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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This piano sounds absolutely beautiful.

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

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.

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.

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

JonFromMaine agree

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

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 🙂

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 🙂

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

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!

revox compassion

that's a nice word to use in this context, we people get a lot of new things everyday that we sometimes forget all of them are made by actual living people with feelings, and yea it's so evil to randomly spray negative words on their faces, i did that about pianoteq and i genuinely feel bad about it (even though it wasn't on its release date)

anyway, i'm really enjoying this new piano from vsl, i wasn't sure how i'm going to react to a vintage model d but now that i've listened to it, it is absolutely the best piano from vsl to my ears, hope we see such attention to details in the future as well, i mean this piano has next to no tuning and preparation problems and of course that's something we don't get from big companies like vsl very often, i guess we should give thanks to @clavierhaus again for that 🙂

Although I was initially focused on the sound, what is really drawing me now is the playability. This is the most natural instrument I have ever played on the N1X of the sample libraries I own.

locture 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?

I can honestly say that it's a true restoration and that basically there are no new spare parts in it, except for strings, tuning pins and the the red felt for string guidance on the plate.

We have, however, worked with German hammer manufacturer Abel to get a set of replica hammers for the sampling session, but the original hammers are still kept in a vault and can be used for special purposes such as exclusive recordings with certain pianists.

The bulk of restoration work was renewal of the French Polish shellac surface, but since the methods to apply this are the same as they were in 1888, this is considered part of a true restoration process.

A lot of work was necessary to clean the inside the of the piano from dust and debris, but thanks to the meticulous work by the excellent piano maker Tobias Schmidt, who even went so far as to clean the plate with a tiny electric toothbrush, we ended up with a piano that basically is what it was back in 1887. We actually sent in the wippens to Abel in order to have them refurbished, but they came back without any work done on them, because Mr. Abel told me that they are as perfect and sturdy as can be.

You can find some more information on the restoration process and corresponding images on our website: https://clavierhaus.at/steinway-d-1887/

Anyway, I am here and available to answer any further questions about the piano. As to the digital side of it, please move to https://forum.pianoworld.com//ubbthreads.php/topics/3631183.html#Post3631183 where product manager Paul Kopf is available to answer questions in this regard.

Tozen https://www.youtube.com/@clavierhaus-vienna is my youtube channel where you can hear some more recordings with the original piano and also its evelotution since it arrived in our stdio in March last year. Since then s lot of work was done the piano by my fvorite concert technician who also prepared the piano for the sampling session.

One more thing: There are a lot of different pianos on this channel, some old, some new, some really nice, some not so much. Feel free to point out the one or other piano that you think may be of interest to have it sampled and released by VSL. They may be listening.