I thought it'd be fun to see some people's (pro's) recommendations and impressions
I'm no expert myself but i play anyway 😜
Here's the most convincing virtual pianos I've ever played :
01 - synthogy Ivory II American D
Yea it's an old vi, but so beautifully implemented, the pedals, resonators and everything are excellent and it has Una Corda samples as well, but the thing that made me fall in love with it is its sound, it's just wonderful and most of you know that i have a thing for NY steinways, i hope the synthogy would update this piano (reaample for the new ivory 3 engine) which i think they actually want. And when i think about this beautiful piano with continuous velocity, multiple mics, better engine and more features, i know that even the next version would still be my number one 🙂
The tone : warm, rounded, lyrical and emotional
5 stars on this one even though it's old⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
02 - VSL Synchron Bosendorfer 280VC
It has a very clear and precise sound to it but the out_of_the_box setting is horrible (which Is not surprising with vsl pianos and their linear velocity mapping) bright and hard edged, but with a little velocity tweak, it becomes a new piano, warm and intimate, it offers one of the best -usable- dynamics among other vsl pianos, all of the mics are quite usable on this one which is not common in the lineup, and there's next to no background noise, it's my most-used vi piano
The tone : warm/bright - intimate - from rounded to brutally clean
Another 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
03 - VI Labs Modern U
One of the beautiful things about this piano is that it sounds like a medium sized grand instead of an upright, it has some in-your-face quality to it and because it's not overly bright makes you drown into the sound, very beautiful, this is one of those "industry standard"s that every part of it is great, piano behaviour is topnotch, and it has silent key, resonators and some mics to choose from
The tone : modern, well balanced, from intimate to anything else
Another ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
04 - VSL Synchron Bosendorfer Imperial
Perfect combination of warmth and punch, it has a beautiful singing tone to it but also a very present attack, the dynamics on this one is great right out of the box, you can go from whispering soft to ear ripping loud (but some of the lowest dynamics sound the same and only their volume changes with different velocities which is also true with the real thing - 290 imperial), some times the loudness is just too f++ing much on the fortissimos, the best vsl piano to date IMO, although i love the 280vc more obviously.
The tone : grandeur, giant, hugh, warm and orchestral
Another ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
05 - VSL Synchron Yamaha CFX
The last but definitely not least
For most people it's the N#1 and you would never understand until you touch it yourself (i mean play it💀) yea, it responds so quickly and plays the notes that you haven't played yet, super clear tone and great playability, it offers two close mics (which is less then standings in the synchron stage a lineup) but you can get a lot more real with these two that I'm afraid you can't with some other synchrons, it's a very well recorded well mic-placed piano, the reason it's the last piano on my list is because it's a bright instrument and if you've read my comments about the previous ones, yk that i love warmer sounding pianos, but it's still excellent.
A 4 star for this one ⭐⭐⭐⭐
So what's your top 5? Bring it on
