Which of these is the best Piano emulaton software at the moment?

What are people liking the best?

The Piano Teq has a nice small footprint but does it sound any good?

You can go here and listen to MP3 demos of every freakin' piano emulation on the face of the earth...well, every one except the Galaxy pianos, which aren't up yet (or maybe they're under a different name and I missed them.) You might consider downloading some of the mp3s so you can listen later and reflect on what you're hearing.

Digital Piano Shootout

All these pianos have their strengths, depending on the mix of the particular song. I have the Native Instruments Akoustic Piano, True Piano, and the Galaxy Steinway. The Galaxy Steinway is downloadable in 16 bit format, as are the other two Galaxy pianos, or you can buy all three in 24 bit on DVD. What's cool about the Galaxy playback engine is the extra stuff that comes with it - you can add a pad for new-agey stuff, you can morph the piano into a freaky techno thing - it's really quite awesome, and all for under $100 if you get only one of their pianos at the download site. Their mini-grand is absolutely luscious, in a dark, understated way. I'd get that one for solo stuff, or the other grand for a little more authority. Out of the three, the Steinway is the most transparent.

The True Piano is more of an emulation than a sample player, with a 60 meg downloadable 40-day demo that features one out of their four pianos. I'm using it in a busy mix where the piano needs to cut and the attack is perfect - you can hear the piano but it stays out of the way of the other instruments. The Galaxy is more of a ballad type of instrument with better fidelity but less presence - in other words, it doesn't cut through a busy mix as easily unless you sculpt the mix around the piano. I tried the PianoTeq, but found it similar to the True Piano in that it's also an emulation with a small footprint, but out of those two, I thought the True Piano was more realistic sounding. But people rave about the PianoTeq for playability and tweakability.

The NI Akoustic comes with four pianos, but they all sound kind of clunky in a mix, although they sound okay solo. Out of the four, the upright is passable, but rather generic sounding. Native Instruments also just released their funky upright piano collection for $279, but you can get a nice upright from Sampletekk for $49 called the Rain piano. The Sampletekk pianos require a playback engine, like Kontakt or Motu Mach 5, while all the others mentioned come with their own player.

For pop/rock stuff, the Sampletekk White Grand seems to be the winner. It's nice and bright when you play with authority, but can still be mellow if you take it easy on the attack.

Although the Synthology Ivory gets all the raves, it doesn't sound so great on that site linked above. There is something very strange going on with the midrange, which may or may not work depending on the context.

The Art Vista is great for character, and very tweakable with tone and compression built into the playback engine, but some say there are a few funky notes in the middle octaves which could be problematic if those notes are played repeatedly. Personally, I like that kind of character in a piano, and if I did more solo stuff, I'd probably get the Art Vista to complement the others I already have.

If you don't yet have a sample playback engine, Kontakt and Motu Mach 5 both come with nice big grand pianos, so that might be a good place to start, although if you're doing mainly rock stuff, the True Pianos would be perfect - and under $200 for four different pianos.

I've been using the garritan Steinway pro since it came out, both in the studio and live and it's very nice, and, no dongle!!

The 'under lid' and 'Player perspective' are very nice for solo/pop/ballad stuff, the other perspectives would only be suitable for a solo recital or classical music.



Marcus

I have NI Akoustik Piano. The individual samples sound great. If you're just looking to play piano and hear yourself... but I think Ivory sounds better in a mix.

I have Garritan Steinway Pro, True Pianos 1.4, Sampletekk Black and White Grands, EW Bosendorfer 290 and Pianoteq lite.

For me the Garritan Steinway is head and shoulders above the others!

True Pianos 1.4 is quite nice but less realistic. However there are talks of True Pianos 2.0 being released in the near future which has the potential to be fantastic! It costs $180 and anyone who bought True Pianos after Jan 2008 will be entitled to v2.0 for free!

The Quantum Leap pianos are also worth checking out!

did not like the n.i. akoustik at all v. digital/brittle sounding IMHO - especially the top two octaves.

ended up with the bluthner model one - not perfect (no piano library is ) but v.v. happy with the sound.

cannot understand why it does not get more mentions in these type of threads.

Virtual piano sample library on CD by Pro Audio Vault

spek

ps heard great things about the garritan but never heard it myself.

I compared the True Piano to the PianoTeq.

I thought the True Piano had a larger more realistic sound and the dynamics/response was greater with more tonal change depending on how hard the keys are played.

PianoTeq was thin in the midrange.

I think Ivory and True Pianos sound quite different as well. True pianos sounds fuller and deeper in the bass.

Ivory has less dynamics than True Pianos and not as full a sound but brighter on top and cleaner.

With a little eq in the lower midrange I think True Piano will sound like Ivory but maybe better?

Any more thoughts.

I listened to the shootout.

The True Piano sounds the best.

The Nord Stage is nice too but lacks the dynamics and range of the True PIano.

Don't know what all the hype is on Ivory. SOunds not the best to me.

Any more opinons here?

1. galaxy II piano

2. quantum leap pianos

i really like these two

The only virtual Piano that emulates the pedals like a real Piano is the new PianoTeq 3.0.
I like it for fast access w/ a notebook and an ES88 for quick money making.
I have QLP and only recently have they made it worthwhile with their new upgrade. Prior to that I was quite angry with it's sloppy code.
I used Black Grand and 7 Seas w/ Gigastudio, and the Bosendorfer 290 also, but IMHO these rompler guys obviously never played a solo gig where that third hand for Low end sustains via the sostenuto pedal was used.
I am sure they are marvellous editors of MIDI Files but in the real world the sostenuto pedal is a performers dream come true.
Scarbee is a great developer and I have been told that the Alicia Keyes stuff he has done will incorporate a real sostenuto pedal......what a concept.
Garritans Steinway was suppose to have the sostenuto pedal but after it's release I noticed they forgot they advertised that fact.
But I suppose if you don't mind paying to be a BETA tester and sequence your recordings, it would be a great choice as it's sound is really good.
I guess since Steinway recieves a percentage of the sales because it's " authorized ", they didn't mind the lack of advertised features, besides with a real Steinway C, who would need the fake one bathed in static reverb, with bugs and missing pedals....

I know someone who played the new roland v piano.Its pretty expensive as opposed to software Pianos but it is supposed to be in another league.
I have played most of the pianos in your list except garritan and i like ivory.
East west also is real good,check them out.


Dan P

EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos :: East West/Quantum Leap :: Developers :: Sounds Online

There are some comparison demos also.

There is also a video of the performance achieved with our new AST streaming engine at the same location.

Enjoy!

- DR

Well if a DAW based solution is needed, QLPianos is top notch, even Black Grand is still viable for an ancient library, but for a laptop PhysMod PianoTeq 3.0 is a tough customer.
I did a snippet with it but I am having a tough time getting used to this mobile rig. To keep it fast and light weight I am using the M Audio ES88 and it really sucks, as the snippet below demonstrates. I don't have time to make a perfect demo, I just recorded it the way I set it up in a single take. But I really need to get a better action controller that weighs under 20 pounds.
But the Rhodes and Wurly sounds really good, and I can tweak the tuning of the Grand emu's to get a semi-realistic sound in the upper octaves. Afterall most of the real Pianos that I ocassionally use are all slightly out of tune, so I can feel right at home w/ the PTeq 3.0. It does a really decent Upright also, but most of all, I like the real pedal features that work great with the CME Trio. On live solo gigs I need the 3rd hand to drone the low end sometimes, and especially on Ragtime.
The new PLAY update BTW is great. I look forward to a sostenuto update, or even a future Piano that emulates the real deal, as the QLP's do have the best sound IMHO.

http://forums.planetz.com/download/file.php?id=4795

Which of the Galaxy II pianos do you prefer?

Thanks.

B

Yeah but Sample based stuff is going to be a thing of the past.

Virtual Modelling is the future.

Which Piano Software Modelling is the best right now?

True Pianos is the best I have heard so far.

As of lately, I've been using Garritan, Alicia's Keys, and Ivory...

I like them all , depends what the track is needing.

not yet mentioned, but i dig Reason Piano's quite a bit. Their abbey roads keyboards are kind of cool as well...

ProAudioVault posted two new demos by the musician David Arivett.

Dr. Dave is a funky jazzy demo in a New Orleans flavor with drums, bass and tenor sax that come in after a solo piano intro.

Let's Boogie is a solo boogie piano piece with a little jazzy flavour and a touch of Jerry Lee Lewis blended in for good measure.

Here is the link Funky Demos

Ernest Cholakis
Numerical Sound/ProAudioVault
Numerical Sound
Pro Audio Vault

For me Pianoteq stands out. Yes, there are sample libraries that sound exquisite, but for realistic feel and responsiveness Pianoteq is miles ahead of the rest. That is, if you're really a piano player coming from acoustic pianos. If you're a generalist tapping away on the keys to fill your own needs of the occasional piano line, then sample libs might not feel as dead as they do to a real pianist. And many of those libs are indeed beautifully recorded.

But the point is they are recorded. You'll have a bunch of recorded notes that never interact when you play chords. The guys behind Pianoteq have the whole magic dow: Strings, hammers, the frame, the lid, etc. The result is an instrument that truly responds to what you play. Plus you have total freedom in adjusting all the various details that comprise the instrument; (hammer stiffness, length of frame, etc).

Previous versions have lacked a little sparkle, compared to the top sample libs. But the recent version 3 seals the deal in my ears. The new mic placement feature is stunning, including a binaural mode that truly sounds like you're sitting in front of a real piano. Plus they have added great models of a Rhodes and a Wurlitzer. I'm not 100% sold on the Wurly, and maybe I'm just not a Wurly fan, but the Rhodes model blows everything else out of the water.

Tip: Download demos and run a MIDI file of real pianist through them. (Pianoteq comes with a Chopin piece preloaded). You should be able to hear what sets this breakthrough piece of software apart from the rest.

I almost dumped my Bluthner Digital Model One because of this particular piano:

Acoustic Grand Piano - Ultimate Sound Bank - UVISoundSource.com

I'm using it more often than BDMO, but still some songs does suit BDMO much better. I'm very happy with both, but if I have to choose only 1, I'll choose Ultimate Sound Bank Acoustic Grand Piano simply because it cost ony...$59!!!

i have Ivory and Pianoteq3.
Ivory does sounds more realistic when you play a single note but Pianoteq takes the cake when you put the pedal down and start to play phrases and chords.
What it lacks in realism of tone it definetly compensates in terms of inspiration and flow.
Its just fun to play.
And since there isnt anything like the definete pianosound i stopped worrying about it and just enjoy playing with a sound that resonates with me.

i used it in two of my clips
Northern Lites on Vimeo
The Mystery of Time on Vimeo

I am about to rerecord the second one with the new V-piano from Roland. It will be interesting to hear how that sounds.
Everything i heard from the V-piano sofar was pretty amazing.

Any True Pianos Lovers?

IMHO there is no such thing as the perfect virtual piano and never will be.
It`s a bit like a studio monitor: There`s no perfectly flat one, it`s all about what you prefer.

When we started sampling the Beurmann collection, we asked ourselves if we should go for a sampling concept or if we should use a modeling concept. When I heard the instruments of Mr. Beurmann, I decided to go for the sampling concept. Listening to these old, unique instruments (some are almost 500 years old), I noticed that they incorporated a certain magic that modern builders just couldn`t achieve (think of a Stradivari violin, for example).

So if professional builders can`t really capture that magic and put the finger on where it comes from, how is a software modeler supposed to get this right by creating a physical model of the instrument?
That was my main point why I decided not to go that route. Of course, you might be missing the interaction of notes, but for the playing feel, if the samples are done right and if they capture the vibe of the instrument, it is not that bad.

Think of it that way - there are many piano libraries out there that use noise reduction on the single samples to avoid noise layering when playing chords. Any noise reduction tames harmonics and makes a note sound somewhat dead, and this is especially the case if they layer in a chord.

Now if you don`t do anything like that to a well recorded sample, it will sound pretty pure and layer well within the samples, not making you feel like you play a dead dog.

Be aware of the limitations and simply choose what suits you best

The good thing is that the stuff is not as expensive as the real ones, so you can get more than one.

my new favourite is the new V-Piano from Roland.
It definetly plays in a different league.

here is a new version of one of my songs using the V-Piano instead of the Pianoteq3.
The difference is quite obvious also in the playing because this one features my good friend Scott Tibbs on the black&whites......


The Mystery of Time/Scott Tibbs version on Vimeo

+1 for True Pianos. I have tried alot of them but will say my needs are ONLY to sit in ROCK mixes. If you were playing classical piano solos, not sure which piano would be best but the fact that TP sounds good (has a few different pianos) and the presets give you quite a bit of range to find a piano sound that fits.

The best part is (like Pianoteq), it isn't a pure sample playback module but in its case a hybrid but doesn't take a whole lot of RAM. I have three instances loaded in a track, sitting side by side with three instances of KONTAKT and all is fine.

I was using BLACK GRAND by Sampletekk (which I like) and the three TP engines use less resources than the light version (No 4) of Black Grand.

Now, it also isn't that expensive and as mentioned, free upgrade to version 2. Which I hope allows a bit more tweaking into the engine (EQ, pedal sustain volume and time, etc).

Jim

just to add the garritan steinway has been updated to version 1.03 now and it's playing beautifuly they've tweaked a lot of little things and it's now right on the money.


Marcus

bump - I'm finally ready to move on from Akousitc Piano from NI - any more thoughts on modeled piano's? I'm looking seriously at PianoTeq

has 3.5 improved Pianoteq?