# OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [UPDATE 1.3]



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 20, 2013)

Hey Guys,

we´re happy to announce the release of our newest library collection "*The Orchestral Grands*" which includes two wonderfully recorded scoring stage grand pianos. 
The Orchestral Grands brings you two masterpiece grands, the Steinway D and the Steinway B. Both are positioned for orchestral use and have been recorded in one of the best sounding scoring stages, the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin. These wonderful pianos are ready to serve as wonderful additional colors in your symphonic compositions. 

We took great care about the placement of these instruments, capturing the marvelous acoustics of the stage in its wonderful depths and shimmering heights.

Many round robins on sustains and staccatos will help you create more realistic results on rhythmic, percussive and repetitive passages.

If you already own a license of BWW, The Timpani and The Glock, this library will extend the Teldex collection perfectly.

Here is a short composition I´ve made:

Steinway D: Orchestral Shades:
[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F106297530&secret_url=false[/flash] 

*Dynamics*
The Orchestral Grands offers a huge range of different dynamic layers.
4 recorded dynamic layers + additional transition dynamics enable flexible and smooth dynamic performances.

*The Sustaining Grand*
For more intimate and emotional situations, we are offering a processed emotional solistic grand. Carefully edited through a very special analog chain (Chandler Zener Limiter, A-Design´s Hammer EQ, Electrodyn 501 preamps), the Sustaining Grand complements The Orchestral Grands collection in a very delicate way.

Stan Berzon, a friend of us performed Chopin´s 5th etude on the Steinway B. We haven´t added any additional reverb on that demo but used the different mic positions (close, room and mids).

Steinway B: Chopin 5th Etude (performed by Stan Berzon):
[mp3]http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/tog_chopin_5th.mp3[/mp3]

The Orchestral Grands are available now on 
http://www.orchestraltools.com/libraries/the_orchestral_grands.php
We´re offering a discount until September, 9th.

More demos and info will follow.

All the best,

Hendrik and the whole OT team.


----------



## StevenOBrien (Aug 20, 2013)

Hah, that was an unexpected release.

I like it, it has a really authentic piano concerto sound.


----------



## Chriss Ons (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Great. And sensibly priced, as well.


----------



## Rob (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Sounds gorgeous Hendrik!


----------



## Walid F. (Aug 20, 2013)

Very nice sound there, Hendrik! I have "Orchestral Grand" from Spitfire, but that one is quite limited in regards to dynamic feel (I believe it has 2 dynamic layers). 

Will get this ASAP!

Question: What strings and brass are you using in your demo there? Sounds quite nice! 

W


----------



## BenG (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

This sounds great!


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

@Walid F: Yeah we really took care to have enough dynamic layers on the grands.
The strings in that demo are from Sphere, HS and a custom library I made in Praque. Brass is custom as well.

Best, Hendrik


----------



## jamwerks (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Nice job! Seems like a winner. Looking forward to a video walkthrough. If possible, would like to hear the different mic's alone & in combos.

Great timing. PIB doesn't work imo on orchestral, and as said the SF lacks velocity layers. Maybe nice alternative to QL Pianos...


----------



## bbunker (Aug 20, 2013)

SilentBob @ Tue Aug 20 said:


> StevenOBrien @ Tue Aug 20 said:
> 
> 
> > Hah, that was an unexpected release.
> ...



Unnecessary? Whoever woke up in the morning and thought "You know, I have way too many options out there for great sounding, affordable pianos."? I don't remember ever having done so, myself. I think thou doth protest too much!

Personally, for what it aims to do, I think this piano is absolutely stunning. And in my book there can never be an unnecessary stunning-sounding library of any kind.


----------



## 667 (Aug 20, 2013)

SilentBob @ Tue Aug 20 said:


> Brass Berlin, Berlin Strings, FX Library, Teldex Convolution Reverb, updates for String Runs and Symphonic Sphere, etc. There are many things that many of us are eagerly waiting.


Sure, but having two Steinway Teldex pianos is cool too: They cannot do everything at once! 



> Both are *positioned for orchestral use* and have been recorded in one of the best sounding scoring stages, the *Teldex Scoring Stage* in Berlin.


I think this was reason enough to do it.


----------



## mark812 (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



jamwerks @ Tue Aug 20 said:


> PIB doesn't work imo on orchestral



Care to elaborate?


----------



## EwigWanderer (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

"Teldex Convolution Reverb"?? That would be so cool to have inside OSR and Sphere!

Anyway the pianos sounds great


----------



## re-peat (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Wonderful, Hendrik!
Seven seconds into the first demo and you already had me pressing "Add to cart".

_


----------



## jamwerks (Aug 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



mark812 @ Tue Aug 20 said:


> [Care to elaborate?


Just bought it (PIB) and find it very unbalanced (very bass heavy). Love the tone for just playing though. Of course in orchestral you often don't even hear the piano that well, but wouldn't choose that timbre. This OT Piano looks better suited IMO.


----------



## Blakus (Aug 20, 2013)

Couldn't resist pulling the trigger on this one!


----------



## m-tron (Aug 22, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

has anyone had a chance to play around with this yet? i'd love to hear some first impressions. i love the the spitfire piano too, but i also have the same wish that it had more dynamic layers. i'm hoping this one might be like an updated/improved version of that one (granted with a slightly different acoustic signature).


----------



## jamwerks (Aug 23, 2013)

I'm waiting for a detailed video walkthrough before buying...


----------



## midi_controller (Aug 23, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Tempting, need more demos before I pull the trigger. If it can do the late 90s/early 00's James Horner kinda sound, I'm sold!


----------



## re-peat (Aug 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Here’s *a little something*, showing various sides of the OT SteinwayD.

_


----------



## Mr. Anxiety (Aug 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Nice one re-peat! It really shows how classical this piano library is.

Mr A


----------



## SymphonicSamples (Aug 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Dame you re-peat !! I kept telling myself over the last week I don't need it . As I listened through your demo it changed to "I don't need it now " to "I need it at some point" to " I need it now !!" . I want to go at least one month without being tempted by the Sampling Devil  . Jokes aside , it sounds wonderful and was waiting for something else to listen to . So thanks re-peat for taking the time .

P.


----------



## HDJK (Aug 25, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



re-peat @ Sat Aug 24 said:


> Here’s *a little something*, showing various sides of the OT SteinwayD.
> 
> _



I was too slow for you, again... I'm on the fence of getting this as well, could you put it up one more time? Thanks


----------



## synergy543 (Aug 25, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



HDJK @ Sun Aug 25 said:


> I was too slow for you, again... I'm on the fence of getting this as well, could you put it up one more time? Thanks


I thought I heard a flurry of notes go by too but wasn't sure. Sounded great for a second though. What was it?

Bandwidth costs in the Netherlands must be prohibitively expensive. 
Maybe we should make donations to host re-peat's postings?

Or better yet Hendrick, why don't you just post the damn thing on your site as it just sold one of your pianos and I'm sure it might help you sell more.


----------



## m-tron (Aug 27, 2013)

i missed that short sample by re-peat too - bummer. is anyone else using this and liking it? how is it on the lower dynamic levels? is it sitting nicely within an orchestral mix? can you use it for textural and repeated figures and have it melt into the orchestra rather than stick out? does it feel like they got the dynamic layers right as far as playability and control? if you want it to sound closer and more intimate, can it do that well too? any user feedback (or audio samples) before the intro price goes away (september 9th) would be awesome!


----------



## m-tron (Aug 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



> m-tron,
> 
> an official demo and video about TOG is in my pipeline. I think it will cover all your questions, altough I can tell you, that in my opinion everything you wrote is possible to do with the library. Its quite versatile.
> 
> ...



thanks, sascha! i'm looking forward to that demo, and especially the video. seeing someone on a video improvise with an instrument in an unscripted way (but in a variety of styles and at different dynamics) is almost as good as getting to test drive it myself.


----------



## jamwerks (Aug 27, 2013)

Sascha Knorr @ Tue Aug 27 said:


> an official demo and video about TOG is in my pipeline.



Cool, looking forward to it !


----------



## playz123 (Aug 27, 2013)

Sascha Knorr @ Tue Aug 27 said:


> an official demo and video about TOG is in my pipeline.
> - Sascha



I am looking forward to hearing your demo, Sascha. Unfortunately I missed the one by Re-Peat, but hopefully we'll also see other demos in the future as well. Alas, for me and others though, purchasing any products from OT is not possible unless one has a Pay Pal account, so this is yet another release from them some of us can only admire from a distance.


----------



## re-peat (Aug 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Strange, all these misses ... The piece has been happily *online again* since early yesterday afternoon. I'll keep it there for a few more days.

By the way, Gregory, I'm Belgian. _Not_ Dutch.

_


----------



## playz123 (Aug 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Ah, thank you for that 'heads up'. The other day when I checked it was missing, and I hadn't realized you'd reposted it.


----------



## synergy543 (Aug 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



re-peat @ Tue Aug 27 said:


> Strange, all these misses ... The piece has been happily *online again* since early yesterday afternoon. I'll keep it there for a few more days.
> 
> By the way, Gregory, I'm Belgian. _Not_ Dutch._


Oops! (I was close, but no cookie) My apologies. 
Though I hope you got the gist of my comment, which was one of respect. Great piece.

But why post something in a thread for only a few hours?


----------



## jamwerks (Aug 28, 2013)

Just listened to Piet's demo.

Love the sound of this library !!


----------



## HDJK (Sep 3, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Ok, me and piano libs. I bought it yesterday (thanks again to Peat for his great demo!). But is it normal, that I still haven't received my download links after a day?

edit: it's just like magic! Right after I posted this, I got the email with the download links in my mailbox :D Can't wait to play these Grands.


----------



## artinro (Sep 3, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Really enjoying this library Hendrik and team!


----------



## SymphonicSamples (Sep 3, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

I'm still downloading , it's killing me, Aussie speeds are always slow :cry: Can't wait to play it .


----------



## SymphonicSamples (Sep 4, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Finally finished . Have just had a marathon one on one with the pianos . Simply gorgeous what's been captured , thanks for the effort guys and for the update


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Sep 4, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Thanks for the great feedback.

Just released the update which should fix the pedal bug.

Best, Hendrik


----------



## jamwerks (Sep 4, 2013)

Still no video walk-through?


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Sep 4, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Still no video walk-through :D

But I´m sure Sascha will come up with a great demo + video during the next days.


----------



## artinro (Sep 4, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Wed Sep 04 said:


> Thanks for the great feedback.
> 
> Just released the update which should fix the pedal bug.
> 
> Best, Hendrik



Thanks Hendrik! Appreciate the update.


----------



## synergy543 (Sep 4, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Wed Sep 04 said:


> Thanks for the great feedback.
> 
> Just released the update which should fix the pedal bug.
> 
> Best, Hendrik



Yes indeed it does. It seems to be working great here now.

These are sounding lovely.

Thank you!


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Sep 8, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands"*

Hey Guys,

we just uploaded the screencast about the new demo composition by Sascha Knorr.
The demo will be posted here soon. The screencast takes a closer look to the library, it's different pianos, mic positions and settings.
Big thanks to Sascha for doing this. The piano part is simply amazing...

Because it's a bit late with the additional info we provided, we'll extend the introduction pricing for further 3 days.

http://youtu.be/QFtYDWnPiFU

Best,
Hendrik and the OT team


----------



## BenG (Sep 9, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [Screencast added]*

Great video and lovely writing Sascha!
The piano sounds great


----------



## Chriss Ons (Sep 9, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [Screencast added]*



Sascha Knorr @ Mon 09 Sep said:


> (...) sorry for the delay, but now I am ready to show you my official Demo for ToG (...)


Excellent work Sascha, and a really enjoyable track!


----------



## playz123 (Sep 9, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [Screencast added]*

Fabulous as always, Sascha. I continue to enjoy listening to your compositions...no matter which library you demo, and you are truly a very talent composer. Thank you for sharing your music with us.


----------



## Steve Steele (Sep 17, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [Screencast added]*



Sascha Knorr @ Mon Sep 09 said:


> Hello people,
> 
> sorry for the delay, but now I am ready to show you my official Demo for ToG.
> 
> ...



Beautiful work Sascha! Really excellent. The piano sits very well. Do you mind saying what brass you're using? And maybe what BD or snare/perc?

Thanks!


----------



## Steve Martin (Sep 17, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [Screencast added]*

Hi Sacha,

what a great score! :D Really playful and colorful music here, and the piano sounds great as does the rest of the orchestration here.

Thanks for sharing this with us. A really inspiring music score to listen to.

best,

Steve :D


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jan 8, 2014)

Hey Guys,

we just released a new update for The Orchestral Grands. Version 1.2 fixes several bugs and we did some important CPU optimization on it.

All the customers will get their own update via mail.

All the best,
Hendrik


----------



## Penthagram (Jan 8, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*

mail arrived¡ 

Thank you Hendrik.


----------



## Blakus (Jan 8, 2014)

Awesome! Thanks guys :D


----------



## Stephen Rees (Jan 8, 2014)

Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Wed Jan 08 said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> we just released a new update for The Orchestral Grands. Version 1.2 fixes several bugs and we did some important CPU optimization on it.
> 
> ...



Could you tell us which version of Kontakt the patches were built on? (K5.3 is no go for me at the moment).


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jan 8, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*

@Stephen: The Orchestral Grands 1.2 is made for Kontakt 4.2+

Best, Hendrik


----------



## Stephen Rees (Jan 8, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Wed Jan 08 said:


> @Stephen: The Orchestral Grands 1.2 is made for Kontakt 4.2+
> 
> Best, Hendrik



Thanks


----------



## williemyers (Jan 8, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*



Penthagram @ Wed Jan 08 said:


> mail arrived¡
> 
> Thank you Hendrik.


+1


----------



## Steve Martin (Jan 8, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*

Hi there Hendrik,

thanks so much for the update! :D 

best,

Steve :D


----------



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 10, 2014)

*Re: OrchestralTools releases "The Orchestral Grands" [v1.2 UPDATE RELEASED]*

Hey Guys,

just wanted to drop a note that a new update for The Orchestral Grands will arrive today.
The Orchestral Grands 1.3 will fix the following things:

- hanging notes bug fixes
- suddenly note off bug fixed
- Random pedal bug fixed

All Orchestral Grands owner will receive their downloadlinks today!

Best,

Hendrik


----------



## synergy543 (Jun 10, 2014)

This works beautifully now.

The Steinway D is such a beautiful sounding instrument with an exquisite tone. I think this sample instrument is not getting the recognition that it deserves. Absolutely loving it.

Thank you!

Greg


----------

