Best piano lib
- Thread starter ein fisch
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muk
Senior Member
There is no such thing. If specs are what you are interested in (which your post seems to indicate), the Vienna Imperial has a clear edge over the competitors. It has up to 100 (sic) velocity layers per key. That doesn't help you much if you don't happen to like the tone, though. If you do jazz mostly, have a look at VI Ravenscroft. For classical, Galaxy Vintage D or Garritan CFX (the CFX is a very good allrounder library too). For cinematic/softer music, Piano in blue. For epic and trailer I have no idea which ones are good.
fritzmartinbass
Active Member
Like muk said, it is purely a matter of taste. We all hear things differently. For me, I have had good luck with the Galaxy Vintage D fitting in to my mixes. However, I mainly compose orchestral pieces and I certainly do not have every thing out there to try. Maybe tell us what kind of music you write and start a poll.
OP
OP
ein fisch
Dreamer
Yeah, thats what i wanna go for -> piano lib, that i can use for every score.. From soft to big epic.. Im also not too experienced when it comes to tell the difference between the piano sound.. if its used for jazz, classical, big epic doesnt matter, just wanna have the feeling im playing a real Piano when i sit down and play my midi keyboard
JohnG
Senior Member
I would never go by "specs" when choosing a piano. Pick the one whose sound you like. I like East West, Ivory, and this one is something I keep meaning to buy: https://www.vilabsaudio.com/true-keys-american-grand
Use your ears, not some list of "features." There are extras like una corda and pedaling
Use your ears, not some list of "features." There are extras like una corda and pedaling
Michael Antrum
Only the good die young....
Absolutely spot on. I have a Nord Stage 2 EX and the Italian Grand XL is a mere 182mb yet it sounds and plays far better than many multi GB libraries - especially in a live setting.
Having said that - I do like the Ivory II's, in particular the American Concert D and the fabulous Ivory II uprights. It is iLok however, and although I have never had a blip in the many years I have used iLok 1 and now iLok 2 - I do appreciate that some people don't like this.
Puzzlefactory
Senior Member
I really like Una Corda, but that could just be because I'm a massive Nils Frahm fan. 
Tysmall
Senior Citizen
It depends what you're using it for, I mainly use my piano libs for sketching and in consequence the only thing that matters to me is play-ability. I look for the most samples per note for velocity mapping, I just want it to feel real and am less after the sound most of the time. Spitfire orchestral grand, 8dio 1969, I also use a bit of the NI stock komplete pianos (the gentleman, grandeur, the giant and the maverick in particular) .. they can be really detailed if you get nitty gritty with customization of velocity mapping. Timbre can be sculpted to an extent in post processing .. realism in the sense of dynamic levels can not.
Higher gb library = more samples. I wouldn't base my purchase solely off of size (because there are a lot of other factors) but a 15gb piano will generally be more dynamic than a 4g one because of the sheer amount of samples provided (not taking scripting or anything into account). Velocity mapping and timbre can be adjusted, what has been recorded and scripted for you can not. Some food for thought.
Higher gb library = more samples. I wouldn't base my purchase solely off of size (because there are a lot of other factors) but a 15gb piano will generally be more dynamic than a 4g one because of the sheer amount of samples provided (not taking scripting or anything into account). Velocity mapping and timbre can be adjusted, what has been recorded and scripted for you can not. Some food for thought.
Quasar
Senior Member
I just got Una Corda over the recent holiday sales, and it's wonderful. But it doesn't seem like an all-purpose, conventional piano, and clearly this isn't what it was designed to be.I really like Una Corda, but that could just be because I'm a massive Nils Frahm fan.
For that, I tried several, and the Galaxy Vintage D ended that search.
Parsifal666
I don't even own a DAW, I'm just a troll.
I still use NI's The Gentleman and Alicia Keys, the former for all around, the latter for more Pop or out of the box warmth.
But I'm not exactly the world's biggest piano guy; I'd have to up my rate if commissioned for a piano piece because I don't particularly like writing for it. Piano for me is mostly Beethoven's late era Sonatas, not a whole bunch else. Perhaps it comes from being a Wagnerian, go figure.
But I'm not exactly the world's biggest piano guy; I'd have to up my rate if commissioned for a piano piece because I don't particularly like writing for it. Piano for me is mostly Beethoven's late era Sonatas, not a whole bunch else. Perhaps it comes from being a Wagnerian, go figure.
Christof
Senior Member
You could also ask for the best music out there
Good luck!
But seriously, Keyscape is pretty amazing and inspiring, and features much more that only a C7.
Vienna Imperial is amazing but more for classical/jazz.
Make sure to have a good midi keyboard as well, that makes such a difference especially when using pianos with many, many sampled velocities.
tack
Damned Dirty Ape
Is sound all that matters? Do you care at all about feel and playability? Do half pedalling and repedalling matter to you?
Because if sound is really all you care about, there are a huge range of excellent options. But if you're in the ballpark of thinking of yourself as a piano player and playability is important, that range of options is very quickly narrowed drastically.
The majority of lovely sounding libraries out there really do just feel like keys triggering samples. HZP is one of the most egregious cases of this: some of those mic perspectives really sound wonderful, but I would never practice piano with it.
For me, Vintage D is still the gold standard in balancing sound with playability.
Fleer
Feeding the Trolls
Really depends on what your looking for. Neutral, character, lots of character, specific character, you name it. In that last vein, there's the new (Freddie) Mercury from Wavesfactory, it's a Fazioli, and wonderfully musical. Maybe still on intro sale at €99. The Pearl Grand from ImpactSoundworks is very sweet as well. But you may also opt for the EastWest collection, as you get a lot of sound for your buck, yet the libraries are older. And for character, don't forget Piano-in-Blue from Cinesamples, as it's the one Gould recorded his Goldberg Variations on and it was used on Davis' Kind of Blue.
Actually a very difficult one to answer I find. I haven't found the best one yet.
I currently use only the Artvista supergrand, but since it lacks the harder F to FF layers I find it somewhat limiting with dynamics.
Been listening on various monitors lately to the keyscape yamaha C7. That actually looks and sounds like a good one. Also with some character and various flavours that appeal to play as a pianist.
8DIO also seems to have a nice upright piano, but they made the odd choice to come up with articulations(!). sustains are as usual, but then a separate short note patch for faster playing so that the release sound is more natural. But.... I just want to play piano, not also there switch articulations.
And the keyscape c7 has a button to have them on or off. On all patches as I understand it.
The new bechstein piano also seems attractive. But again; how do you know before actually playing the instrument its sonority and its merits with other instruments before purchasing a €270,- piano lib.
Have tried the Pianoteq demo recently: and so far this is not for me. too plasticky sounding.
The difficulty I experience with piano libs is that many sound good,....on their own.... but once you use it in a mix or with some other instruments they become thin sounding and you need all kinds of FX or mix tricks to pump up the sound.
Artvista supergrand at least I don have that with. It stays a good nice sounding piano alone and in concert with other instruments. And it plays fairly well as a piano.
All in all: good luck.... I am still looking too :D
I currently use only the Artvista supergrand, but since it lacks the harder F to FF layers I find it somewhat limiting with dynamics.
Been listening on various monitors lately to the keyscape yamaha C7. That actually looks and sounds like a good one. Also with some character and various flavours that appeal to play as a pianist.
8DIO also seems to have a nice upright piano, but they made the odd choice to come up with articulations(!). sustains are as usual, but then a separate short note patch for faster playing so that the release sound is more natural. But.... I just want to play piano, not also there switch articulations.
And the keyscape c7 has a button to have them on or off. On all patches as I understand it.
The new bechstein piano also seems attractive. But again; how do you know before actually playing the instrument its sonority and its merits with other instruments before purchasing a €270,- piano lib.
Have tried the Pianoteq demo recently: and so far this is not for me. too plasticky sounding.
The difficulty I experience with piano libs is that many sound good,....on their own.... but once you use it in a mix or with some other instruments they become thin sounding and you need all kinds of FX or mix tricks to pump up the sound.
Artvista supergrand at least I don have that with. It stays a good nice sounding piano alone and in concert with other instruments. And it plays fairly well as a piano.
All in all: good luck.... I am still looking too :D
Hi Christoff: if you are willing to answer, can you say something about your experience when using it in a mix or with other instruments? Does it stay a piano, or do you need to use various tricks to keep it intact in a mix?
I have my ears on this one, and it may actually be a good choice in the current spectrum of vi piano's.
S4410
Member
A good pianist can make a mediocre piano sample libary shine.For years i was playing with my Yamaha S90ES keyboard.Now that's part of Halionsonic SE i tend to use it also.I also use Pianoteq when i m short of memory.My go to piano nowadays is Soniccouture's Hammersmith Pro and UnaCorda for experimental.
tack
Damned Dirty Ape
Plastic sounding is my problem with Pianoteq too. Especially the D4. For me the only one I can really stomach is the Bluethner, which actually I find quite passable, and is my regular practice VSTi. Impossible to beat the playability except to go to the real thing, IMO.
So my advice for those demoing Pianoteq is not to forget trying the Bluethner.
