And then you rediscover that forgotten piano VST

EB5AGV

Have you had that feeling, like meeting again an old friend?

I have just had it, and has been wonderful. I have played today the Synthogy Ivory II American Concert D, and it has been a wonderful time.

That was one of the VSTs I got along my Kawai VPC1 back in July 2020 and it has not been played for quite a while. It is delicate, whilst powerful when needed.

What a rediscovery! 🥰

Jose

HZPiano

EB5AGV has not been played for quite a while

Was it still somewhat in tune?

Cheers and happy reunions,

theodorn

It is pretty impressive how well the Ivory II American Concert D has stood the test of time, comparing well when put up against modern libraries weighing in at hundreds of gigabytes.

Joannchr

That’s true , however it was sampled 12 y ago and at the time 50 GB was massive . I’m pretty sure if they were re resampling it today , with the cheap price and stunning performance of BEST SSD , they would sample the notes for the entire duration of the decay which is was of the main reason VST like Garritan CFX is huge . But you are right it is still better today than most of the ‘so so’ Kontack VST’s .

theodorn

I see, so Synthogy used sample stretching in the ACD? You're right 50GB was massive at that time. I remember thinking I would hardly have the space for it, though I got the Garritan CFX a few years later.

Joannchr

theodorn Actually I have checked the specs of the American D. Synthogy claims that they have recorded the full decay on the Steinway and this a brand that is not marketing false facts. They were probably one of the rare Sampling company to take it to that level at the time. Given that the 'Una Corda' and Sustain are sampled as well, I guess the difference in size compared to the more recents CFX or VSL is most likely due to the number of the different mics recordings in the latests , and additional velocities(VSL). Garritan and Ivory 2 AD share a few features in common. Both have 20 velocity layers and true una corda samples. But the Garritan has 3 modes (Full, Contemporary and Player) all recorded with different mics and as a matter of fact Garritan ( 133GB) is roughly 3 times the size of the Ivory 2 AD , so it makes sense.

David B

That's kind of how I feel about he Vienna Imperial by VSL. Although I didn't own until recently, it's been around for 15 years and I let it slide under the radar since I got into VSTs. Now that I own it I'm really surprised by the quality of the sampled library. In 2007 (when VI was sampled) I wasn't even thinking about piano playing. I wonder how much was even available back then in terms of sampled pianos?

God Bless,
David

theodorn

Good question, seems there wasn't a lot, the Sampletekk libraries are maybe ten years old, and the ones from PMI, which Sampletekk acquired, are even older. There is some information in this article about Steinberg Grand 3, they mention East West (Quantum Leap), Synthogy, and Native Instruments as the big guys in an article from late 2009. And of course the VSL Vienna Imperial!

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/steinberg-grand-3

EB5AGV

theodorn my first piano VST was the Steinberg Grand 3. It sounded fine and I enjoyed it for some time. Then, as I started to learn about other piano VIs, began my chase of offers… which lasts until today!. In fact that first one was also an offer, pretty cheap 😅

I have never paid full price for any VI. And most have been heavily discounted by introducing offers, BF offers, anniversary offers, educational licenses, VAT-less buying, and such, sometimes two or more of them same time . All in all, is like a painter having a large colour palette. I love to be able to change the instrument I play depending on the use and mood. Having a real grand would be somewhat limiting… But I still wish to have one 😉. Perhaps on retirement (about 11 years in the future) or perhaps for my 60 (5 and a half years from now). If the world keeps going, that is 🤔

I plan to inventory all my piano VIs… I really don't know how many I have and for sure some are waiting to be rediscovered 😬

If you are curious, I can make the list public, there is nothing to hide, I am a declared VST-holic!

Jose

CyberGene

Many years ago one of my first virtual pianos was Ivory 1 which I downloaded for free from a pirated website. (Not proud of pirating software but that’s a closed chapter in my life and I’ve been paying for all the software I use for the last 15 years.) I only used the German Steinway while the Bosendorfer and the Yamaha were not really good. I have fond memories and it was the only software piano at the time that supported re-pedaling (but not half-pedaling).

EB5AGV

I have done it again 😅!. This time thanks to @David B comments on VSL Vienna Imperial. I had not yet reinstalled it after being converted to iLok. I have done today. And, wow, what a magnificient instrument it is!

We are really blessed with so many VIs to choose from!

Jose

David B

EB5AGV And, wow, what a magnificient instrument it is!

We are really blessed with so many VIs to choose from!

The Vienna Imperial (right now) is the best sounding/playing sample library I have. It's not polished like their Synchron Piano libraries and has just enough peculiarities to make is feel authentically acoustic. I love the Una Corda samples and the soft dynamic range.

God Bless,
David

KevinBSelby

I recently pulled out the Addictive Keys grand (and I heavily modified the mic placements and such to get it close to a Steinway D). LOVE IT! It's at least as good, if not slightly better than the Hamburg sample on the CP88.

You can hear it (Addictive Keys with my mods) here: