Not really Andy, I'm trying to keep it in the box.

I've heard of the Nano but it's along time ago now.

I've started investigating the Tascam CV but it seems to be causing ASIO problems for some reason?

subtlearts

  I maintain that there's a whole lot of value in that Komplete Players package no matter what kind of music or setup you work with, even if it can't be your piano solution.

I agree, as I said, I started making a new song with it straight away once all the hassle was out of the way. They are quality freebies.

I've thought about pianos more in the last two weeks than in my entire genetic evolution, and there's some conclusions I've come to from all the advice I've had here:

1. A nice digital piano sounds really good, I mean, if it was edible, you could live off it.

2. The MDA piano I've been using is an amazing freebie that will give you all the help you need to make songs, but unless it's part of a dense mix......

3. I am going to have to plan a route because a good piano is going to cost me quite a bit more than I had hoped - I didn't know this because I didn't really know what a good one sounded like.

So I've had to change my view of getting a quick, cheap piano fix, and I know I'm going to have to gravitate towards a kontakt 4 full version by starting with the free version and some piano sounds that work with it. There is apparently (correct me if I'm wrong) only one that works with the free version:

http://www.tonehammer.com/?p=3575

This will do me for a lot of the stuff I'm creating, and it will do it to a quality standard; although, I think the Art Vista would be preferable, but that means a full K4 from the word go and even more £££'s and $$$'s. Fairyland. I've just written to Tonehammer to make sure it will not be a 15 minute demo.

I found out that k2 doesn't support Windows 7 so that's that out of the way.

So thanks again for all the input, it has made a big difference - just not in the way I hoped it would.

I had a few breaks between installations to listen to the NI singles; very interesting. The New York stood out for me; as a contrast to the Tonehammer, there's a lot of versatility there and certainly no problems with getting lost in a mix.

I followed some comments about the "emotional piano" being lost in a mix, which put me off a bit when I first read it, but then I decided that the piano was being put into a particular kind of mix, and not that the mix had been made around the piano, or even with that piano in mind. In that instance, I'm sure the NY would have come out pretty well.

I'll have to see what the next few days does.

Been busy installing Win 7 and X1 and all the rest of it today - upstanding, registered citizen now!  :-/

edjay

I had a few breaks between installations to listen to the NI singles; very interesting. The New York stood out for me; as a contrast to the Tonehammer, there's a lot of versatility there and certainly no problems with getting lost in a mix... 

Yeah they are all really clean, which allows you to color them or saturate them to your preference rather than working around whatever room sound and other resonances are already there in a 'wetter' sample set, which might have a richer sound out of the box but be more challenging to work with in a mix. 


NY is my favorite of the bunch by a nose (I'm a Steinway man for the most part, though Blüthners have a very special place in my heart as well) and is probably the most versatile of the bunch. Some people are Bösendorfer freaks, and the Vienna is maybe a better choice if pop is really your bag, but for me the NY is the all-rounder and really enjoyable to play. 


It should be noted that you have a decent amount of control of resonance, key noise etc, and a choice of convolution verbs, so it's not really a one-trick pony. 

It's worth downloading the manual if you're interested, so as to see what the interface looks like and so on...
http://www.native-instrum...ncert_Grand_Manual.zip

Well, NI got lucky there:

I went to download Emotional Piano and they've got either a PayPal or Google payment system, after all the last few days of registrations and stuff I'm sick of it, and there's no way I could go through another new lot yet. I felt so bad about it, I wrote to Mike Peaslee telling him I would come back for it in the future.

So the New York Grand it is then, it's downloading now. ( The 69 Euros included VAT.)

Phew, that took some getting there!

If I include the dreaded installation and registration process, I should get to have a play at about 01:30.  :-/

Why does this thread keep showing up as new event though there are no new posts?

I use NI's Akoustic piano as included in Komplete 5 because my proper piano sounds rubbish.

edjay, That is me and my wife.  I am the one on the right.

Hey, glad to hear you've reached a resolution, and I sincerely hope you're happy and productive with the NI NY... feel free to post a link to something you've made with it, would be interesting to hear after all the fun here!

As for me, I just got back from playing a gala event for 2500+ people (big circus-based show with some amazing artists and a great band, super fun but exhausting) on a Roland RD700 and I have to say I'm looking forward to playing my own lovely baby grand for a bit tomorrow to reconnect with reality. 

Cool, glad you're satisfied! (since I was endorsing that one...)

Yeah the company that did this event, which I used to work for regularly, used to be affiliated with (actually, half-owned by) CDS. I worked for them at that time, so I have indeed been a Cirque employee. It's a wacky world to work in, though it helps if you're someone that thrives at least a little bit on chaos. The brief from a musical perspective is basically to be able to play or at least fake it well in nearly any style imaginable, do it on command and on the fly, switching between them more or less instantaneously, staying constantly alert for split-second cues, and do it all with nowhere close to enough rehearsal. It's kind of the musical equivalent of a high-wire act. I'm not particularly virtuosic at any one particular style myself, but I seem to have become fairly good at navigating this kind of situation over the years...

Anyway, again, have fun with your new shed full of tools!

Allz coolz; I think I'll pass on the anniversary card Andy.  :)