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Simple Sam Steinway

Could you link the thread your talking about?

Good idea, here you go:


In the original there were some issues with some samples, echos on some notes etc. @CGR very kindly fixed them and uploaded alternate Kontakt instrument files, there’s 3, go for the last one as it has all the fixes.

For the price, it’s another goodie! Actually great, regardless of the price! 👍
 
For $50 this is a definite steal. One of the best piano libraries I have ever used within Kontakt. This is the first time I have played on a virtual Steinway piano that actually has that characteristic 'bell-like tone' in the upper register. I love how there is sympathetic resonances included, but often the one thing that gets overlooked by so many libraries is the release samples, especially for staccato playing. SimpleSam Samples has NAILED IT.

The only complaint I have is the A above C4 (middle C) sticks out a bit too much. I suppose this is the one downside to only having 10 velocity layers. I'm using a Kawai VPC1 as my controller, but I don't have any reason to believe it is my controller. Seems like it's a volume issue though rather than a dynamics issue, but I could be wrong. I'm using the latest patch too.
 
I've been really taken by the musicality of Noire over the last months, which is of course an intimately recorded Yamaha. To compliment it, I've been looking for a more spacious piano with characteristic Steinway (or older European manufacturer) warmth, but with the same apparent magic about it that Noire has. Seems like this might be it.
 
I've been really taken by the musicality of Noire over the last months, which is of course an intimately recorded Yamaha. To compliment it, I've been looking for a more spacious piano with characteristic Steinway (or older European manufacturer) warmth, but with the same apparent magic about it that Noire has. Seems like this might be it.
You can't go wrong with this one!
 
Okay, another n00b question here (sorry!).

I'm drowning in piano VSTs. I just got K13U, so that includes The Grandeur and Alicia Keys and Noire and others. And I have East West Composer Cloud which offers a Boesendorfer, Steinway, and more.

All of these, as I understand it, are largely sampled vs. modeled whereas the Pianoteq one is largely (exclusively?) modeled.

I'm impressed with the sound and price of this SSS piano, but am curious to know what its key advantages are over the plethora of other pianos available (and that I already have). Is it the impressive variety of (and execution) of spaces? Or something else?

Thanks in advance for clue'ing me in!

(though, yeah, at $50 it could justifiably be even an impulse purchase at this point :P)
 
I think it just comes down to: what works in the project, and what do you like that works in the project? The SSS has a sort of luscious, deep, glorious analogue sound to it that I just love playing. So even though I've got more expensive piano VIs, I reach for it a lot.

I personally think Simple Sam should price this at $129 minimum, maybe $199 and sale at $99. It would still sell like hotcakes because it's a glorious VI.

Simple Sam - listening? Test your prices.
 
Personally, I no longer reach for it because of the weak pedal resonance. This might not be an issue for those who place their piano in the midst of their orchestral work but I definitely miss it when I'm playing it as a solo instrument. Then it becomes a considerable shortcoming to me.
 
Okay, another n00b question here (sorry!).

I'm drowning in piano VSTs. I just got K13U, so that includes The Grandeur and Alicia Keys and Noire and others. And I have East West Composer Cloud which offers a Boesendorfer, Steinway, and more.

All of these, as I understand it, are largely sampled vs. modeled whereas the Pianoteq one is largely (exclusively?) modeled.

I'm impressed with the sound and price of this SSS piano, but am curious to know what its key advantages are over the plethora of other pianos available (and that I already have). Is it the impressive variety of (and execution) of spaces? Or something else?

Thanks in advance for clue'ing me in!

(though, yeah, at $50 it could justifiably be even an impulse purchase at this point :P)
The closest contender of those pianos you've mentioned is probably the Grandeur. Both are Steinway D's recorded in large halls. The Grandeur has more velocity layers (18 Vs 10) and better resonance.
But to me it's the room sound of the simple Sam that makes it special. If you have a mix where you can expose that room sound, then the sssg rewards you with a wonderful (and to me quite realistic) sound.
The Grandeur on the other hand seems to fit in every mix. It just works.
The presets of sssg have the approach to model certain signature piano sounds (from specific movies, studios or songs). These are well done and well organized but I keep going back to the basic presets.
The Grandeur has a few usefull presets (I love Deep Grandeur), the rest is rather experimental.

And yes, $50 can justify an impulse purchase.
 
Thundercat, Alex, FlyingAndi, thanks! I've taken some time to play with all my NI pianos again and found -- to my concern and confusion -- that I'm getting significant note dropouts when pedaling on seemingly all of them EXCEPT Noire. Really scratching my head (and per Win10 Task Manager, this doesn't seem to be a hard drive or memory issue). My luck, I'd buy the SSS piano and experience the same issue (due to some inexplicable wonkiness with software/hardware/bad-luckware/whoknowsware)

EDITED TO ADD:
Er, just maxed out the DFD Protocol Buffer Size in Grandeur and that fixed the issue for that instrument. I guess even a super-speedy external SSD is still an external SSD, eh? Anyway, sorry for temporarily hijacking :(
 
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Well, that was money very well spent! Just purchased, installed, and noodled with this for a bit and am absolutely delighted! Wonderful playability, flexibility out of the box, with a mix of spaces that will shine in solo'ing and ensembles! Love the adjustable brightness and such with just a quick dropdown 'n' click :).

My only nitpick is one that's been raised by others: some of the spaces seem to be set with the mics too close or whatever that causes clipping (apologies if that's not the right description), and I find that overall the velocity curve is too sharp across all the spaces (or maybe I just pound too hard :P). But this is really easily, quickly correctable.

I definitely see this as a nice complement to some of the NI pianos, particularly the Noire, which offers cinematic touches (particles and such) that can be fun to play with and aren't doable with the more traditional SSSS VST.

(for what it's worth, my MIDI controller is a NI S88)
 
and I find that overall the velocity curve is too sharp across all the spaces (or maybe I just pound too hard :P). But this is really easily, quickly correctable.

There's a dial knob in the response section (main page) called 'soft/hard' which I set at around 11 o'clock for the Classical Default preset. This seems to be the easiest way to adjust the vel. response. I think most people find the default vel. response a bit too hard.
 
To save memory, the 'Ultra Light' patch from Due Xperimenta Pianos uses a convolution insert effect to activate pedal resonance. And you know what? It sounds much better than the sampled pedal resonance of Simple Sam Steinway. Maybe it might be a good idea to implement a similar feature for a future update? If I had the Kontakt skills I would do it myself because I'm really curious to hear what a difference it would make. Anyway, it's just a thought.
 
To save memory, the 'Ultra Light' patch from Due Xperimenta Pianos uses a convolution insert effect to activate pedal resonance. And you know what? It sounds much better than the sampled pedal resonance of Simple Sam Steinway. Maybe it might be a good idea to implement a similar feature for a future update? If I had the Kontakt skills I would do it myself because I'm really curious to hear what a difference it would make. Anyway, it's just a thought.
Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback. We are always thinking of ways to improve our pedal resonance. As a reference, I have attached a quick comparison we made between a raw "live" recording made during the sampling session and our final midi piano. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the differences between the two, in regards to pedal resonance. Also, please make sure that the resonance control isn't turned up too high in settings, as it will start to sound quite artificial.
 

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Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback. We are always thinking of ways to improve our pedal resonance. As a reference, I have attached a quick comparison we made between a raw "live" recording made during the sampling session and our final midi piano. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the differences between the two, in regards to pedal resonance. Also, please make sure that the resonance control isn't turned up too high in settings, as it will start to sound quite artificial.
Interesting comparison, the second sounds less good to my ears. It seems to not have quite as much clarity. Which is real and which is midi?
 
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