Ok so which VSTi Piano??

[Sam]

I already have the 4Front RealPiano's - its OK - but it definately shows its limits when hit hard and doesnt have the depth of tone I really want/need....now I have LASS the piano is feeling a little dated :)

What are peoples opinions on the NI pianos? Any one stand out worth just buying as a DL for the 80 bucks - or should you really have em all?

Any other suggestions - I like the price of the NI bundle - anything else that shines around $200-300????

Cheers!

Sam

[Sam]

I should add - would be great to have both a grand and an upright that I can get a bit Beatles with....love that warble baby! A little bit of a honkey-tonkable piano can sometimes be just what a chorus needs to kick on too.....

[Animus]

Alicia's Keys is awesome.

[Sam]

Cool I will check it out :)

[paulwr]

You just missed the EW half price sale. Could have gotten Play Pianos cheap. Not sure what it costs now, heck they ususually extent specials, and then extend agains, so worth checking.

Anyone using piano on a regular basis should have that vsti around. Non are perfect, but this is now the one I rely on, and I have a real one in the studio. I only setup to record that when absolutely needed.

-Paul

[Beat Productions]

Sampletekk Seven Seas Grand (7CG) and Kontakt 4.1

[Sam]

Seems no one does a really good little steinway or yamaha upright :(

I find a lot of the time in a rock mix a grand can take up far too much realestate - and a great little upright can really hold itself together in there nicely....

So I have many good sounding options for a grand, none yet for an upright ..... hmmmm

[tunetown]

I use Ivory. It was the best at the time and I still use it regularly. Seems to have good feel and expression. I haven't tried any of the new releases but also don't feel I need to. Ivory serves me well. It has a Steinway, Yamaha and Bosendorfer. It now has an upright but I don't have it.

http://www.synthogy.com/products.html

Cheers

[Bman]

Not sure what you're preferred style is Sam. While I have the NI Akoustic pianos (now re-badged) I keep coming back to Kip's Bardstown Bose. A bit long in the tooth now I'll grant you but I never had to fight it as much as some of the others.

However lately I've fallen in love with the Emotional Piano from Tonehammer. While more of a film score piano rather than a Rock piano it has a gorgeous tone for the quiet stuff in particular. Plus Troels is great to deal with.

Brett

[colony nofi]

Emo piano is wonderful. Has changed the game for me in some cases. Not pop though... :)
Pop. Hm, all sorts of things come to mind. The Acoustisamples Kawai EX pro is cool for some pop stuff, as is their uprights, and seems to sit inside a mix well. I don't know I've ever used it naked though...
Their upright is cool as well - but it's an "imperfect" piano. I have their entire collection of keyboard instruments if you want to hear the same midi performance played on each... just let me know, I'm back around town again.
Uprights eh? I'm really scratching my head... The only other one I have is the imperfect samples upright (I don't have the white grand) and its cool, but I got it for a single little project, and haven't needed to use it since. If I recall, i actually used it's effect patches more than the piano.

HTH... its a tricky one. B.

[Sam]

Thanks for the input guys, I think I am gonna spring for alicias keys from what I heard - Seems good tonally across a broad dynamic range....now for the imperfect upright 'beatleizer'...thanks for your suggestions there Brendan. Where you been anyways? Thought you dropped off the planet for a bit there!

[Animus]

wow, been checking out some of the demos of Steinberg's The Grand 3. I am impressed honestly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj34DyiLFvU&feature=related

[Beat Productions]

wow, been checking out some of the demos of Steinberg's The Grand 3. I am impressed honestly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj34DyiLFvU&feature=related

Yeah, it was made by the Sampletekk guys; the same ones who made my favourites, the Seven Seas Grand (7CG).

[Animus]

aaah, that explains it then. thanks Beat