# Best Felt Piano?



## Rob Elliott (Oct 15, 2019)

I have Spitfire's freebie and pretty good but a bit 'dull'. I know I know - they are suppose to be that way. But looking for felt pno (for a new project) WITH some expression and 3-4 dyn layers. In other words - deeper sampled. Suggestions? Project is fairly low budget so I'd like to keep this 'specialty' library under $200.


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## synkrotron (Oct 15, 2019)

I have Noire, and I like it. Plus it has some "extras" in there too:-









NOIRE


NOIRE: The sound of a unique concert grand. Including pure and felt-dampened versions, each with extensive customization options.




www.native-instruments.com


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## BezO (Oct 15, 2019)

Una Corda?

Not recommending it as I have little experience with it. But I do like the sound.


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## synkrotron (Oct 15, 2019)

BezO said:


> Una Corda?
> 
> Not recommending it as I have little experience with it. But I do like the sound.



Yes, I was looking at that at the same time as Noire, and Una Corda, at the time, was on sale, but I was drawn in by the so called "Particles Engine" which, for me at least, brought something else to the table.

Una Corda does indeed sound nice, though


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## Kuusniemi (Oct 15, 2019)

How about the bigger Spitfire Felt Piano? https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/felt-piano/ It is great.

Upright Felt Piano from Westwood is also very nice: https://westwoodinstruments.com/instruments/upright-felt-piano/

Don't have this, but everything seems great about it: https://fracturesounds.com/product/woodchester-piano/


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## Rob Elliott (Oct 15, 2019)

Kuusniemi said:


> How about the bigger Spitfire Felt Piano? https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/felt-piano/ It is great.
> 
> Upright Felt Piano from Westwood is also very nice: https://westwoodinstruments.com/instruments/upright-felt-piano/
> 
> Don't have this, but everything seems great about it: https://fracturesounds.com/product/woodchester-piano/




Can't seem to connect to the SF one. I'll try the freebie and have the woodchester (it's ok) - a bit noisey, but still use it from time to time. Thanks for the suggestions.


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## Rob Elliott (Oct 15, 2019)

Thanks guys una corda is wonderful but seriously thinking Noire will be well received by the client. Kinda wish BOTH pnos were in a bundle - I'd buy em both. Noire for now. Thanks again.


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## ThomasL (Oct 15, 2019)

Spitfire free + Kush Clariphonic DSP Mk II is my suggestion, works brilliant on pianos. Plus, Clariphonic is awesome on everything else as well.


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## dzilizzi (Oct 15, 2019)

I combined 2 pianos, the SA free felt with 8Dio's hammered for an interesting sound. I have the Kontakt version of the felt so it was easy. As long as it is 2 different pianos, it should work. 

Otherwise, the Lekko piano is also an interesting felt piano and less than $40

https://www.kontakthub.com/product/lekko-character-piano-kontakt/


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## SupremeFist (Oct 15, 2019)

The Noire felt is wonderful, "cinematic" and contemporary-sounding and just gorgeous to play. Also the Olafur Arnalds piano (part of the Spitfire toolkit) is perfect if you want that classic Scandi felted upright. Lekko is very interesting for a more distressed take on the sound. Una Corda is great also but has a different feel: it's primarily a soft-pedal piano rather than a felt specifically (although it has that).


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## synkrotron (Oct 15, 2019)

SupremeFist said:


> Olafur Arnalds



Yes, that guy gets everywhere


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## Rob Elliott (Oct 15, 2019)

Noire's the one.


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## chillbot (Oct 15, 2019)

Rob Elliott said:


> Noire's the one.


By a total coincidence (hadn't seen this thread) you and I both bought Noire within minutes of each other today.

It's very good. But Olafer Arnalds is THE one. Have to agree with @SupremeFist here.

I am somewhat obsessed with felt/colored pianos, I hoard them. I think there are now 16 in my template, it's a sickness. Anyway Arnalds is the best.


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## artomatic (Oct 15, 2019)

I have Olafer and Noire. Both are wonderful!


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## Fleer (Oct 15, 2019)

Una Corda here. Remarkably original piano I must say, built from the ground up for this kind of sound.


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## Fleer (Oct 15, 2019)

Remarkable indeed:


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## Lee Blaske (Oct 15, 2019)

All of the options mentioned here sound good. They're quite different, so, personal preference is definitely going to come into play. Remember that Una Corda is a "one string" per note piano, so it sounds very pure and focused (none of the width you'd get with a three string piano note). I think the two NI offerings are very well done. Heavyocity's new Ascend is another option (great special efx, although the basic sound might not be quite as high quality as the NI instruments). The SA felt pianos have a real vibe to them, but not quite as tweakable. If I could only keep one, I think it would be Una Corda. If I could keep two, they would be Una Corda and Noire.


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## Lee Blaske (Oct 15, 2019)

It is cool to have libraries that contain felt and non-felt versions of the same instrument as Noire and Ascend have. Gives you a nice palette to work with. Here's a simple piece I put together right after I got the Heavyocity Ascend library. It's a combination of Noire and Ascend (plus the celesta from Spectrasonics Keyscape)...


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## Peter Stallo (Oct 15, 2019)

I can't comment on the other libraries, but I have Una Corda and like it


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## Rob Elliott (Oct 16, 2019)

chillbot said:


> By a total coincidence (hadn't seen this thread) you and I both bought Noire within minutes of each other today.
> 
> It's very good. But Olafer Arnalds is THE one. Have to agree with @SupremeFist here.
> 
> I am somewhat obsessed with felt/colored pianos, I hoard them. I think there are now 16 in my template, it's a sickness. Anyway Arnalds is the best.



Olafer's pno is nice but I have what I need for this low budget project. If something similar comes up I'll consider picking it up.  (seems a bit pricey, but I am sure it is worth it for the right project.)


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## josephspirits (Oct 16, 2019)

+1 for Fracture Sounds Woodchester Piano (felt upright) https://fracturesounds.com/product/woodchester-piano/

and OA Toolkit Felt Grand is amazing, my daily go-to, but a bigger investment (worth the price considering the other content it comes bundled with though)


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## Monkberry (Oct 16, 2019)

Una Corda for me. Bought it when it first came out and never felt (pun intended) the need to replace. Love the interface and the many options and most-importantly, the sounds I can coax out of it.


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## rudi (Oct 16, 2019)

Another +1 for NOIRE... It's got a great tone, and is very versatile. There is a ton of possible adjustments that let you go from a very clean, acoustic sound to more complex layered ones.
I use both the Pure and Felt version and I am extremely impressed with it. 

I've also got Une Corda, which is lovely but as others have said is single stringed which gives it a very specific tonality.


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## Rob Elliott (Oct 16, 2019)

rudi said:


> Another +1 for NOIRE... It's got a great tone, and is very versatile. There is a ton of possible adjustments that let you go from a very clean, acoustic sound to more complex layered ones.
> I use both the Pure and Felt version and I am extremely impressed with it.
> 
> I've also got Une Corda, which is lovely but as others have said is single stringed which gives it a very specific tonality.



Yep - Noire for this project is perfect. Can't wait to submit this cue - I hate jinxing stuff but I am thinking it is approved. (having said that - later, I'll pick up OA and UC)


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## rudi (Oct 16, 2019)

Rob Elliott said:


> Yep - Noire for this project is perfect. Can't wait to submit this cue - I hate jinxing stuff but I am thinking it is approved. (having said that - later, I'll pick up OA and UC)


Fingers crossed for you. Hope it goes well! Best of luck!


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## TomislavEP (Oct 17, 2019)

Una Corda is usually my first choice, but I also have and like Felt Piano from Spitfire Audio. I'm also using Soft Piano from Spitfire Labs quite often (as well as the rest of the Labs products in a Kontakt form).

I'm mostly happy with these options, but if the budget allow me in the future I would gladly purchase the pianos from Fracture Sounds as well. I'm particularly keen to those atmosphere layers they provide.

I also recommend anyone interested in felted piano sounds to check what is on offer at Pianobook.com There are some nice entries there (my personal favorite in this category is "Tatak Felt Piano", at least at the moment).


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## Jerry Growl (Oct 17, 2019)

I'm not sure if I could call one of them 'the best' felt piano. They all are different and unique.

Depending what you are looking for these are in my experience the most important libraries and their differences:

- Una Corda : very detailed, very close up. If you need a piano that sounds like it's only inches away this is the one. It has a very pre-defined character. Also it's an upright piano (shorter strings, smaller soundboard, etc). If you don't like the sound from the demos you're not going to be able to do much about it. There are various tweaking options, but based on the very same upfront una corda (single strung) upright piano sound. Very unique

- Noire: a grand piano, very clean recorded in a great room, lot's of tweaking options and great realism too. The particles engine is fun but it will take up a lot of space in your mix. If you plan a busy arrangement you might end up not noticing the particles going on in the back. If you plan to arrange modestly there's some real fine detailing to get out of this instrument. Also the instrument has the felt option and sounds great without felt too, giving you the option to arrange toggling between felt and clean piano as you please without really swapping pianos on the scene. A lot of dynamic range! (For people not used to work with compressors it's harder to get that typical cinematic sound, but there are presets using the build-in compression that help you get closer to that... though I would suggest trying a dedicated compressor plugin while mixing).

- Olafur Arnalds: a grand piano with a very cinematic pre-defined felt sound. If you are looking for a very woolly type of felt, it doesn't get any woollier than this. This type of piano does not require much dynamic range. It needs to sit on top. The mic options are all pretty close to achieve this. But the woolly character works against the impression of closeness. It's almost impossible to mix this one 'on top' of a busier mix, but in a light setting it's a charm. Not much tweaking options besides some FX (there are far better processing plugins out there that do the same fx a lot better). Personally I think the add-on synthesizer layers don't really sound much helpful or interesting. Would have been far more interesting if they had the spitfire matrix engine for this instrument too...

- Fracture Sounds - Midnight Grand : very affordable, great character, interesting extra 'layers', sounds like you're sitting somewhere weirdly deep inside the piano. Not very much dynamic range (which for cinematic ends is not really necessary). Much less clean then Noire, but because of it's imperfections also more interesting (depending on what you need).


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## synkrotron (Oct 17, 2019)

Jerry Growl said:


> The particles engine is fun but it will take up a lot of space in your mix.



True, that. I tend to make sure that it has the space it needs


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## KEM (Oct 18, 2019)

I love the Woodchester Piano, really great sound and a lot of flexibility and cool effects, same with the Olafur Arnalds one from everything I’ve heard although I don’t own it.


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## VVEremita (Oct 18, 2019)

Sorry for being a bit off topic, but how would something like Noire, felt or natural, sit in a neo-classical chamber / orchestral mix? 

Is it exclusively for "close" intimate mixes? I am looking for a mellow grand piano for contemporary neo-classical music in "larger" spaces, sounding as if it were in the same room as Albion IV or V.


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## Jerry Growl (Oct 19, 2019)

VVEremita said:


> Sorry for being a bit off topic, but how would something like Noire, felt or natural, sit in a neo-classical chamber / orchestral mix?
> 
> Is it exclusively for "close" intimate mixes? I am looking for a mellow grand piano for contemporary neo-classical music in "larger" spaces, sounding as if it were in the same room as Albion IV or V.



My personal thoughts:
Naturally without any use of compression felt pianos aren't - by design - really fit for typical full orchestration. Being soft and mellow all it could hope for is add some blending warmth in the right combination.

When the orchestration and dynamic range is intended to stay in the pianissimo - double pianissimo range there is logically more space for felt pianos to stand out. In a large concert hall with live audience this might not really get appreciated by people in the far back... Better for chamber concerts.

But with modern mixing techniques soft sounds meticulously recorded and with the right compression can be mixed 'upfront' without loosing character.
Adding the right reverb, EQ and compression (maybe some stereo placement tool), you will surely be able to fit Noire in your Albion ensemble and freeze off your toes while playing Islandic.


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## Saxer (Oct 19, 2019)

ThomasL said:


> Spitfire free + Kush Clariphonic DSP Mk II is my suggestion, works brilliant on pianos. Plus, Clariphonic is awesome on everything else as well.


Funny, I tried exactly this yesterday before reading this thread! Yes, works fine!


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## midiwood (Nov 17, 2022)

There are some amazing libraries mentioned in this thread. I wonder if anyone has heard my Blühthner Style 6 PRO?
I would love you to check it out and let me know if it comes close to any of these mentioned. I think you might be surprised.





*Blüthner Style 6 PRO** - Currently on sale at 50% off*

*Blüthner Style 6 LITE* - FREE VERSION


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## pmountford (Nov 17, 2022)

midiwood said:


> There are some amazing libraries mentioned in this thread. I wonder if anyone has heard my Blühthner Style 6 PRO?
> I would love you to check it out and let me know if it comes close to any of these mentioned. I think you might be surprised.
> 
> 
> ...


A couple of suggestions:-

You have 2 prices on your site for this - one at $79 the other at $64 (50% off $129). It's ok saying there's a 50% off sale but it looks like $79 is the 'real price' ie. RRP

Also, I don't mind subscribing to your email list to download the free lite version but unless I can hear it first then I'm abit reticent as I've absolutely no idea what I'm signing up for! So from my perspective put up a couple of audio demos first on your site first and you might get more interest.


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## midiwood (Nov 17, 2022)

pmountford said:


> A couple of suggestions:-
> 
> You have 2 prices on your site for this - one at $79 the other at $64 (50% off $129). It's ok saying there's a 50% off sale but it looks like $79 is the 'real price' ie. RRP
> 
> Also, I don't mind subscribing to your email list to download the free lite version but unless I can hear it first then I'm abit reticent as I've absolutely no idea what I'm signing up for! So from my perspective put up a couple of audio demos first on your site first and you might get more interest.


Thanks @pmountford for spotting that error. I will fix in now. Thank you for your suggestions too, I will look into implementing that asap. Its a very good idea.


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## LATABOM (Nov 18, 2022)

This is also a 3+ year old thread that you've necro'd for advertising purposes. Much better idea to learn what goes where here and advertise your product launch in the appropriate place.


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## creativeforge (Nov 18, 2022)

midiwood said:


> Thanks @pmountford for spotting that error. I will fix in now. Thank you for your suggestions too, I will look into implementing that asap. Its a very good idea.



Hi @midiwood ,

I took the time to listen to the demos and wow... it is a gorgeous piano! ♥ Love the "particles" also.

Well done!  I believe it should have its own thread. 

May I also suggest that once you are ready to make it public, you come out and say so on this thread, which developers can use to share their news, until they are ready to advertise.

▼
*Commercial Announcements - Tier 2*.

Hope this helps! All the best! 

Andre

p.s. I hadn't heard of Papyrus, being in Canada. but the issue also exists here among our youth and adults. Good to know they help, moving clip...


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## creativeforge (Nov 18, 2022)

pmountford said:


> A couple of suggestions:-
> 
> You have 2 prices on your site for this - one at $79 the other at $64 (50% off $129). It's ok saying there's a 50% off sale but it looks like $79 is the 'real price' ie. RRP
> 
> Also, I don't mind subscribing to your email list to download the free lite version but unless I can hear it first then I'm abit reticent as I've absolutely no idea what I'm signing up for! So from my perspective put up a couple of audio demos first on your site first and you might get more interest.



Did you see the audio demos here? 

This is for the free version (on the right side). 








free-piano-mailpoet - MIDIWOOD


SAMPLED IN SHIMMERING DETAIL Sign-up below to download the free version of this amazing piano. We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.




midiwood.com





This is for the paid version (you have to scroll down):








Blüthner Style 6 #90513 - PRO V2 - MIDIWOOD


Blüthner Style 6 grand piano Kontakt sample library. Deep sampled, beautiful piano library 6 microphones, 5 velocity layers, 88 keys.




midiwood.com





Cheers!


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## midiwood (Nov 21, 2022)

LATABOM said:


> This is also a 3+ year old thread that you've necro'd for advertising purposes. Much better idea to learn what goes where here and advertise your product launch in the appropriate place.


Hi @LATABOM I'm a bit of a forum newb. I had to google necro'd... I consider myself schooled. I'll keep my "ads" in their rightful place in future. I still think Blüthner Style 6 deserves a mention among the best though


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## midiwood (Nov 21, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> Hi @midiwood ,
> 
> I took the time to listen to the demos and wow... it is a gorgeous piano! ♥ Love the "particles" also.
> 
> ...


Thank you @creativeforge Great suggestions


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## OHjorth (Nov 21, 2022)

I have Noire and I must say I don’t think the felt is it’s strongest point. The felt has a buzz that does not sound as good as some others. I think woodchester is way better but maybe someone has a trick up their sleeve to make it sound better. That being said, if you don’t have Noire, get it ASAP!


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