neiby
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 765
- Joined: 2007/06/19 14:34:54
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/26 00:28:22
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Ognis
Ivroy sounds awsome, but uses up sevral gigs of space (and I do mean SEVRAL, I think the installer is 10 full DVD discs)..
Check out the audio examples here;
http://www.synthogy.com/pages/audio.html
I used to be a fan of NI's Akoustik Piano, until I heard those..
Jeebus.....10 DVDs? I guess I'll stick to TruePiano for now. :) I've been tinkering with some ideas and it's really helping me to have a sound that I can get into. I'd love to have something like the Synthogy stuff, but TruePiano is going to have to be it for now.
|
Dizzi45Z
Max Output Level: -70 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1040
- Joined: 2005/10/26 17:00:20
- Location: Orem, Utah
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/26 16:40:47
(permalink)
I admit the Italian 10 Foot Grand sounds amazing from Ivory. I have Akoustik Piano and I still love it and think it is one of the best piano samplers. My clients are always amazed to find out that the piano is a midi sample and not a recorded piano.
Both Ivory and Akoustik Piano are fantastic for different reasons. I think Akoustik piano comes with better sounds and samples, but the expansion for Ivory (such as the Italian 10 Foot Grand) might be the best I've heard. Akoustik and Ivory are a bigger load on the CPU, but if you want the best sounding piano samples, my vote goes for these two.
|
neiby
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 765
- Joined: 2007/06/19 14:34:54
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/27 00:58:26
(permalink)
I just tried to order the TruePianos product, but their website wouldn't allow me to use my email address since it's a free Gmail account. Whoever came up with that stupid idea is on their Sales Prevention Team. They just lost my money because of an email address. Brilliant. That irritates me enough to make me reconsider getting one of the other products despite the additional cost.
|
Roflcopter
Max Output Level: -7.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 6767
- Joined: 2007/04/27 19:10:06
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/27 05:18:49
(permalink)
They just lost my money because of an email address. Brilliant. That irritates me enough to make me reconsider getting one of the other products despite the additional cost. +1 to sh*tlisting irritating marketing habits, same here. Vapourware demos do the trick, too - they get all your personal info, you get a teaser. Really wonder what bright soul came up with that one.
I'm a perfectionist, and perfect is a skinned knee.
|
wrench45us
Max Output Level: -25.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 4991
- Joined: 2003/11/06 15:57:01
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/27 07:58:13
(permalink)
True Pianos isn't the first or only online seller to not accept gmail, hotmail or yahoo free mail accounts. They do it for their own protection. I'm sure more direct contact could work it out.
[on the other side of the coin, my former ISP wouldn't accept an authorization e-mail of my account from soundclick as they had accused soundclick of spamming, so it was necessary to use a yahoo account]
[it's of some benefit to be flexible in these matters]
|
neiby
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 765
- Joined: 2007/06/19 14:34:54
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/27 20:15:31
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: wrench45us
True Pianos isn't the first or only online seller to not accept gmail, hotmail or yahoo free mail accounts. They do it for their own protection. I'm sure more direct contact could work it out.
[on the other side of the coin, my former ISP wouldn't accept an authorization e-mail of my account from soundclick as they had accused soundclick of spamming, so it was necessary to use a yahoo account]
[it's of some benefit to be flexible in these matters]
I've never seen this from an online seller before, especially one that accepts credit cards. If they already accept credit cards, which is a far better way of verifying a person's identity than an email address, why do they care about the email address? I just don't see the logic behind it. I have an account issued by my ISP, but I never use it. I will never use it to communicate with them and if they use it to communicate with me, it could be a month before I even notice it because I never check it. I've seen it happen on forums where people get banned and then keep registering with new free accounts, but that's not applicable to a business transaction involving a credit card. I sent them an email last night about it but they haven't responded yet.
post edited by neiby - 2007/06/27 20:33:26
|
neiby
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 765
- Joined: 2007/06/19 14:34:54
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/28 18:22:54
(permalink)
For the record, I contacted TruePianos support again and they said that they didn't appear to have received the first email I sent. They then explained that 90-95% of credit card fraud related to online orders involves "free" email accounts. So, their credit card processing company will not allow them. So, I just ordered the product from my ISP's account and Truepianos immediately changed it to my Gmail account in their records. They were very easy to work with and very eager to help.
I just thought I should mention it since I was so irritated with them a few days ago.
|
tootough
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1
- Joined: 2007/06/28 22:27:33
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/28 22:47:42
(permalink)
Man, I was mad when I first listened to the Dimension Pro I bought when it first came out. I received nothing but razz for my comments. But.... I learned it bit by bit, plus my daw was messing with it and wow was I sorry for what I had said. Then, came the two upgrades with more sounds and today I received the email from Cakewalk about the new release for D which led to the amazing sound library at esoundz. I could not believe what was available. While I have be a hardware working musician for most of my life, I had to start learning how to separate from the world of yesterday. It seems like I went to sleep for 10 years and woke up to a new world. I was going to purchase an Oasys, then that wittled down to the M3 73, now it just makes no sense, at all to stick in the land of depreciating hardware. I guess, just stick with Dim Pro, a bit a day, you will end up lovin' it.. By the way, I have Acid Pro 6 which added NI and just bought Tracktion 3 which had so many vsti's that I really don't need any more.
post edited by tootough - 2007/06/28 23:04:10
|
dougsyo
Max Output Level: -86 dBFS
- Total Posts : 209
- Joined: 2004/02/02 14:55:26
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/06/29 00:08:55
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: wrench45us
True Pianos isn't the first or only online seller to not accept gmail, hotmail or yahoo free mail accounts. They do it for their own protection. I'm sure more direct contact could work it out.
Some e-commerce vendor recently flagged my dougsyo at aol dot com address as a free e-mail account (Come to think of it, it was SteamWorks Audio when I bought the SWA P5 video). But other than an annoying pop-up, they let it go through. Now, I've had AOL for 12 years and still pay a small amount for it per month (I use the dialup now-and-then when I travel, if I can't get a decent hotel with broadband). Annoying. Doug
|
dappa1
Max Output Level: -46 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2949
- Joined: 2007/02/26 04:18:57
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 18:53:18
(permalink)
interesting to see how everyone is in pursuit of the best sound ever. I will probably get Dim Pro as I have listened to LE when I do get it that will be it for me as long as I can tailor the sounds to my needs.
the consumer road can leave you bewildered and wanting and envious not qualities I like to have. though I want something that is pro standard for today and Dim Pro look after their customers.
|
neiby
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 765
- Joined: 2007/06/19 14:34:54
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 19:28:16
(permalink)
I've been reasonably happy with the TruePiano sounds since I bought the product, but they're still not quite realistic enough for me. I can already tell that I'm going to be shelling out more money in the future for one of the other more expensive products. Don't get me wrong, I think the Dim Pro and TruePiano sounds will sound great in a mix, but I don't think either is *quite* good enough to be the main element in a song. That's especially true if it's the only instrument in the song. However, those other piano plug-ins are so huge that I'm going to have to buy a new drive. :) I need to do that, anyway, so I guess that's not a big deal.
|
Jaybee
Max Output Level: -82 dBFS
- Total Posts : 423
- Joined: 2005/07/19 09:29:59
- Location: Dayton, Kentucky
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 20:14:45
(permalink)
I think that one thing you must take into consideration is your own DAW and the audio components you have. On most of the pianos mentioned in this thread you will find that you really should have maximum memory for your system as well as a high end cpu. Also, your studio monitors are also going to affect how anything you buy will sound. I have all of the Dimension pianos, the Black Grand, the Kontakt Steinway, Akoustik Piano and the included pianos in the Garritan GPO and JABB sets. I frequently find myself changing pianos depending on the style of music and the associated instruments I am using. Sometimes I even go back to my hardware boxes for a piano sound such as the EMU ProFormance or the Alesis 64 Grand or Dark Classic. Different pianos sound differently in different mixes. I tried the Truepianos demo and it didn't fit my needs. That's not to say that it is not a good piano. It is very nice but not a sound I needed. Ivory, as Ognis pointed out, is a real hog of your space - 40 gb IIRC. As long as you are happy with what you have then you will be fine. edited for spelling errors
post edited by Jaybee - 2007/07/04 08:42:03
Jerry Dayton, KY. Sonar 8PE, Project 5v2.5, Music Creator 5, Dimension Pro, Akoustik Piano, Battery 3, B4 II, Kontakt 2 & 3, GPO, JABB, CoMB, VDL 2.5, Garritan Authorized Steinway Model D, True Piano AMD 64 3500+, 2GB RAM, Audiophile 192
|
whitefalcon
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1161
- Joined: 2004/06/21 19:21:47
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 22:04:24
(permalink)
Crap. I just did a really stupid thing. I listened to the Synthology Ivory pianos. Holy shmoly! Now *those* are some good pianos! However, they're twice the cost of the TruePianos, and the TruePianos sound pretty dang good. They were the best that I'd heard until just now when I stupidly listened to the Synthology pianos. :) Now, even if I get the TruePianos, I'm always going to want the Synthology stuff. Why, oh why, did I do that... It's like perusing a music gear catalog. I always find something that I just have to have! :) True Pianos is pretty nice. I bought it Go to Jamsticks and see if they still have the promotion for a discount on True Pianos. I only paid half of the going price for mine... on the Jamsticks deal... I am not sure if its still on or not
|
whitefalcon
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1161
- Joined: 2004/06/21 19:21:47
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 22:10:27
(permalink)
I need to do that, anyway, so I guess that's not a big deal. drives are cheap nowdays
|
whitefalcon
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1161
- Joined: 2004/06/21 19:21:47
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 22:13:22
(permalink)
Try overlapping two pianos, at once in P5
perhaps each will compensate for the others weaknesses
|
dougsyo
Max Output Level: -86 dBFS
- Total Posts : 209
- Joined: 2004/02/02 14:55:26
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/03 23:22:32
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: neiby
I've been reasonably happy with the TruePiano sounds since I bought the product, but they're still not quite realistic enough for me. I can already tell that I'm going to be shelling out more money in the future for one of the other more expensive products. Don't get me wrong, I think the Dim Pro and TruePiano sounds will sound great in a mix, but I don't think either is *quite* good enough to be the main element in a song. That's especially true if it's the only instrument in the song. However, those other piano plug-ins are so huge that I'm going to have to buy a new drive. :) I need to do that, anyway, so I guess that's not a big deal.
(1) Get the new commercial DimPro expansion. It's only $59, and a good chunk of it is the Yamaha C5. (2) If that's not sufficient, layer it with TruePiano - as WhiteFalcon suggested, the two will compensate for each other. Someone suggested this on KVR as well, it was either TruePiano or Pianoteq + a sampled piano It beats shelling out for K2 (if you don't have it already), but if you do, the Sampletekk pianos are pretty nice, and quite a few of them (C7s, Bosendorfers, Steinways, and others) are available for under $50. Doug
|
mgh
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 8594
- Joined: 2007/05/10 05:15:56
- Location: betwixt and between
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/04 04:57:43
(permalink)
i have a casio privia px-700. this has a great acoustic piano sound (2 in fact), plus a couple of e-pianos, and a fantastic keyboard which is far better than that on my previous (acoustic) Grotrian-Steinweg. i can record midi tracks out, then feed em back to the piano if i want and record the resultant perfect track as audio...plus i have a great piano to use just to play. it cost me £400, about the same as a couple of the softsynth pianos mentioned on here, and if you factor out the cost of buying a separate midi controller, it's probably about £100....now ok, you lose some of the flexibility of changing the sound/piece after the fact, in that you need to rerecord the part, but ur also saving about 1/3 of ur cpu too....
just surprised no-one had mentioned this route on ur thread. and if you need more sounds, go for a different model...
|
jsaras
Max Output Level: -49 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2642
- Joined: 2003/12/07 10:40:00
- Location: Pasadena, CA-The Center of the Universe!
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/06 16:14:59
(permalink)
The "mini piano dry 14 mb" in Dim Pro works exceptionally well in mixes. It's much better than you would expect for its size.
One thing to consider is that a piano patch will sound and feel more like a real piano if you play it with a weighted controller. Even when I play Ivory using my little Oxygen 8, it sounds kinda lousy.
|
whitefalcon
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1161
- Joined: 2004/06/21 19:21:47
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 01:06:07
(permalink)
Jeebus.....10 DVDs? I guess I'll stick to TruePiano for now. :) I've been tinkering with some ideas and it's really helping me to have a sound that I can get into. I'd love to have something like the Synthogy stuff, but TruePiano is going to have to be it for now. You dont have to wait for it to load either... And size compared to sound is good on True Pianos... As I mentioned I got mine on a buy deal with Jamsticks... The video is what sold me on UTube...
|
whitefalcon
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1161
- Joined: 2004/06/21 19:21:47
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 01:09:28
(permalink)
(1) Get the new commercial DimPro expansion. It's only $59, and a good chunk of it is the Yamaha C5. (2) If that's not sufficient, layer it with TruePiano - as WhiteFalcon suggested, the two will compensate for each other. Someone suggested this on KVR as well, it was either TruePiano or Pianoteq + a sampled piano It beats shelling out for K2 (if you don't have it already), but if you do, the Sampletekk pianos are pretty nice, and quite a few of them (C7s, Bosendorfers, Steinways, and others) are available for under $50. This is true, its a nice piano in that new Dim Pro bank... I purchased that to... but not for the Piano, for the other sounds but the Pianos are a bonus, I like the dark pianos to and the Chior piano mixes
|
entity
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 26
- Joined: 2007/02/06 00:57:03
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 03:16:56
(permalink)
I'm a newb at audio mixing and recording. I have both the Emulator X piano samples (about 1 GB) and the Dimension Pro samples to work with (that's my limited plugin collection). While playing with the Emulator X library sounds more like a piano to me (and is awesome soloed), I have come to the conclusion that I like using the Dim Pro patches when other instruments are playing. The Emulator X sounds too dynamic in that type of context. It makes things a pain for someone inexperienced to make sound good with drums and guitars. The Dim Pro patches seem to "make sense" when other things are going on, giving what I would "expect" in a piano with other instruments playing. So my suggestion, give the Dim Pro samples a shot with a full mix playing back. Again, I'm not really good at this... so listen yourself :) BTW, I'm into heavy rock and metal (so distorted guitar sections and pianos fight for the audible spectrum). I can't say if this holds true in jazz/blue/anything else at this point. Eh, I'm questioning how helpful this is... those other plug-ins sound nice... but I need to stop buying stuff :)
|
jsaras
Max Output Level: -49 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2642
- Joined: 2003/12/07 10:40:00
- Location: Pasadena, CA-The Center of the Universe!
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 10:06:15
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: whitefalcon
You dont have to wait for it to load either...
Ivory is a hard drive killer, but with the latest rev of the plugin it actually loads faster than a 175 mb piano patch in Dimension. Whatever they're doing over there, they're doing it right :-)
|
samhoff
Max Output Level: -84 dBFS
- Total Posts : 304
- Joined: 2005/10/05 19:02:47
- Location: Sheridan, WY
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 12:46:10
(permalink)
I love my Art Vista VGP. I think $120 or so. You can hear clips at my soundclick site. For solo piano you can't beat it. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=440467 I have no interest financial or otherwise in these guys. But I love their piano sound for solo piano. What you're hearing on my site is "out of the box," no tweaking necessary. Sam
|
tdye
Max Output Level: -56 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1926
- Joined: 2007/04/21 12:13:37
- Location: Oklahoma, USA
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 13:13:42
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: samhoff
I love my Art Vista VGP. I think $120 or so. You can hear clips at my soundclick site. For solo piano you can't beat it.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=440467
I have no interest financial or otherwise in these guys. But I love their piano sound for solo piano. What you're hearing on my site is "out of the box," no tweaking necessary.
Sam
That's a very good sound. Nice music too. Does one need to buy the Kontakt Player too for this or does it come with the VGP?
|
Dr. Mac
Max Output Level: -78 dBFS
- Total Posts : 618
- Joined: 2006/07/19 22:50:18
- Location: Upstate New York
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 15:10:00
(permalink)
Just picked up TruePianos and have been playing the hell out of it. The most amazing piano sounds I have ever heard and I've been playing piano my whole life. Worth every penny of the $180. Others are much more expensive.
I tested it as a standalone and a plugin and there is no noticable latency and in Sonar 6, the plug uses about 3-4% of CPU while you are playing (but this depends on the internal settings of the plug).
RME FireFace 800, 3.4GHz quad-core AMD-64, 8 Gigs RAM Sonar X2a Producer, Fav. Plugs: Ozone 5 Advanced, Waves, Sonnox, Melodyne, Voxengo, SSL Native, Drumagog 5 Platinum
|
samhoff
Max Output Level: -84 dBFS
- Total Posts : 304
- Joined: 2005/10/05 19:02:47
- Location: Sheridan, WY
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/07 21:18:53
(permalink)
I did a Pepsi/Coke on the VGP vs. Truepianos on my system and it was a no brainer, VGP was the winner. However I realize these things are subjective. For a while I had the track posted at my Soundclick site just for people to hear it; if anyone wants it I'll do it again.
VGP comes with the Kontakt player, no other purchase required.
Sam
|
stuartr
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 60
- Joined: 2007/07/12 22:14:18
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/23 12:19:54
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: samhoff
I did a Pepsi/Coke on the VGP vs. Truepianos on my system and it was a no brainer, VGP was the winner. However I realize these things are subjective. For a while I had the track posted at my Soundclick site just for people to hear it; if anyone wants it I'll do it again.
VGP comes with the Kontakt player, no other purchase required.
Sam
And there will soon be this: http://www.garritan.com/steinway.html The Authorized Steinway Piano sample library is a new sample-based software instrument that accurately captures the sound of a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano. This new software instrument will allow the musician to play a virtual Steinway Model D concert piano with unprecedented authenticity and musicality. The library will offer more than seven different listening perspectives, including a player perspective from the bench, a classical recording perspective, an under the lid perspective, and a 5.1 surround sound hall perspective. Not many are aware that one of the greatest concert halls in the world is located in downtown Troy, New York. The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall is a National Treasure and is world-renowned for its acoustics, particularly for piano performances. Designed by George Brown Post, and opened in 1875, the 1,250 seat Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has hosted many of the world’s finest pianists including Steinway artists: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Myra Hess, and Artur Rubinstein, among many others. The wonderfully strong, rich and clear sound of this concert hall is unparalleled. Steinway & Sons provided one of their best concert technicians for the recording sessions. Eric Shandall, Administrator of Technical Training, attended all the sessions monitoring each note to ensure the best possible sound from the instrument. Eric Shandall has traveled extensively giving classes for technicians, and tuning for concerts by Steinway artists such as Evgeny Kissin and others. Classical recording engineer Brian C. Peters was in charge of recording. Peters brings over 18 years of classical recording experience – including over 400 records for the award-winning audiophile record label Dorian Records. Expected release is the Summer/Fall of 2007.
|
tdye
Max Output Level: -56 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1926
- Joined: 2007/04/21 12:13:37
- Location: Oklahoma, USA
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/23 12:49:38
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: stuartr
And there will soon be this:
http://www.garritan.com/steinway.html
The Authorized Steinway Piano sample library is a new sample-based software instrument that accurately captures the sound of a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano. This new software instrument will allow the musician to play a virtual Steinway Model D concert piano with unprecedented authenticity and musicality. The library will offer more than seven different listening perspectives, including a player perspective from the bench, a classical recording perspective, an under the lid perspective, and a 5.1 surround sound hall perspective.
I'm looking forward to hearing this sample library. I love the Steinway sound as I'm sure many do. How many different velocity samples will it have? Will it include individual samples of all 88 keys, or just 3rd, 4th? Will it have sustain simulation or sample? Damper? How many GB?
|
taurusthecat
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 52
- Joined: 2007/05/30 09:50:04
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/25 08:21:31
(permalink)
I'll put in my 2 cents as well. I'm only reasonably new to using Dim Pro, but I too was a bit disappointed in the piano sounds, and being a pianist of over 30 years I'm sort of used to what the real ones sound like. But what I was disappointed in was not so much the very high end of the samples or the very low end, they both sounded amazing, it was really the middle to upper-middle range which to me sounded fake. Where a lot of the melody can be. The two Dim Pro pianos I like the most are the 'tiny but bright' and the 'Upright model', they both sound more real to me than any of the grand piano samples.
post edited by taurusthecat - 2007/07/25 09:10:36
I'm like fake fruit...... I don't bruise that easy......
|
Roel de Witt
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 73
- Joined: 2007/01/20 09:54:55
- Status: offline
RE: Great piano sounds?
2007/07/26 23:05:54
(permalink)
Hi, ORIGINAL: stuartr
And there will soon be this:
http://www.garritan.com/steinway.html
<cut>
Expected release is the Summer/Fall of 2007. I know I'm not objective here but.. There was a time about 1.5 year ago when it said "coming spring 2006". So to me it feels more like serious hyping and vapor ware. When released, no doubt it'll be a successful seller though. No matter the quality, the marketing has done it's job over this huge period. --- Roel / 4Front Technologies
post edited by Roel de Witt - 2007/07/26 23:15:49
|