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Which piano samples?

* Steinberg's the Grand 3
* Soundiron's Old Granny Piano, Drinking Piano, Montclarion Hall
* Sampletekk/PMI Emperor and Old Lady (sadly no longer available, but still two of my favourites)
I've tried the C7 in Steinberg's the Grand 3 package and i have feel it was very precise, peaked and with a resonance in medium high very silky. And no key sound does not agree with others. Relaxing.
 
Does anyone think the mid-range on Emotional Piano is too thick/slightly muddy?

Has anyone got more thoughts on the Bechstein Digital, VI Keys, Imperfect Samples Ebony Fazioli or Vienna Imperial ?
 
Does anyone think the mid-range on Emotional Piano is too thick/slightly muddy?

Has anyone got more thoughts on the Bechstein Digital, VI Keys, Imperfect Samples Ebony Fazioli or Vienna Imperial ?

The Bechstein Digital had too loud of note/hammer release sample. That was the only thing bothered me a little. (And quite possibly no way to turn it down other than EQ it out...)

I was lucky to play on a few of these pianos, since my friend runs a pretty big studio.

Galaxy Vienna Grand is the one I like the best so far. A close second is Imperfect Samples' Fazioli and Steinway.

All the others seemed to have no or very little character in the middle. Especially for light or staccato playing. Weird...

But yeah, seasoned jazz pianist for 25+ years here. Vienna Grand and Imperfect Samples' stuff. Those are the best for me so far, minus actually getting a real piano in the studio.

Happy hunting!
 
If you had to pick one of the True Keys pianos, which one would it be?
If you were to pick just one I'd probably suggest the American.

I need to qualify this though. My favourite is the German (Bechstein), but I have an unhealthy infatuation with Bechsteins so there is definitely some bias there. I think the American is the best all-rounder of the three in terms of tone and versatility and I can think of a couple of pieces where it sounds better than the Bechstein to my ears.

They really are quite different and suit different pieces/styles and I'm glad to have all three. Bechstein is wonderfully warm rounded and voluptuous, the Italian is the brightest and would be good if you wanted to really cut through or maybe for pop while the American sits in the middle, very articulate and quite refined.

They do have una corda option if you want it too.

All my 2 cents worth mind you and as I said earlier in the thread I do not have an exhaustive set of piano samples to compare. I have no trouble believing that some of the instruments mentioned in this thread could/would be better than the true keys but I have been very happy and haven't felt a need to look further just yet.

Edit - @Cdnalsi seems to know their onions and have compared many instruments. I'd read carefully what the ears and fingers of experience have to say. My experience is based on a small sample size.
 
Does anyone think the mid-range on Emotional Piano is too thick/slightly muddy?

Has anyone got more thoughts on the Bechstein Digital, VI Keys, Imperfect Samples Ebony Fazioli or Vienna Imperial ?
I can offer an opinion on VI Labs Ravenscroft, Bechstein, Fazioli and the Imperfect Samples Ebony Fazioli Complete edition:

VI Labs Ravenscroft 275: Top shelf sampled piano, with all features implemented in great detail. The tone to my ears (and others) is a very modern, polished, clean and somewhat clinical sound. Fantastic for some uses, but lacking warmth and character for some of the more 'heartfelt' type tunes I sometimes write & play.

VI Labs TrueKeys Bechstein: Love it, and prefer it to the Ravenscroft. Has more wood/body in the tone to my ears, and not as sterile as the Ravenscroft (but beautifully sampled and programmed).

VI Labs TrueKeys Fazioli: Don't play it much to be honest. An acquired taste, and very dynamic with a huge bass (also very well sampled and programmed). Some have complained about some phasing issues with multiple mic sets, but I haven't used it enough to make a call on that. I have played a real Fazioli (210cm grand) and it was stunning. The overall sound signature is not as complex as a Steinway in overtones/harmonics (more pure fundamental tones) but I found that can be a good thing in an accompanying role with a singer, or in a classical piano trio.

Imperfect Samples Ebony Fazioli Complete: I entered into the Imperfect world with the Basic version, and soon upgraded to Pro and then Complete (yeah, I'm a sucker, but each upgrade offers more velocity layers and mic perspectives). This would be in the top 3 unique, character-filled sampled grand pianos I own (the others being the ArtVista VGP3 and Malmsjo). If you want to fool a listener into thinking your piano solo was recorded on a real acoustic piano (with less complex piano playing I might add), this should be on your list to investigate (along with the ArtVista pianos). Not just for soft playing though - the Imperfect Fazioli can really 'bite' if you need it to (the website demos don't really illustrate this).

Hope that helps.
 
Bechstein Digital above all, also for its sound shaping. Check out the demo before you buy anything. As for Fazioli, I prefer Wavesfactory Mercury, as it comes closest to the "Queen" sound I wanted and adds wonderful plate reverbs you can even use separately.
 
The Bechstein Digital had too loud of note/hammer release sample. That was the only thing bothered me a little. (And quite possibly no way to turn it down other than EQ it out...)

<snip>
On the Bechstein Digital, did you go to the "Details" tab and right up near the top adjust the "Keys", "Pedals", "Dampers", and "String Release" strength?

Out of the box they're a bit to pronounced for my tastes so I generally set themt to 0 (zero). I'm not trying to make anyone think I'm playing a real one though... ;)
 
Anyone for the VSL Vienna Imperial ?
Well, since nobody else is talking about it, the Vienna Imperial is just about the most detailed sample library on the market, and features 100 dynamic layers since the piano had built-in playback capabilities. It also has a few microphone positions, simulated sympathetic resonance, and so on. It sounds pretty good.
 
IMO no library is as realistic and good as a real piano yet, but 8dio's 1990 studio and Ravenscroft is my faves.
 
Does the imperfect samples ebony only have a Kontakt 4 instruments folder?

Are their no pedal controls?
 
Has anyone got more thoughts on the Bechstein Digital ?

I have it, I like it, I use it... Got it at the edu discount rate... I have many pianos, and kinda switch around using any particular one depending on what I'm recording and what is hooked up at the moment and how big a hurry I'm in. The Bechstein sounds great. If you're a student or teacher, get it at the edu discount... it's definitely worth that price at the least.
 
What is good for film/tv work for cues - to sound real ? ...And for pedal controls, round robins?
 
I find all these discussions about the Best Kontakt Piano to be very frustrating, because I've consistently had problems with the sustain pedal with kontakt piano libs. I play with a lot of pedal (think Philip Glass and Debussy) and it consistently crackles when I release the pedal, if there were a lot of notes held. It doesn't happen with every single pedal release, but when it does happen, it's even reproducible during playback.

I've searched all over the various forums, and other people have reported this too, but no solution. Frankly, I don't understand how people do any serious amount of playing with kontakt pianos.

Maybe it's just the programming on certain instruments? 8Dio's 1970 Estonian has this problem, e.g., which is sad because the sound is very sweet. But I've seen it on other libs too.

I'm looking at getting Pianoteq now....
 
For me, it will be for film/tv application for cues (& trailers) - it must sound real ? Need pedal controls, half-pedalling and control over sustains, and sostenuto, soft pedal/dampning.

I don't think the IS Fazioli has these, does it?

VI Labs American D sounds good but I'm still doubtful, and torn between their other models.

Then there's the Ivory II Studio Grands... I do like the sound of their Steinway B

..and the 8dio 1990 studio grand

..and the Bechstein digital

Any thoughts on the older vsl boesendorfer imperial?
 
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