I recently purchased the KORG SGX-2 because its German D piano truly stands apart from every other sampled instrument I’ve tried. From the very first notes, the attack and release feel incredibly clear — there’s no veil, no masking, and no artificial smoothing of the transients. The tone speaks freely, with real presence and dimension, especially in the midrange.
The release samples are impressively realistic — sometimes even too strong, so I usually reduce them slightly. I also set the master output to –6 dB for better balance and headroom.
What really impressed me is the velocity and dynamic response: for the first time, it behaves almost exactly like a real acoustic piano when played from my Yamaha N1X. The expressive range from PPP to FFF is beautifully captured, without the uneven jumps or compressed layers that plague many other VSTs.
The only minor flaw I’ve noticed is that the sympathetic resonance doesn’t continue after the sustain pedal moves from down to up while keys are still held — something VI Labs fixed in their Modern D v1.1. Hopefully, KORG will refine this behavior in a future update.
To overcome this, I’m preparing a Gig Performer preset with two options:
1. A hybrid version using Pianoteq 9 for a complete resonance simulation, and
2. A standalone preset without PTQ9 with custom MIDI scripts to fix the sustain-pedal resonance transitions and String resonances directly within the SGX-2 engine.
The tone of the German D is exceptionally versatile — warm and lyrical in pianissimo, yet powerful and crystalline in fortissimo. I keep all mechanical and resonance noises around –20 dB, and the string resonance also around –20 dB for a natural acoustic feel without overemphasis.
For only $99 USD (about €89 with the current offer), the KORG SGX-2 delivers a level of realism and playability that, in my opinion, is light-years ahead of VSL. It’s not just impressive — it’s inspiring to play.
I’m genuinely in love with this piano. It feels alive, organic, and deeply musical — a must-have VST3 for any pianist who values authenticity and touch.
