A brand new Steinway from VSL: 1887 model D concert grand

clavierhaus · 2025-10-15T11:49:48+00:00

It's what you have been waiting for: a brand new Steinway, this time it's my 1887 Steinway D - and just be blown away by the sound of the una corda that you've all wanted. Piano Celebration Studio Concert D 1887

David Lai

CraigNZ Now that you mentioned it, I do hear a similarity to Piano In Blue! 🙂

Jane

clavierhaus You should be. We really went the extra mile to get una corda in a way that so far is unheard of. My technician is a Kawai MPA and we ordered special voicing needles for una corda. You will be thrilled by the sound of it.

I don't see una corda mentioned on the website. Probably I'm missing something.

But the the guy doing a comparison with the Synchron Steinway demonstrates the new una corda samples at 2:54 in his video:

CraigNZ

Jane
I'm embarrassed to say that I could barely tell the difference (and I didn't see it mentioned on the webpage either which is a curious omission). I still like the sound of the instrument though, and as my digital piano only supports a sustain pedal, I think I'll survive!

locture

clavierhaus Thanks for your effort recording such a historical instrument!

There's one thing I am particularly interested in. Given this piano like 150yo, there must have been significant amount of effort restoring and maintaining it. I haven't ever touched any piano like this in my life, and very curious to know what you have done so far, like what parts you have to replace and how things are done to get it back to life?

jdg78

Finally had a chance to spend about an hour with the new Steinway, and I have to say that I really, really like this piano. The tone is so warm and mellow and the playability is fantastic - possibly the best so far from VSL. I love how the decay time is ever so slightly shorter than on a modern piano, but not so much that it feels like a completely different instrument. The tone is undoubtably vintage and from an earlier era, but it still has enough in common with a modern grand that it feels both comfortable and refreshingly different at the same time.

In regards to the una corda, I don't know if something went wrong, but I'm struggling to hear any difference in tone when the una corda pedal is engaged. Could be an early release bug that needs to be fixed in a future update, but if there is a different set of una corda samples, the difference is so subtle that I'm not able to reliably pick up on it. Maybe others can chime in if they are hearing the same thing?

That aside, I'm really liking this and think it's a winner overall. I hadn't been too enthusiastic about VSL's last few releases (particularly the Fazioli F212) so this is a welcome return to form, and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it.

David Lai

Jane The Chopin Ballade No. 4 excerpt has una corda.

jiang

jdg78 On my side (Mac OS + MP11SE), Una Corda works very well, but there is distortion when playing certain notes forcefully.（maybe my cpu issue）

add：I tried the full microphone. There is indeed a problem.

jiang

revox I have been following this product from a very early stage, and David Lai once suggested to VSL that they should have a piano with a real una corda sample, which they have now achieved. I have great respect for VSL as a company and for the initiators of the post; VSL is my preferred company for purchasing piano and string libraries. From another perspective, why do we all hope that VSL gets better? Ultimately, it is because it is a strong company, and discussing the shortcomings of this product is just leaving some suggestions on the internet for VSL staff to see one day, so that they can update/improve future developments. This is a harmless discussion beneficial to both manufacturers and consumers.

JonFromMaine

Not commenting directly on the sound (though the VSL web site samples sound great, as they always do. I see people referencing Black Friday. Are we expecting a lower price next month? Even at the intro price, $442 (dollar is weak vs GBP right now) is a lot given I already own a full license for the original D274 (and full licenses for all VSL pianos except the recent prepared piano). This sale is 25% off compared to a potential 40% off sale. I have a lot of Steinway D’s (and non-D’s) and am trying to curb my VSL collectoritis, though for 40% off my finger might find the buy button.

Johnstaf

This piano sounds absolutely beautiful.

Tozen

I am waiting for more recordings to show up on YouTube. If anyone wants to share, would enjoy listening 🙂

jiang

The full microphones have finished downloading. I think if the requirements for this library are more diverse, the full one is necessary. The sphere, tube, and mid2 are very good microphones. Una Corda has no issues with the STD microphones, but it doesn't work when the full microphones are activated. I hope VSL can fix this. Overall, compared to the Modern D, I prefer the color of this piano.

CraigNZ

JonFromMaine
Sounds like we're in similar positions.

I'm under no illusions that at some point I will cave and buy another Steinway D library (i.e., this one), but I'm planning on buying some vouchers in Dec then holding out for an edu sale in Sept. I'm learning patience!!

It would buck trends at VSL if they had a lower than intro price so soon after launch, I believe.

JonFromMaine

Agreed Craig. To add to my earlier pecuniary email, I just listened to VSL's comparison of the original D-274 to the 'new' stage B piano. For some mics, the 1887 sounds warmer and less clinical. My primary complaint with the Synchron pianos is I like a fairly dry sound, something realistic for playing in my living room. I didn't really hear much of a difference in that regard in the comparison. I can get the ribbon mic pretty dry on the Synchron D. I guess I have to think whether there's enough difference between the two pianos to justify the expense. I'm not averse to upgrades (I just updated to Pianoteq-9 for the exhorbitant price of $29!, and I am also planning on upgrading to Omnisphere 3 which is fun when I want to get away from acoustic pianos), I guess I'm hoping that VSL will recognize existing customers (like 10 full piano licenses) with some sort of customer appreciation discount on new pianos. Guess I'll continue to think about it. Interesting to read the comments though. BTW- The YT video with the comparison is here

jiang

JonFromMaine agree

pianow

JonFromMaine My primary complaint with the Synchron pianos is I like a fairly dry sound, something realistic for playing in my living room. I didn't really hear much of a difference in that regard in the comparison

trust me the stage b pianos get way tighter and a lot more intimate if you use the right mics, the reason why you can't here that in demos is that vsl always use a lot of room sound plus some additional reverb, so most stage b (grands) sound as roomy and wide as the synchron ones, don't worry about it at all

pianow

jdg78

that's a hell of an impression man, you always hype me up with your writings 🙂 and about that una corda thing, please email your situation to the vsl or comment it on their forum (or both), they'll fix it for sure 🙂

pianow

someone commented on vsl's youtube channel that now we need a studio 2022 cfx

i say that's exactly what i was thinking, not just from vsl but also from vilabs, the cfx22 is an upgraded version of the - already legendary - yamaha cfx, so if vsl or vilabs or both of them sample that piano i'll get it in a heartbit 🙂

but aside from that i could really use any vsl studio cfx in my work, i was delighted when they released the cfx in the stage b last year, but that one turned out to be a prepared piano which i'm not really into, especially since i got the ni piano colors (which is the ultimate prepared piano imo)

anyway… we need studio yamaha cfx2 🙂

pianow

man the d1887 truly restored my hope and love for vsl 🙂

David Lai

I think Modern D and the 1887 Concert D are very different instruments, both very good for what they do. For me, if I want a pure, clean sound with all the piano functionalities, I go with Modern D. But if I want a more vintage sound with character, then it's the VSL concert D 1887. However, the latter may not be achieved at this point, but that's OK. It's great that companies are listening to their customers, that's always a plus in whatever way you look at it!

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