones that were. There's a lot of naivety about the instrument, such as velocity not mattering. Technically this is sort-of true on paper, but the best players have some very interesting techniques that eke out some differences; I learned some of them myself from my instructor.

Be aware that there are two major schools of harpsichord, and then there's the related but different virginal (best known in England, but there are other varieties as well). The majority of harpsichords follow the patterns of one of those two major schools of harpsichord construction and design.

For me, it is critical to have dual manuals, and stops. But there are times when a simpler design -- even a Virginal -- can fit the music better, or blend better with other instruments.

It is frustrating to me that some of the best-recorded harpsichord libraries are missing critical features. I then have to make a compromise and decide which aspect is most important to the piece.

I will itemize the top libraries in a separate post, lest this one become too difficult to follow.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 17, 2019)

I have 24 harpsichord libraries. And that's not counting specialty libraries like Realsamples Lute-Harpsichord (a recently discovered instrument that had no survivors, but which was recreated based on notes and plans, and then sampled -- Bach wrote for it, but as no one knew the instrument existed, people interpreted his designation as meaning "lute OR harpsichord").

Broadly-speaking, I have a preference for French vs. Flemish designs -- but this is not universally the case, as will be seen in my rankings of software libraries. Italian comes close behind French.

When searching for libraries, remember that the term Cembalo is often used. It's a language thing.

Much to my surprise, the Spitfire Steven Devine Harpsichord is one of the best-sounding ones, as well as having a very complete set of manuals and stops (4', 8', mechanical mutes, and all combinations thereof), but frustratingly is recorded at Lyndhurst Hall (Air Studios) so can't be made very dry.

VSL's Cembalo is well-recorded and dry, but is crippled by only providing 8' stops and a Tutti patch, and no muting. Sometimes this is OK, but I use it less and less now that the newer libraries have superseded it.

Modartt Pianoteq, also surprisingly comes out near the top, above sampled libraries, so I often use theirs during mock-up stages until I am certain which "model" I want, and then I go to sample libraries for better detail and accuracy. I especially like their Blanchet, but also the Ruckers and Grimaldi are excellent. They offer every manual and stop combination, but no direct muting (though you can emulate that with some of the editable parameters).

And now we come to the one I use the most -- especially for continuo work, where it blends so well with its partners, the Theorbo and Baroque Guitar. Soniccouture's Conservatoire Collection is simply a must-have. Buy it for the phenomenal Theorbos, if for nothing else! I use them a lot!

The French Harpsichord in that collection is amazingly versatile and rich in texture, and responds well to specialized playing techniques. It includes every stop and manual combination, as well as muting (in harpsichord parlance, this is referred to as "buff stop"). Many temperaments are available as well -- an issue with a lot of the other libraries. As expected, the Flemish has two 8' manuals; no 4' stop.

There is some weakness in that library that I don't remember off-hand; I can't think at the moment what feature is missing. Perhaps it was addressed in an update and that's why I've forgotten.

Before that collection was released, my go-to was the Precisionsound Blanchet (French) -- their older Cembalo library is a Ruckert (Flemish/Dutch) model and not as much to my liking timbrally. It's not an essential library anymore as it is missing almost every important feature; it's an old library with no scripting or GUI and does not cover the range of stops or manuals that most of us depend on.

For the Realsamples libraries, I rank the French the highest, then English, Italian, Italian II, Dutch, and German (the latter is a rare model by Christian Zell from 1741). The programming is inconsistent and the libraries often have flaws (missing files and mappings) that I alert the vendor to, sometimes specific to one of the sample rate or bit depth choices (they are now limiting these choices for new purchases). They are primarily musicians and don't have much time for marketing etc. But they're very friendly and responsive, and do great work. It's more of an academic nature though; I own these mostly to remind myself of the differences between the many design concepts that have come along.

Just to reiterate, as those libraries have been released over a lengthy period of time, only the newer ones have any scripting or much control over the manuals and stops (if at all). But the raw sound is quite good, and the user manuals are incredibly informative.

Fluffy Audio's Rinascimento is an affordable library that gets you a few hard-to-find instruments. I probably need to spend more time with it before formally ranking it below the other choices, for Harpsichord, which isn't what I bought it for. It's kind of a moot point though, as it is so low on features and sampling resolution and depth.

Similarly, Wavesfactory's Demonic Virtuoso (overhaul of W-Harpsichord) has no harpsichord-specific features to speak of, but is a deeper sample set than some of the others, so sounds nice enough.

Older libraries such as Sampletekk's and PMI's, and even Precisionsound's Cembalo library, were sampled at intervals of a third or more, so don't sound remotely realistic unless you write pentatonic music that only uses the notes that were actually sampled.  And of course Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra and Goliath, as well as near-freebies like Boldersound's historic collection, the stock sounds from Falcon/etc., and SONiVOX Harpsichord, aren't worth bothering with anymore.

The main library that I do not own and which is often commended, is Cinesamples, which someone above gave praise to. I almost bought it during a sale, but read the user manual and decided I'm done with harpsichords due to the excellence of Soniccouture's offering (and other top choices). But I might find I need it at some point anyway, if the others don't blend well with Cinesamples Viola Da Gamba.


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## fcangia (Feb 25, 2019)

axb312 said:


> The demos are really loud and show off very little dynamic range...



Hi,
Harpsichord has no dynamic range...there's some techniques to imitate the velocity but is quite hard and nearly impossible to sample. The XPERIMENTA Harpsichord has still the possibility to simulate the velocity, has Round Robin, resonance samples and IR, accurate recorded release samples and plenty of mic positions to imitate the sound of the Harpsichord as close as possible.

I'm sorry if you didn't like the demos, maybe I had not a good environment where to make them and I'm still searching for demo composers. Please consider the SoundCloud compression and the fact that all the demos are usually full of reverb, that makes the instrument more apparently "dyanamic".

I changed the demo, maybe this one fits better to what you are searching for:


In the website you can find also the dry version.

(https://www.xperimentaproject.com/xperimenta-harpsichord)


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## Leandro Gardini (Feb 25, 2019)

axb312 said:


> The demos are really loud and show off very little dynamic range...


There isn't dynamic range on a harpsichord.

1+ for Pianoteq. I don't use it a lot but whenever i need I don't think of any other one.


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## axb312 (Feb 25, 2019)

fcangia said:


> Hi,
> Harpsichord has no dynamic range...there's some techniques to imitate the velocity but is quite hard and nearly impossible to sample. The XPERIMENTA Harpsichord has still the possibility to simulate the velocity, has Round Robin, resonance samples and IR, accurate recorded release samples and plenty of mic positions to imitate the sound as close as possible.
> 
> I'm sorry if you didn't like the demos, maybe I had not a good environment where to make them and I'm still searching for demo composers. Please consider the SoundCloud compression and the fact that all the demos usually are full of reverb, that make the instrument more apparently "dyanamic".
> ...




Learnt something new today. The previous demo was a little too loud for my taste. This one is nice.


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## jaketanner (Feb 25, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I have 24 harpsichord libraries. And that's not counting specialty libraries like Realsamples Lute-Harpsichord (a recently discovered instrument that had no survivors, but which was recreated based on notes and plans, and then sampled -- Bach wrote for it, but as no one knew the instrument existed, people interpreted his designation as meaning "lute OR harpsichord").
> 
> Broadly-speaking, I have a preference for French vs. Flemish designs -- but this is not universally the case, as will be seen in my rankings of software libraries. Italian comes close behind French.
> 
> ...



You have 24 libraries and Cinesamples isn't one? That's incredible..LOL I also had no idea there were so many choices...however, I have it and love it..but that's all I have. I do want to get the Soniccouture's at some point, but were a bit pricey if I recall. I get EDU discount with Cinesamples.


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## Lee Blaske (Feb 25, 2019)

Another vote for the harpsichords in SonicCouture's Conservatoire Collection. I've got quite a few harpsichords, but the two in the SonicCouture Conservatoire Collection are my top choice.


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## Casiquire (Feb 25, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> It helps to have studied and played the harpsichord. I also had the privilege of a half-day tour of a harpsichord factory, seeing each stage of the process, as the luthier (also a music school professor) was a friend of my best college mate. I will never forget ANY of the details I learned that day, as I am passionate about the instrument and absorbed everything he had to teach.
> 
> Most harpsichord libraries are pretty bad. In some cases, only a few notes were sampled, and the others were derived from the ones that were. There's a lot of naivety about the instrument, such as velocity not mattering. Technically this is sort-of true on paper, but the best players have some very interesting techniques that eke out some differences; I learned some of them myself from my instructor.
> 
> ...



Thanks again for your always interesting insights on these forums!

Do you not find that harder playing results in some more body resonance? I'm sure you've played much more than I have so your input truly interests me.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 25, 2019)

Hmm, not sure, as it's now been too long since I've spent more than a few borrowed minutes on someone else's acoustic harpsichord. I owned the Roland Digital for many years. Not the current one but the previous generation (late 90's).

Playing harpsichord is VERY different from piano; the notes speak more slowly, and you have to be careful about force even if the volume difference is for the most part the same (some of the tricks to get different perceived levels involve slight sideways motion and/or multi-strike techniques that cause some slight phasing due to irregular release, thus resulting in a thicker sound). They also have to be returned pretty frequently (like, every 15-20 minutes ). Depending on your tolerance levels.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 25, 2019)

So, back to the resonance issue, I was pretty sure that it isn't affected by how hard you play, and that the playing strength is more a matter of respecting the delicacy of the instrument as well as accommodating the more complex attack that results from the mechanism (quite different from a piano's).

But I also remembered a bit of the "why", so I looked up the actual physics behind it again (which I won't link here as I doubt many have the physics background for it, so it would just bore). To sum it up in layman's terms, the bottom board of the harpsichord contributes little if any to the sound, including the resonance: it is solely there for structural support.

I have frequently seen resonance boards placed beneath the harpsichord, and also under fortepianos. I have meant to review the user manuals of all of my harpsichord libraries to see if any of them recorded samples with something like the following platforms in place:

http://www.resonanzio.com/podiums/harpsichordpianoforte-resonance.html

In the SF Bay Area, I almost never see a harpsichord played without one of these in place, except for recitals at the early music society in Berkeley, which is run out of a private home.


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## Mike Fox (Feb 26, 2019)

Cineharpsichord is the best sounding, imo.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 26, 2019)

> and then there's the related but different virginal (best known in England, but there are other varieties as well).



At this level of detail, I wonder whether it doesn't make more sense just to hire a harpsichordist with a real vagina.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 26, 2019)

Really, I'm only half kidding. Okay, three quarters.

My point is that these are samples, and by the time you've bought 37 sample libraries, you may as well have a real harpsichord!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 26, 2019)

From the point of view of a hack keyboard almost-player, the Pianoteq ones sure are fun to play.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 26, 2019)

The Pianoteq ones are, like I said, in my top tier. I think for many people, they are the best choice and also quite affordable as well as easy to work with.

A harpsichord kit can be affordable, but maintaining one is not (time-wise or money-wise). I have relatives who went that route and regretted it. I have pondered the decision many times.

To Mike Fox: what are you comparing Cinesamples to? I didn't care that much for the audio demos when I thought about it over the holiday discount period. Saying something is the best, without mentioning even one other library, isn't very convincing.


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## muziksculp (Feb 26, 2019)

If you are really into Harpsichords, have the $, and spcace you might want to consider this , hint.. It's not a sample library  :

I have one, and love it. One of Roland's very special products.

It also offers more sounds, like Fortepiano, and other tuned perc. sounds, even an organ.

https://www.roland.com/us/products/c-30/


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 26, 2019)

Yes, I had the previous version -- wicked expensive, and I took a bath when I resold it.

Some fatal flaws, including stability (fixed in the new version as it doesn't go for the three-legged approach), and the inability to record it without annoying the neighbours at full volume. Crazy that you couldn't defeat the built-in speakers when sending to other sources or to a recording interface.

It was pretty well-done overall, at the time, and the newer model (quite old by now) is a big improvement sound-wise (except for no longer having reverse keys, and I think maybe not trying to model harpsichord action anymore either but it's been a couple of years since I was last at Bananas at Large in San Rafael CA and had a chance to play one again for a while).

The built-in baroque organ choices are pretty good as well (although I forget which models in their historic series have which choices), and Roland offer two manuals and combinations thereof. Harpsichord was a passion of their founder, which is why they made this instrument.

I own many harpsichord libraries because each is different. In actual project work, I may end up only using the two or three best ones, but having such coverage of the historic range, from Edition Beurmann, is an education for me and thus justified the cost (fairly cheap).

Harpsichord is one of my life passions; I even published a couple of harpsichord patches for the Casio CZ-series back in the day, but no longer have copies (maybe someone else out there does...). It was a lot of fun using that unique synth engine (somewhat similar to Yamaha's FM-based DX-series, but also different in so many ways), to replicate the audio signature and envelope of a harpsichord. The CZ had six envelope stages vs. just four, as I recall, which allowed for more detail on the attack and also the string release.


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## rrichard63 (Feb 27, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I even published a couple of harpsichord patches for the Casio CZ-series back in the day, but no longer have copies (maybe someone else out there does...).


If someone can find these patches, Oli Larkin's VirtualCZ (available at Plugin Boutique) is supposed to be able to load and play them. I haven't actually tried loading such patches, though.


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## Living Fossil (Feb 27, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> VSL's Cembalo is well-recorded and dry, but is crippled by only providing 8' stops, and no muting.



That's inaccurate.

It has no mutes, but a double 8' plus 4' stop. (called "tutti")


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 27, 2019)

It's still not enough flexibility. Sorry I forgot about the tutti; I didn't load Vienna Instruments when I made that comment, and only consulted my annotation file where I try to list specialties or missing aspects of each. I guess that file isn't as complete as I thought.

Even so, I do use VSL's harpsichord in projects where the harpsichord is not soloed, as it blends really well. I was always hoping they'd offer an expansion for it, as they did with the wonderful Konzerthaus Organ (still by far my favourite pipe organ library).


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 27, 2019)

The CZ patches were probably part of a compilation put together by CZ fans at the company I worked at then, Digital Equipment Corporation. Not sure how things got distributed in those days, pre-internet.

My recollection is that we had to recreate them manually, and that we used a template on paper, which we filled in with our parameters and then labeled for the name of the sound. We were part of the greater CZ community as well, so I think our patches did make it into the general CZ user patch sets.

I did a few others too, but most deeply remember programming the harpsichord ones. My others are more in the sound effects category or maybe soundscapes, and are used on some of my recordings. Back then, we didn't think about saving patches to things we sold. But I just now realized that a close friend bought my CZ101 from me, and if she still has it, it might have my user patches loaded.


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## eli0s (Feb 27, 2019)

Just bought XPERIMENTA Harpsichord. I can safely say that I really like the sound and the play-ability and the options it provides. Also, the round robins really help with repeated notes.
And for the price they ask, it feels like a steal!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 27, 2019)

fcangia said:


> Harpsichord has no dynamic range...there's some techniques to imitate the velocity but is quite hard and nearly impossible to sample



I assume you just play notes longer to make them seem louder, as on recorder?


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## NYC Composer (Feb 27, 2019)

Wouldn’t the percussive sound of fingers hitting the keys harder give somewhat of a thump that would add to perceived loudness?


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## Casiquire (Feb 28, 2019)

NYC Composer said:


> Wouldn’t the percussive sound of fingers hitting the keys harder give somewhat of a thump that would add to perceived loudness?



In my experience it does. Keep in mind I've never played too roughly myself for fear of damaging someone else's instrument, but I've certainly heard performances where there are some hits that clearly induce greater body resonance and now gentle plucks that are essentially pure string tone


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 28, 2019)

NYC Composer said:


> Wouldn’t the percussive sound of fingers hitting the keys harder give somewhat of a thump that would add to perceived loudness?



You'd have to mic your controller keyboard, but why not.

I've used a clip-on mic on my EWI to catch my breathing in, and it worked very well.


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## NYC Composer (Feb 28, 2019)

Actually, I was referring to an actual harpsichord.


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## fcangia (Feb 28, 2019)

Casiquire said:


> In my experience it does. Keep in mind I've never played too roughly myself for fear of damaging someone else's instrument, but I've certainly heard performances where there are some hits that clearly induce greater body resonance and now gentle plucks that are essentially pure string tone



Yes I was talkin about this!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 28, 2019)

NYC Composer said:


> Actually, I was referring to an actual harpsichord.



What's an actual harpsichord? Sounds like a CD or something old like that.


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## ptram (Feb 28, 2019)

Harpsichords are the future! In the age of touch screens, nobody has fingers strong enough to press a piano key. So, enter the harpsichord.

Paolo


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## muziksculp (Feb 28, 2019)

ptram said:


> Harpsichords are the future! In the age of touch screens, nobody has fingers strong enough to press a piano key. So, enter the harpsichord.
> 
> Paolo



Haha.. That's funny


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## Mark Schmieder (Mar 23, 2019)

CineSamples stuff is on sale at Best Service at the moment, roughly 30% off (around $89) -- a frequent sale, of course. I listened to the video and the audio demos and didn't feel it was my cup of tea in terms of basic timbre, in spite of having so many mic options available, but it is certainly well-recorded and seems to have equivalent functionality to the harpsichords in Soniccouture's Conservatoire Collection.

The excellent Precisionsound Blanchett Cembalo, mentioned several times in this thread and similar in quality to the Soniccouture library, appears to be included in the new Acoustic Keys Suite from UVI that just came out this week, which makes that library also worth considering at its introductory price of $99 for loyalty-qualified buyers.

This is just meant to be a very current update on this topic, for anyone who visits it over the next few weeks as a reference for making a harpsichord library decision.


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## ptram (Dec 22, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Realsamples ... Soniccouture


Mark, may I ask you if you also find that the Soniccouture harpsichords can be defined as "clean" and "pure", while the Realsamples as more "rich" and "resonant"? This is maybe the difference between a perfectly tuned modern replica with young woods, and the somewhat slightly out-of-tune originals with seasoned parts?

Paolo


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## chuckbutler (Dec 13, 2021)

Just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this very helpful thread. Several years ago I began performing with a local orchestra and soon found myself playing harpsichord parts for the first time in my life. My initial focus was on learning to perform these parts correctly, and of course the more I listened the more I became dissatisfied with the stock harpsichord sound in the Casio PX56. I'm primarily a commercial composer, and wanted to bring the realism of the kinds of VIs I'm used to in the studio to the stage.

The orchestra shut down for the pandemic, so I used that time to switch to a Roland RD88 and get comfortable with MainStage. Then I began searching for a harpsichord, which led me to this thread. I already owned the CineSamples and Berlin Harsichords, both of which are great in the studio. But I quickly ruled them out for live purposes, because even their close-mic positions have a fair amount of room leakage. I wanted a drier sound so that the any ambience is produced naturally by the hall, as with an acoustic harpsichord.

Based on the advice here, I purchased the Soniccouture collection and the Xperimenta. The Soniccouture harpsichords are both excellent, and provide a great deal of sonic range. But in the end (at least for our recent performance of Corelli's "Christmas" Concerto) I wound up preferring the Xperimenta. All three are wonderful, but the Xperimenta has a personality that makes it really fun to play. In particular, there's something about the key-press samples that give the instrument a "woody" quality and a slight, satisfying "thump" so that you feel as though you're playing an acoustic instrument. The sound of the Xperimenta may not be quite as refined as the Soniccouture instruments (which I might well turn to in other musical situations), but I think its unique characteristics are part of its charm.

FWIW, I did seriously consider the Pianoteq as well. In the end I decided against it, primarily because I was satisfied with the Soniccouture and Xperimenta products, but also because I didn't want to spend that much money on what is mostly a piano library (and I'm sorry, but I'm not that wild about the sound of Pianoteq pianos).

Anyway, I appreciate both the advice offered here, and the efforts of the developers who worked so hard to create these detailed instruments.


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## heisenberg (Dec 13, 2021)

Chuck thanks for bringing this thread to the top. I missed it first time around. Interesting and helpful comments. Thanks everyone!


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## NYC Composer (Dec 13, 2021)

As a result of the resurrection of this thread I bought the Experimenta. I needed an upgrade for a project and I’m pleased with it for $31, which included tax.


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## ScarletJerry (Dec 13, 2021)

NYC Composer said:


> As a result of the resurrection of this thread I bought the Experimenta. I needed an upgrade for a project and I’m pleased with it for $31, which included tax.


You chose wisely.

Scarlet Jerry


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## storyteller (Dec 13, 2021)

Sometimes it feels like the conversations on VIC read my mind... Unprompted by anything I've seen or heard recently, I was just thinking today about needing to fill the harpsichord gap in my template. Apparently so were some of the other regulars here...  ... Maybe we know something others don't? ha... Anyway... I boarded the Xperimenta train. It plays and sounds great


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