# Best ethereal sounding pianos?



## Jacob Fanto (May 16, 2020)

For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?


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## Scalms (May 16, 2020)

Heavyocity Ascend


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## CGR (May 16, 2020)

The 8dio pianos are very much character pianos, in particular the 1928 Scoring and 1971 Estonia Grand piano. Also, ArtVista's Supergrand is a good choice for ethereal in my opinion - very resonant & raw sounding (in a good way).


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## SupremeFist (May 16, 2020)

I associate "ethereal" more with a particular kind of playing style and fx treatment (low dynamics, lots of reverb etc) than with the fundamental tone of an instrument. But if I understand right, Heavyocity's Ascend (as mentioned) or ArtVista's Malmsjö, or Cinesamples Cinepiano could all be worth checking out...


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## CGR (May 16, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> I associate "ethereal" more with a particular kind of playing style and fx treatment (low dynamics, lots of reverb etc) than with the fundamental tone of an instrument. But if I understand right, Heavyocity's Ascend (as mentioned) or ArtVista's Malmsjö, or Cinesamples Cinepiano could all be worth checking out...


Good point. Regarding reverb treatments, Eventide's Blackhole and UVI's Sparkverb would be worth checking out.


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## Kuusniemi (May 17, 2020)

Wavesfactory's Mercury with toned down dynamics with a good reverb (I use Blackhole) is good for ethereal pianos.


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## SupremeFist (May 17, 2020)

Or if the OP wants a particularly "fragile" sound, then Una Corda (or a felt, such as Noire).


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## willbedford (May 17, 2020)

I can think of a couple


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## keepitsimple (May 17, 2020)

I know there are many other either free or cheaper alternatives but...when i want ethereal i reach for Garritan CFX or Keyscape.

There are some presets in Garritan CFX which rely on the Una Corda samples that are simply mesmerizing.


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## TomislavEP (May 17, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?



It all depends on your priorities. If you're looking for a piano library that features EVO-like movements and flourishes, then Stratus or Noire are obvious choices. The pianos from Fracture Sounds have characteristic background layers that blend seamlessly with the main piano sound and provide instant results without any further FX processing.

For me, it's all about reverbs. Recently, I've been using pianos and the other instruments from Pianobook quite a lot in my work. You can find a plethora of fine submissions there, including some featuring rather obscure piano brands. With the additional reverb and other FX, they can really shine, though I've also come across several ones that have background layers, shimmer effects, and even aleatoric phrases included.


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

TomislavEP said:


> It all depends on your priorities. If you're looking for a piano library that features EVO-like movements and flourishes, then Stratus or Noire are obvious choices. The pianos from Fracture Sounds have characteristic background layers that blend seamlessly with the main piano sound and provide instant results without any further FX processing.
> 
> For me, it's all about reverbs. Recently, I've been using pianos and the other instruments from Pianobook quite a lot in my work. You can find a plethora of fine submissions there, including some featuring rather obscure piano brands. With the additional reverb and other FX, they can really shine, though I've also come across several ones that have background layers, shimmer effects, and even aleatoric phrases included.


Care to share any particular reverb settings / plugins? I recently played around with Novel Piano and Audiority’s XenoVerb (tails) and had a lot of fun. Now I’m back to my beloved 8dio 1985 Passionate C5 and 7th Heaven, and I recently purchased Xperimenta Due and love that C3.

on topic:
The Noire / Olafur Stratus / Ascend ones all seem to have some additional layering that one can seemingly easily replicate by... well... just layering some additional tracks in one’s composition. At least, not having really played them, that’s what I’ve always assumed... Just take a good sounding piano and then just layer some pads or arpeggiated short attack staccato piano sounds on top of the original piano? Or is the real time character of those fx very inspiring which then in and of itself leads to surprising new outcomes? (I must admit I am firmly in the “do not ever use pre-baked loops in my music because it feels I did not compose myself” camp).


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

TomislavEP said:


> With the additional reverb and other FX, they can really shine, though I've also come across several ones that have background layers, shimmer effects, and even aleatoric phrases included.


Yes. A very recent one by @marcobelloni called Quarantine Piano springs to mind. It is an excellent instrument. I watched his walkthrough and the bit about the sampled piano stool kind of made me laugh. However.... from that moment on I have never heard so much piano stool noises in official album tracks with recorded piano. It is incredible haha! I was walking the street and listening to Laughter and Forgetting (David Sylvian) just now, and I was like “there! oh and there as well!”. So I tip my hat to Marco for pointing this out to me haha. On topic: his Pianobook instrument has some nice arpeggiator style piano echo fx as well, IIRC. Pianobook rules. As a matter of fact -again also inspired by Marco- I am now in the process of creating a Kontakt instrument of my 1981 Mark II Stage Rhodes. It is HARD to do, but FUN. May take a while


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## TomislavEP (May 17, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Care to share any particular reverb settings / plugins?



In most cases, I use Valhalla Room and Shimmer; sometimes I find only the latter to be enough. I usually try to find the "right" balance for the reverb sends and to tame the low-end on the reverb channel.

Recently I've been experimenting with NI Raum reverb as an interesting alternative to Valhalla, as well as the Choral, Flair, and Phasis. Flair has a nice ability to create arpeggiated tails when using its sync options.



> The Noire / Olafur Stratus / Ascend ones all seem to have some additional layering that one can seemingly easily replicate by... well... just layering some additional tracks in one’s composition.



You're completely right. This is certainly a viable alternative to such libraries and techniques.


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

Ah yes Shimmer. One of the Valhallas I don’t have at my disposal. But that’s were XenoVerb comes in, pretty similar. I tend to sprinkle it on, with only like 15% wet mixed in. I also recently learned the Abbey Road Reverb trick and now consequently always do that one


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

TomislavEP said:


> Flair has a nice ability to create arpeggiated tails when using its sync options.


Is Flair part of Komplete 12? If so, I may have a go at it. I did something similar using BABY Audio’s Comeback Kid recently, which is a very nice delay. For some reason I missed the free Raum deal a while back, so I don’t have it. And since I got Seventh Heaven (non-pro version) I must say I also use that very heavily. It’s convolution, but man does that one sound classy!


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

Challenge, inspired by @marcobelloni with my sincere apologies to the OP - I will now stop derailing your thread - spot all the piano stool noises and other crackles:



on bass: Ian Maidman
on flugelhorn: Kenny Wheeler
on piano: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_(jazz)

Now, on with the show. Give us all the nitty gritty details about ethereal piano instruments such as Noire, Ascend and the like. OP, did you check @Simeon ‘s excellent Youtube channel? He reviewed Noire and Ascend if I’m not mistaken and is a brilliant pianist. Maybe care to chime in here @Simeon? Thx!!


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

willbedford said:


> I can think of a couple



The Westwood Felt upright is cool. Also, I am drawn to Sonic Atom’s Novel Piano (free!) a lot


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## Jacob Fanto (May 17, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> Or if the OP wants a particularly "fragile" sound, then Una Corda (or a felt, such as Noire).



Would it be redundant to purchase the two?


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## Jacob Fanto (May 17, 2020)

keepitsimple said:


> I know there are many other either free or cheaper alternatives but...when i want ethereal i reach for Garritan CFX or Keyscape.
> 
> There are some presets in Garritan CFX which rely on the Una Corda samples that are simply mesmerizing.



Hmmm... Keyscape. I've heard some good things about this. The price is telling me no, but the Omnisphere integration is telling me yes. Plus it sounds, simply put, amazing. Any other opinions on this library?


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## SupremeFist (May 17, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> Would it be redundant to purchase the two?


No, they're very different sounds!


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## SupremeFist (May 17, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> on topic:
> The Noire / Olafur Stratus / Ascend ones all seem to have some additional layering that one can seemingly easily replicate by... well... just layering some additional tracks in one’s composition. At least, not having really played them, that’s what I’ve always assumed... Just take a good sounding piano and then just layer some pads or arpeggiated short attack staccato piano sounds on top of the original piano? Or is the real time character of those fx very inspiring which then in and of itself leads to surprising new outcomes? (I must admit I am firmly in the “do not ever use pre-baked loops in my music because it feels I did not compose myself” camp).



I don't have Stratus but I sometimes like the arps of the other two mixed very very low as a kind of aleatoric texture: they often do things I wouldn't have thought of and can provide nice movement in the (deep) background. So it definitely doesn't feel like using pre-baked loops, on which I'm in agreement (they respond to the specific material anyhow).


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

C


SupremeFist said:


> I don't have Stratus but I sometimes like the arps of the other two mixed very very low as a kind of aleatoric texture: they often do things I wouldn't have thought of and can provide nice movement in the (deep) background. So it definitely doesn't feel like using pre-baked loops, on which I'm in agreement (they respond to the specific material anyhow).


Thanks for clearing that up. I must say, based solely on the demos I’ve watched, the feeling of loops was stronger with Olafur than with Noire


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## SupremeFist (May 17, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> C
> 
> Thanks for clearing that up. I must say, based solely on the demos I’ve watched, the feeling of loops was stronger with Olafur than with Noire


Yes, Noire and Ascend both have much more variety possible in the accompaniments, in terms of both sounds and response algorithms, than I've seen from the Stratus demos at least, which make it seem more loop-y and geared to one particular style/feel only.


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## brynolf (May 17, 2020)

AudioImperia Klavier is very ethereal in my book. Reverby and paddy.


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

C


SupremeFist said:


> I don't have Stratus but I sometimes like the arps of the other two mixed very very low as a kind of aleatoric texture: they often do things I wouldn't have thought of and can provide nice movement in the (deep) background. So it definitely doesn't feel like using pre-baked loops, on which I'm in agreement (they respond to the specific material anyhow).


Thanks for clearing that up. I must say, based solely on the demos I’ve watched, the feeling of loops was stronger with Olafur than with Noire. That particle engine in particular is very musical it seems.


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## Simeon (May 17, 2020)

Just to chime in, I love reading all of these great ideas as it makes me want to experiment a little more with things.
I am thinking in particular about using Output’s Portal on some of the pianos as it does some really amazing granular things.

Not having Stratus I can only speak for Ascend and NOIRE which both seem to use a more responsive approach to the player rather than and as some have mentioned loops or pre programmed phrasing.

NOIRE Felt can easily go to some very ethereal places and looking at some of the ideas above inspire lots of new exploration.


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## Simeon (May 17, 2020)

Define what you are looking for when you say “ethereal”? I am turning around an idea of doing a possible livestream and work through some of the ideas mentioned here.
If you have been watching I have a LOT of piano libraries and would have fun in the process.
What do you think?


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## creativeforge (May 17, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?



You may give this library a listen, they have many different presets.

http://new.dreamaudiotools.com/product/dream-keys-complete-piano-samples/


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

Simeon said:


> Define what you are looking for when you say “ethereal”? I am turning around an idea of doing a possible livestream and work through some of the ideas mentioned here.
> If you have been watching I have a LOT of piano libraries and would have fun in the process.
> What do you think?


Well, for me “ethereal” almost immediately makes me think of a slightly darker / warmer sound, possibly also involving layering of some kind. Musically, I would think of Nils Frahm’s track Sunson for instance, although there’s no piano on there 🙈. Or something like this:


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## doctoremmet (May 17, 2020)

This sounds ETHEREAL (once they get started haha):


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

CGR said:


> The 8dio pianos are very much character pianos, in particular the 1928 Scoring and 1971 Estonia Grand piano. Also, ArtVista's Supergrand is a good choice for ethereal in my opinion - very resonant & raw sounding (in a good way).


Oh no. I figured I was covered, owning 8dio’s 1985 Passionate Piano (which has steadily climbed my personal piano VI ranks, now leading the pack). Never underestimate the weird attractive power of a @CGR recommendation.... I’m reminded of that one Wire song.... “Being sucked in again”


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## korgscrew2000 (May 18, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?



Stratus is not a piano library like Noire is. 

Stratus is a one trick pony. But it's a lovley pony. It has a piano overlay but it's limited in dynamic range. 

Noire is the best bang for buck. The particles engine is one of it's best features next to its piano sounds which are gorgeous. It also has a piano player samples which make it sounds like someone is playing. Little sniffs here and there, chair squeaking etc which can be turned on or off. 

Also have a look at una cords from NI. Very erethral.


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## TomislavEP (May 18, 2020)

As a pianist, I love to have a wide array of virtual pianos on hand as every kind and brand has its unique character that can work better or less good in a certain context. But if I absolutely had to choose the bare minimum, I would go with Noire and Una Corda. These two can easily tackle most of the styles, though Una Corda is definitely not a standard upright piano. Apart from the stellar sound, these two libraries also have so much on-board tweaking and processing options that sometimes using additional plugins and techniques is not at all necessary.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

@Simeon Here’s a very PERSONAL “definition” if you will, of what I come up with when thinking about warm (even “ethereal”) piano sounds...


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## NYC Composer (May 18, 2020)

Spitfire felt piano with a crapload of reverb?


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## Johnny (May 18, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> I associate "ethereal" more with a particular kind of playing style and fx treatment (low dynamics, lots of reverb etc) than with the fundamental tone of an instrument. But if I understand right, Heavyocity's Ascend (as mentioned) or ArtVista's Malmsjö, or Cinesamples Cinepiano could all be worth checking out...


I believe this was the piano that Thomas Bergesen and HZ were using back before other great pianos came out for film. The ArtVista's Malmsjö is all over T.J's tracks way back when. Correct me if I'm wrong peoples


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## Patryk Scelina (May 18, 2020)

I'd say you can make any piano sound very etheral with right reverb and delay. I personally like using Valhalla Shimmer in combination with some tape type of delay. Also NI Replika delay in diffusion setting.

You may tryout our free sample library Novel Piano.










Novel Piano - Sonic Atoms


Soft and delicate upright piano sample library. Free instrument for Halion Sonic SE




sonicatoms.com


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Patryk Scelina said:


> You may tryout our free sample library Novel Piano.


Yes. As everybody around here may have noticed by now: huge Novel Piano fan here.


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## SupremeFist (May 18, 2020)

CinePiano is 50% off right now and a bargain, especially for the OP if its "cinematic" preset counts as ethereal.


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## SupremeFist (May 18, 2020)

Simeon said:


> Define what you are looking for when you say “ethereal”? I am turning around an idea of doing a possible livestream and work through some of the ideas mentioned here.
> If you have been watching I have a LOT of piano libraries and would have fun in the process.
> What do you think?


Would watch!


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> Would watch!


Definitely, time zones permitting


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> CinePiano is 50% off right now and a bargain, especially for the OP if its "cinematic" preset counts as ethereal.



Yeah I saw this discount, definitely worth the buy? I'm looking for a cinematic piano as well.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> Yeah I saw this discount, definitely worth the buy? I'm looking for a cinematic piano as well.


Don’t have it, but its reputation puts it firmly in the “Teflon category of libraries” that are universally praised here on VI/C


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

Simeon said:


> Define what you are looking for when you say “ethereal”? I am turning around an idea of doing a possible livestream and work through some of the ideas mentioned here.
> If you have been watching I have a LOT of piano libraries and would have fun in the process.
> What do you think?



Ethereal as in mysteriously magical, sometimes fragile, atmospheric sounds.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Don’t have it, but its reputation puts it firmly in the “Teflon category of libraries” that are universally praised here on VI/C


Pssssst... I DO have Piano In Blue, and love it to bits. Look up Matt Johnson’s video on Youtube, playing PiB (Jamiroquai). It is ethereal music as well, as he sprinkles some Montage synth sounds on top. Highly recommended.


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Don’t have it, but its reputation puts it firmly in the “Teflon category of libraries” that are universally praised here on VI/C



How does it hold up against the ones that have been mentioned already, such as Una Corda, Ascend, etc.?


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> How does it hold up against the ones that have been mentioned already, such as Una Corda, Ascend, etc.?


I have to guess here, but I gather that out of those three Noire is the most versatile. Is has regular piano sounds that are cinematic AND felt sounds AND the particles engine. Una Corda is more niche in my book.


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> I have to guess here, but I gather that out of those three Noire is the most versatile. Is has regular piano sounds that are cinematic AND felt sounds AND the particles engine. Una Corda is more niche in my book.



Hmmm... do I cave in for the 50% off CinePiano however? I'm such a sucker for discounts.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> Hmmm... do I cave in for the 50% off CinePiano however? I'm such a sucker for discounts.


There’s no such thing as not eventually ending up with all THREE of the pianos of your fancy, so snapping up sales deals is inevitable 🙈


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> There’s no such thing as not eventually ending up with all THREE of the pianos of your fancy, so snapping up sales deals is inevitable 🙈



*sigh* If only this wasn't so accurate... this along with the announced Spitfire Spring Sale is going to hurt.


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## SupremeFist (May 18, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> How does it hold up against the ones that have been mentioned already, such as Una Corda, Ascend, etc.?


I would say that, for the pure deep realistic tone of a Steinway D, CinePiano is better than Ascend, but then it doesn't have all the cool arp/fx stuff that Ascend does, and Ascend also has some really nice and quite individual tones (especially from the "under" mic and the ppp layer). Noire is a different flavour of piano (Yamaha CFX), very versatile and remember you get a regular piano and a felt, though for me the regular piano is not among the top flight in terms of realism for solo productions. Una Corda can't really be compared to anything else: it's a question of whether you like that unique soundworld.


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## Felt Instruments (May 18, 2020)

Well, Lekko is as ethereal as they get, really: https://feltinstruments.com/Lekko And the built in reverb is super viby.


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## Jacob Fanto (May 18, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> I would say that, for the pure deep realistic tone of a Steinway D, CinePiano is better than Ascend, but then it doesn't have all the cool arp/fx stuff that Ascend does, and Ascend also has some really nice and quite individual tones (especially from the "under" mic and the ppp layer). Noire is a different flavour of piano (Yamaha CFX), very versatile and remember you get a regular piano and a felt, though for me the regular piano is not among the top flight in terms of realism for solo productions. Una Corda can't really be compared to anything else: it's a question of whether you like that unique soundworld.



This is gold, thank you.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Felt Instruments said:


> Well, Lekko is as ethereal as they get, really: https://feltinstruments.com/Lekko And the built in reverb is super viby.


True


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## Simeon (May 18, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Definitely, time zones permitting



OK,
So in the U.S. I am on Eastern Time (GMT -4). Based on that I would love to get an idea of what times might work for everyone? I know livestream replays are alright but I would love to get that interaction with all of you as to be able to try things. This might even be broken up into multiple sessions and could even become a regular sort of “lab” session where we could discuss and try certain things.

I am honored to be among some amazing musicians and what an opportunity we have to share and grow together.

All the best,
Simeon


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

Simeon said:


> This might even be broken up into multiple sessions and could even become a regular sort of “lab” session where we could discuss and try certain things.


That would really be great. Btw, it’s 5 AM right here, in case you’re wondering haha. Some fighting cats woke me just now. So I’m on Paris/Berlin/Amsterdam time myself. So we’re 6 hours ahead of you. So from 13 PM to 16 PM your time would be an ideal time for us west-european types I guess (the ones with day jobs and planned family dinners)  But I gather you may very well be one of those types as well! There’s always weekends?


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## DSmolken (May 18, 2020)

Don't ignore this Pianobook freebie. https://bit.ly/quarantinepiano

It's a big serious freebie that's almost 2 GB and has some really unique patches, the harmonic piano especially isn't like anything else out there.


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## doctoremmet (May 18, 2020)

DSmolken said:


> Don't ignore this Pianobook freebie. https://bit.ly/quarantinepiano
> 
> It's a big serious freebie that's almost 2 GB and has some really unique patches, the harmonic piano especially isn't like anything else out there.


It was already mentioned, thanks! But yeah, it is excellent. Especially the samples piano stool noises <3


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

willbedford said:


> I can think of a couple




Both of these sound amazing.


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## MichaelVakili (May 19, 2020)

Pripyat piano - slap some flange, put some kind of long verb like Blackhole and n1.






PRIPYAT Pianos – Radioactive Pianos from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – Strix Instruments, LLC







strixinstruments.com


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

MichaelVakili said:


> Pripyat piano - slap some flange, put some kind of long verb like Blackhole and n1.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow! Very interesting back story and premise. Color me very intrigued. Man, I need to seriously restrict upcoming GAS, with the new Arturia OB-Xa that was just released today, this piano deal and the Spitfire sale that starts tomorrow haha.

Are you the developer of this instrument? Or a user? Can you share some of your experiences with the piano, or even better, some ethereal tracks?


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## MichaelVakili (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Wow! Very interesting back story and premise. Color me very intrigued. Man, I need to seriously restrict upcoming GAS, with the new Arturia OB-Xa that was just released today, this piano deal and the Spitfire sale that starts tomorrow haha.
> 
> Are you the developer of this instrument? Or a user? Can you share some of your experiences with the piano, or even better, some ethereal tracks?



Here you go. Still I really don't think that I show the full potential of the library.


The first track is only Pripyat, the second and the third one if I remember correctly were layered with normal piano either Addictive Keys or Noire, because Pripyat is kinda high mid EQ'd / captured.

I am not developer but I really liked how much work the creators got through to make this library happen and it was used for the Chernobyl series. And if I see correctly, currently it is only for 29$ despite saying it is only till 18th of May


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

MichaelVakili said:


> Here you go. Still I really don't think that I show the full potential of the library.
> 
> 
> The first track is only Pripyat, the second and the third one if I remember correctly were layered with normal piano either Addictive Keys or Noire, because Pripyat is kinda high mid EQ'd / captured.
> ...



Cool stuff, nice job! Wasn’t Hildur the composer for that series, she also did The Joker? Are you in Ukraine? I have been there on a number of occasions (Kyiv). Anyway, nice to hear about this piano - I wasn’t aware of it.


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

* Update *
* Fracture Sounds Livestream Wednesday 2:00 PM EST*
So after viewing the videos for the Fracture Sounds pianos, Midnight Grand and Woodchester Piano they have found a new home here. Thanks, @willbedford for sharing those.

When I first opened Midnight Grand and started playing and it sounded so amazing right out of the box. I was so excited that I wanted to go live immediately, but thought it more prudent to step back, cut the grass, get some things taken care of, and have a more reasonable plan to go live Wednesday around 2:00 PM (1400 hours) so we all could experience this together.

So I will post the link when I have things set up and can't wait to start this "ethereal" journey with all of you.


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## MichaelVakili (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Cool stuff, nice job! Wasn’t Hildur the composer for that series, she also did The Joker? Are you in Ukraine? I have been there on a number of occasions (Kyiv). Anyway, nice to hear about this piano - I wasn’t aware of it.


Yeah ,Hildur Guðnadóttir composed the music to both. And no I am not from Ukraine, I am close tho - Bulgaria and can be categorized as somewhat similar


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## korgscrew2000 (May 19, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> Yeah I saw this discount, definitely worth the buy? I'm looking for a cinematic piano as well.



Hey, I'm not sure if you can gift NI coupons, but I have a coupon for £22 off any instrument. I'm not going to use it anytime soon as I have 2 and you can't use them together. 

If you want to purchase noir or another NI piano, I'm happy to give you the coupon. I'm not sure if I can only use it though.


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

@Simeon and other fellow contributors. I just noticed the banner for Frozen Piano. By the name of it, sounds like another contender? Anyone have this one and care to share their experiences?






Herman Samples - Home







hermansamples.com


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

MichaelVakili said:


> I am not developer but I really liked how much work the creators got through to make this library happen and it was used for the Chernobyl series. And if I see correctly, currently it is only for 29$ despite saying it is only till 18th of May



It looks as if the sale has been extended to May 25th!


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

Simeon said:


> It looks as if the sale has been extended to May 25th!


Does that piano sound kind of harsh, or is it just me imagining the effects of radiation on that poor abandoned piano...


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## SupremeFist (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> @Simeon and other fellow contributors. I just noticed the banner for Frozen Piano. By the name of it, sounds like another contender? Anyone have this one and care to share their experiences?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh yes I have this. Kind of specialist but lovely in the right context. The name is an excellent description of the feel. The more sound-designy patches are very good.


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## Ásta Jónsdóttir (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Ah yes Shimmer. One of the Valhallas I don’t have at my disposal. But that’s were XenoVerb comes in, pretty similar. I tend to sprinkle it on, with only like 15% wet mixed in. I also recently learned the Abbey Road Reverb trick and now consequently always do that one


What is the Abbey Road reverb trick?

Also, I love David Sylvian and Hildur


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

Ásta Jónsdóttir said:


> I love David Sylvian


Excellent. I listened to the live recording (1988) of Gone To Earth, with Mark Isham just killing it on trumpet and David Torn on the fretless (!) guitar. Mind blown!

(sorry guys, just HAVE to post it. It’s ethereal though. Really!)


From 55:05 onwards. Just lovely.


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

Ásta Jónsdóttir said:


> What is the Abbey Road reverb trick?


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## Ásta Jónsdóttir (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


>



I did not realize this was a "trick". I have been doing this since I started making recordings. It is built into the Exponential Audio Nimbus and R4 reverbs.

12dB/oct early high and low pass filters. Exponential has filters pre and post reverb which is great.


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

Ásta Jónsdóttir said:


> I did not realize this was a "trick". I have been doing this since I started making recordings. It is built into the Exponential Audio Nimbus and R4 reverbs.
> 
> 12dB/oct early high and low pass filters. Exponential has filters pre and post reverb which is great.


I just did “things” by ear, and not at all methodical. Mixing is all new to me. I used to record with my best mate, and he’d do all the recording - I just played 🙈

That’s why HIS shack looks like this:










And I “just” have a Yamaha piano, a Rhodes, a Clavinet and a laptop with Ableton and a bunch of plugins.

😂


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## Ásta Jónsdóttir (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> I just did “things” by ear, and not at all methodical. Mixing is all new to me. I used to record with my best mate, and he’d do all the recording - I just played 🙈
> 
> That’s why HIS shack looks like this:
> 
> ...


Wow

That is a lot of heavy artillery and heavy lifting. Thank the Gods that times have changed. I would have a hernia moving all that gear around.


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## doctoremmet (May 19, 2020)

Ásta Jónsdóttir said:


> Wow
> 
> That is a lot of heavy artillery and heavy lifting. Thank the Gods that times have changed. I would have a hernia moving all that gear around.


Hardware has a lot of charm and can be more intuitive and inspiring. I only changed to music making in the box a short while ago, and yeah: it makes you a lot more mobile hahaha. And it is very cool as well. My sound arsenal has never been more diverse, which is also very inspiring in and of itself! Exciting times!


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## Jacob Fanto (May 19, 2020)

korgscrew2000 said:


> Hey, I'm not sure if you can gift NI coupons, but I have a coupon for £22 off any instrument. I'm not going to use it anytime soon as I have 2 and you can't use them together.
> 
> If you want to purchase noir or another NI piano, I'm happy to give you the coupon. I'm not sure if I can only use it though.



That would be amazing! How would you transfer it to me? Thank you!


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## Jacob Fanto (May 19, 2020)

Also I wasn’t expecting this thread to gather so much response, so thank you all for the invaluable input! Now my wallet and I have a lot of thinking to do...


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## Jacob Fanto (May 19, 2020)

Simeon said:


> * Update *
> * Fracture Sounds Livestream Wednesday 1400 hrs *
> So after viewing the videos for the Fracture Sounds pianos, Midnight Grand and Woodchester Piano they have found a new home here. Thanks, @willbedford for sharing those.
> 
> ...



Awesome! 2pm EST you said?


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

So we are scheduled to go live at 2:00 PM EST. I hope to see you there:


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Does that piano sound kind of harsh, or is it just me imagining the effects of radiation on that poor abandoned piano...



I am pulling it down now so I will take a quick listen.


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## Simeon (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Does that piano sound kind of harsh, or is it just me imagining the effects of radiation on that poor abandoned piano...



It is a very almost unnerving sound when you think of where and how it was recorded. I think the uniqueness of it is something of a story in itself. It is hard to believe that it has been 34 years since this epic disaster occurred and somehow there is a bittersweet beauty that is in this library.


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## Ásta Jónsdóttir (May 19, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Hardware has a lot of charm and can be more intuitive and inspiring. I only changed to music making in the box a short while ago, and yeah: it makes you a lot more mobile hahaha. And it is very cool as well. My sound arsenal has never been more diverse, which is also very inspiring in and of itself! Exciting times!


Charming indeed. I have some hardware. Just what I need to record my piano and violin. It is grand to not need a wall of rack gear to make great music now.


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## marcobelloni (May 20, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Yes. A very recent one by @marcobelloni called Quarantine Piano springs to mind. It is an excellent instrument. I watched his walkthrough and the bit about the sampled piano stool kind of made me laugh. However.... from that moment on I have never heard so much piano stool noises in official album tracks with recorded piano. It is incredible haha! I was walking the street and listening to Laughter and Forgetting (David Sylvian) just now, and I was like “there! oh and there as well!”. So I tip my hat to Marco for pointing this out to me haha. On topic: his Pianobook instrument has some nice arpeggiator style piano echo fx as well, IIRC. Pianobook rules. As a matter of fact -again also inspired by Marco- I am now in the process of creating a Kontakt instrument of my 1981 Mark II Stage Rhodes. It is HARD to do, but FUN. May take a while



hahah glad I could be useful!
I'm really looking forward to your Rhodes! :D


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## doctoremmet (May 20, 2020)

marcobelloni said:


> I'm really looking forward to your Rhodes! :D


Sampling (the mere act of recording raw stuff) is hard! Mangling stuff in Kontakt (for the uninitiated) even harder! So it may take a while haha


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## marcobelloni (May 20, 2020)

So many beautiful pianos out there..!
I'm adding Soundiron Emotional Piano to the list, I don't think I've seen it here.
It's not really ethereal as it is, but it's got a very nice rich and warm cinematic tone that will work well with reverbs and delays.

Also, if you happen to have NI Replika, there is an amazing preset called 'Sigma Draconis' which, despite the name, is great for ethereal atmospheres. Infinite reverb goodness :D


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## Simeon (May 20, 2020)

Simeon said:


> So we are scheduled to go live at 2:00 PM EST. I hope to see you there:




The Livestream replay is now available. Thanks to everyone who joined me and I look forward to the next time. I am thinking that Wednesdays might be a good day to do these so keep watching this space ;^)


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## willbedford (May 20, 2020)

Simeon said:


> The Livestream replay is now available. Thanks to everyone who joined me and I look forward to the next time. I am thinking that Wednesdays might be a good day to do these so keep watching this space ;^)


Fantastic overview and beautiful playing. Thanks for such a thorough review!


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## doctoremmet (May 21, 2020)

Simeon said:


> The Livestream replay is now available. Thanks to everyone who joined me and I look forward to the next time. I am thinking that Wednesdays might be a good day to do these so keep watching this space ;^)


Sorry! Wasn't able to make it this time. Will watch the replay and definitely try and join next time. Cool series. “Ethereal Wednesdays”. Looking forward to more. Thanks again @Simeon


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## Simeon (May 21, 2020)

Well I just installed Cinepiano as this was one I had been looking at for a while and the current sale seemed like a good time to get it.
More soon as I dive in and discover.


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## Simeon (May 21, 2020)

marcobelloni said:


> So many beautiful pianos out there..!
> I'm adding Soundiron Emotional Piano to the list, I don't think I've seen it here.
> It's not really ethereal as it is, but it's got a very nice rich and warm cinematic tone that will work well with reverbs and delays.
> 
> Also, if you happen to have NI Replika, there is an amazing preset called 'Sigma Draconis' which, despite the name, is great for ethereal atmospheres. Infinite reverb goodness :D


@marcobelloni Thanks so much for your wonderful Quarantene Piano; I just downloaded it a couple of days ago and say - Well Done! Keep up the great work. Understanding how to build a Kontakt library really makes my brain hurt but maybe one day.


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## Iswhatitis (May 21, 2020)

Jacob Fanto said:


> For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?


I have SA Stratus and Heavyocity Ascend. Both are not worth the price even if they are on sale. Ascend has way too many artifacts in the samples that I find annoying. Stratus is such a specific niche instrument that I wonder if I will ever use it.


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## Sears Poncho (May 21, 2020)

Iswhatitis said:


> Ascend has way too many artifacts in the samples that I find annoying.


I'm sorry you have that problem, I believe someone else mentioned that as well? It's among my favorites but I'm hardly a purist. Where are the artifacts, in the "normal" pianos?


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## Iswhatitis (May 21, 2020)

Sears Poncho said:


> I'm sorry you have that problem, I believe someone else mentioned that as well? It's among my favorites but I'm hardly a purist. Where are the artifacts, in the "normal" pianos?


First of all the piano sounds are way over compressed. If you hold a note you can hear a high pitched tinney sound ringing out on each sustained note, which doesn’t sound natural and feels like they did a horrible job recording the basic piano. Ascend feels like they created an entire synth fx program just to hide how poorly the basic piano was recorded. Stratus is a usuable sound but such a specific niche product I wonder will I ever use it.


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## Fleer (May 21, 2020)

Simeon said:


> Well I just installed Cinepiano as this was one I had been looking at for a while and the current sale seemed like a good time to get it.
> More soon as I dive in and discover.


Good choice. I moved from Piano in Blue to CinePiano, and it was a sweet move.


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## Simeon (May 22, 2020)

The replay is available for what was a very interesting look at CinePiano. I wanted to do this before the weekend as Cinesamples current promotion ends on May 26th.
Here's looking forward to the next adventure!


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## Simeon (May 28, 2020)

Well, here we go again!
Things are about to get "emotional" as I take a live look at Soundiron's Emotional Piano today around 2:30 PM EST. I would love for you to join me.


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## marcobelloni (Jun 1, 2020)

Simeon said:


> @marcobelloni Thanks so much for your wonderful Quarantene Piano; I just downloaded it a couple of days ago and say - Well Done! Keep up the great work. Understanding how to build a Kontakt library really makes my brain hurt but maybe one day.



Thank you very much! Way too nice 
I'm really glad you liked it :D
My brain is still aching haha


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## unclecheeks (Nov 30, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> I would say that, for the pure deep realistic tone of a Steinway D, CinePiano is better than Ascend, but then it doesn't have all the cool arp/fx stuff that Ascend does, and Ascend also has some really nice and quite individual tones (especially from the "under" mic and the ppp layer). Noire is a different flavour of piano (Yamaha CFX), very versatile and remember you get a regular piano and a felt, though for me the regular piano is not among the top flight in terms of realism for solo productions. Una Corda can't really be compared to anything else: it's a question of whether you like that unique soundworld.



Considering picking up Ascend during the current sale. I really like the tone of the ppp layer, but from the videos I’ve watched, I can’t make out if the ppp layer is velocity-sensitive in any way, say even just simple volume or filtering. Do you know if that’s the case?


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## creativeforge (Nov 30, 2020)

unclecheeks said:


> Considering picking up Ascend during the current sale. I really like the tone of the ppp layer, but from the videos I’ve watched, I can’t make out if the ppp layer is velocity-sensitive in any way, say even just simple volume or filtering. Do you know if that’s the case?



I don't know the answer to your question, but did you see this one? 

I have a friend who created a lot of inspirational music with it (New Age artist Richard Souther), so I asked him what he used for a particular series of albums. I just bought it today (I think the deal ends tonight). Good luck!









Galaxy II Steinway | Best Service | bestservice.com


Galaxy II Steinway | Steinway D Concert Grand | Setup in 5.1 Surround and Stereo | Most Popular Concert Grand by Steinway | Recorded in a High End Studio | EN




www.bestservice.com


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## Justin L. Franks (Nov 30, 2020)

unclecheeks said:


> Considering picking up Ascend during the current sale. I really like the tone of the ppp layer, but from the videos I’ve watched, I can’t make out if the ppp layer is velocity-sensitive in any way, say even just simple volume or filtering. Do you know if that’s the case?



Yes. It's limited of course (high velocity is not much louder than lowest). With a simple one-key test, I'm getting -31.6 db peak on the lowest velocity, and -16.8 on the highest.


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## unclecheeks (Nov 30, 2020)

Justin L. Franks said:


> Yes. It's limited of course (high velocity is not much louder than lowest). With a simple one-key test, I'm getting -31.6 db peak on the lowest velocity, and -16.8 on the highest.



Thanks for taking a look! Is that just volume attenuation on velocity, or are there also different samples for the velocity zones?


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## Justin L. Franks (Dec 1, 2020)

unclecheeks said:


> Thanks for taking a look! Is that just volume attenuation on velocity, or are there also different samples for the velocity zones?



The "ppp mix" is a separate set of samples.


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## PeterN (May 7, 2021)

MichaelVakili said:


> Pripyat piano - slap some flange, put some kind of long verb like Blackhole and n1.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This piano showed up in a commercial for me today. Piano from Chernobyl? With radiation? That is so f.kin cool. I thought the Beatles piano was the last one for me.


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## doctoremmet (May 7, 2021)

PeterN said:


> This piano showed up in a commercial for me today. Piano from Chernobyl? With radiation? That is so f.kin cool. I thought the Beatles piano was the last one for me.


Have it. Hate to say this... Pretty cool one.


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## PeterN (May 7, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Have it. Hate to say this... Pretty cool one.



Its in Plugin Boutique. for sale now - will destroy my piano ballad. I was planning to destroy it with Speakers plugin and making it sound like it comes from labor camp speaker, but Chernobyl piano sounds better.

Downloading


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## doctoremmet (May 7, 2021)

Please @PeterN post this ballad here once it is finished. Sounds like my cup of tea!


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## PeterN (May 7, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Please @PeterN post this ballad here once it is finished. Sounds like my cup of tea!


Later. but something else. Copyrighting some stuff right now.


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## creativeforge (May 7, 2021)

PeterN said:


> This piano showed up in a commercial for me today. Piano from Chernobyl? With radiation? That is so f.kin cool. I thought the Beatles piano was the last one for me.


Very fascinating... I just bought it here, thanks for the tip ... ▼

► https://www.pluginboutique.com/products/7597-PRIPYAT-Pianos

▼


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## heisenberg (May 7, 2021)

This is incredible. The sound, the history. Holy crap...


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## PhilA (May 8, 2021)

For the price it was worth buying that from a historical interest point alone.
Will have a play around later today.


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## RobbertZH (May 8, 2021)

Jacob Fanto said:


> For example, I have my eye on SFA Stratus or NI Noire. Are there any other good choices I should be aware of?


Depends on what you call etherial.
You have for example ambient records of Harold Budd and Brian Eno with (processed) piano and synths. In that case, it is not a matter of buying the most etherial sounding piano, but taking any (!) piano and putting it through ambient reverb effects. When making such ambient music, I often use XenoVerb, for example in my following improvisation (and the piano is Signature Grand from Simple Sam Samples).




If you have GuitarRig, that too has special effects and ambient presets that you can use on piano's etc.

Disadvantage of playing with long ambient reverbs, is that you are a bit limited to what you can play. It can become disharmonious, notes you play may clash with the notes you can still hear in the reverb tail. Switching to another key is not recommended. For this reason, yesterday I bought Zynaptiq AdaptiVerb which is currently on offer at bestservice and zynaptic. It has presets where the reverb tail is adapted harmonically so that it does not clash with the notes you play.


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## jcrosby (May 8, 2021)

Just add Valhalla shimmer or Balckhole to a felt piano and you're all set. Supermassive will do the same job overall for free, and Westwood has a free felt piano that's pretty damn sweet.... You could basically try out the roll-your-own combo free of charge and see how you like it... I haven't found the need for a niche/ambient piano library so far, but Ascend looks nice and would be the one I'd go for if I felt I really needed one...









UPRIGHT FELT PIANO - Westwood Instruments


Download for FREE our Upright Felt Piano library for Kontakt. A character filled piano that is perfect for alternative film scores.




westwoodinstruments.com





FYI Westwood have a very reasonably affordable niche piano like this, Alt Piano. If you don't need all of the synthy whistles and bells that Ascend has it looks like an excellent and reasonably priced option.


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## heisenberg (May 8, 2021)

Above posts are good in my view. May wish to try an electric piano as a starting point or layer it with the above suggested tricks.


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## keepitsimple (May 9, 2021)

Midnight Grand


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## Reid Rosefelt (May 9, 2021)

For me, there are three categories.

The first is a piano that, as sampled, innately sounds ethereal, with no physical treatment or processing. IMHO this is a category of one: Art Vista's Malmsjo. I have played it for hundreds of hours because I love this quality, but I would never use it unless I was doing this kind of music. To fit into this category of one, you just ask: Could this piano be your go-to for other or even all types of music? I don't think this is true of the Malmsjo, and this is why Art Vista sells the Virtual Grand 3 and the Supergrand (Malmsjo/Steinway hybrid).

The second category is pianos that have been physically altered in some way, most commonly by adding felt. Una Corda is a one-of-a-kind piano instrument which was specially built and also sampled with both felt and cotton. Does going through Chernobyl also change the sound of a piano?

The third category is _any_ piano in the world that has been processed by reverbs, delays, granular, or anything else. For example, I don't think there is anything innately ethereal about the single Yamaha sampled for Keyscape, but Keyscape does come with lovely processed presets. There are a lot of unusual pianos in this group, but Production Voices' Death Piano comes immediately to mind, as it brings reversed and morphed sounds to the mix.

Noire is a hybrid. It's in the second category as it has two versions of Nils Frahm's piano, with and without felt. But it also in category three because it allows you to apply a lot of processing, notably the "Particles Engine." I suspect that the Particles Engine is a convolution reverb where the IRs aren't the typical spaces normally used but other types of audio files like foley--such as AudioThing's Fog Convolver or Omnisphere/Keyscape's Innerspace.

As you can take any piano in the world and add physical modification and/or external processing to make it sound "ethereal," my personal answer to the question is Art Vista's Malmsjo. This is why it was used so often by Zimmer and so many others for this purpose. It's the so-called Cinematic Piano sound that others try to recapture through other means. But it naturally just is what it is. It's on a very short list of the virtual instruments I am most happy to have purchased.


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## applegrovebard (May 9, 2021)

I have and like the Art Vista Malmsjo. Isn't it the case that its distinctive tone comes largely from the simple 'trick' of recording sustain pedal down samples and using them as your basic pedal up notes? So you get the extra velvety resonance of the sustain pedal without the smearing of notes continuing to sound.


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## applegrovebard (May 9, 2021)

From the Hans Adamson's original notes accompanying the Malmsjo: 

Every key is sampled individually, and every tone is allowed to ring until the end of its natural decay. The piano has been sampled with the damper pedal down only. 

There are several advantages to this approach: 

1. The number of samples is drastically reduced, allowing for orchestral instruments to share RAM with the piano. 2. Normal sustain pedal technique works just like on a real piano (i.e. the pedal is pressed down after the key). 3. Full length samples may be used on each key without exceeding GigaSampler instrument size limits.


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## Reid Rosefelt (May 9, 2021)

applegrovebard said:


> From the Hans Adamson's original notes accompanying the Malmsjo:
> 
> Every key is sampled individually, and every tone is allowed to ring until the end of its natural decay. The piano has been sampled with the damper pedal down only.
> 
> ...


I didn't know this. Fascinating. So it's partly the instrument and partly the way it was recorded. This approach may have partially sprung from the technical limitation of the time and with GigaSampler. But there are people on this forum who prefer the GigaSampler version to the Kontakt one.

It makes me think of John Lehmkuhl's Megamagic series for his PluginGuru libraries. He recorded the samples with a lot of reverb baked in.


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## SupremeFist (May 9, 2021)

I have the Malmsjö and while I appreciate the character and history, I've found I don't really love the tone. Alt Piano, as said previously, is a really excellent contender here, but as has also been said pretty much any piano can be made to work. 

Perhaps surprisingly, I have found that the great Piano In Blue takes very well to the standard etherealizing treatments well described upthread. (Delay, verb, etc.) Perhaps why it's in John Powell's template.


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## Loïc D (May 9, 2021)

My recipe is Noire + Valhalla Super Massive, as used in my last track.
But YMMV according to what ethereal means for you


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## river angler (May 9, 2021)

As has been well covered in this thread: one can make ones own templates of "effected"piano" utilising reverbs and delays/filters and playing around with the piano's sonic envelope- the world is your oyster here to conjur your own unique sounds.

It's just handy having instant programable dedicated piano instruments like Noire and Ascend for example that have an extremely broad, if ultimately limited, set of parameters on board to save you time programming them.


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