How does True Piano compare to other piano vst's like Alicia Keys

For AK there's some discussion here:

http://www.gearslutz.com/...alicia-keys-piano.html

Yea, I noticed the lack of dynamics in TP, but I still like the general sound of the pianos. (I don't know why)

Hi 1yola,

I have a few of the more ''expensive'' ones and while they sound much better than True Piano when played alone, I use True Piano when I have other intruments involved. Its weakness is actually its strength. The fact that it lacks dynamics makes it sit in a complexe mix with a lot of ease. Its pristine and crystal clear sound is actually ideal in such a context with almost no eq'ing needed. Hope this helps!

I haven't listened to the AK piano (since I'm afraid I'll like it, but I can't afford it!). I have the full True Pianos, but I still prefer my Motif 6 (Classic) piano sounds to any softsynth I've heard so far. So there!

-Susan

I want to thank you for starting this thread! Please disregard some of my negative posts as I obviously haven't learned enough about the plug (er, I'm feeling pretty sonar deficient today :lol: )

Lovely control can be had after a the options changes (which I knew of) and the advanced interface (which I had not noticed) :sigh:

Removed by author. 

I don't have experience with TP, but so far I'm enjoying Alicia's Keys. I think it's really strong on softer material. I don't know if this makes any sense, but I feel like it's ultra responsive at lower velocities, but quickly 'tops out' with no place to go for louder passages. I know there are meant to be quite a number of velocity layers, but I'm not really picking up on them.

I wouldn't want it to be the only piano VI I had, but I'm glad it's one that I have in my library, especially for under $100. Pianoteq will be my next stop when I can find the money!

I'll be following this thread hoping people who own both can chime in.

This post, parametrised to 'how does piano x compare with pianos p,q,r and z' ought to become a FAQ, I think.

My 10c worth.

(a) All the modelled pianos sound a little 'plasticky' to my ears, as if the piano itself wasn't made out of real wood. Hard to exactly explain but I think the little thumps and resonances and so on from a real piano are an important part of what makes it sound 'real'. Unfortunately, captured in a sample set, these quirks can become irritating since most sample sets don't have 'round robin' samples and therefore although there are multiple velocity levels, each repeated note is essentially the same note. Unfortunately, capturing a sampled piano with, say, 5 round-robin samples per note X 16 velocity levels X 88 keys is one heck of a sample set, and so although in these days of multi-gigabyte machines, that's not a problem, what IS a problem is the huge load time, unless using disk streaming, and the problem with THAT is that it can be, to say the least, somewhat quirky and particularly under high polyphony loads. And the problem with pianos, is that the player can make demands, with rapid passages and block chords, that make direct from disk streaming quite demanding, although it certainly can be done.

(b) If you just want a piano part to blend with a mix, then any of the modelled pianos are fine, and they have the great advantage of loading extremely quickly. If you are playing an exposed part then you may either want some 'character' to the sound e.g sometimes the intimacy and slight intonation errors of an upright piano add immense charm. Or if you are a classical player and want to replicate a grand piano, then you will certainly be looking for authenticity. I'm not absolutely convinced that all the work that's been done to add sympathetic resonance and pedal release samples in sample sets actually works that well, because in most cases, as I said, its the same sample being played for every note. This actually ends up sounding more fake than not having the effect at all, in my opinion.

(c) If you're not sure and you're on a budget, my strong recommendation is to go to  http://www.sampletekk.com...ts.php?cat=44&pg=2 and look at these low-cost PMI sample sets. They SHOULD work with the free Kontakt 4 player, I think - although I am still using the very old Kompakt sample player from NI with them. The Bosendorfer 290 is my 'go to' piano but each of them has a unique sound. At 50 bucks each they are a good way of acquiring a decent set of well-sampled pianos. Also you get the WAV files for each sample,they're not protected in any way so you can do all sorts of interesting things with the raw samples, should you be so inclined.

sorry - forgot to add that you can reduce load time with these large PMI sample sets by simply using the (free) R8Brain sample-rate convertor software to resample at 44.1KHz/16 bits. This considerably reduces the sample set size. However the audible effect is insignificant. I simply cannot hear the difference, and even trying the old 'phase invert' trick and recording a note at 24 bit resolution and then cancelling it out with a 16 bit recorded copy, leaves the difference signal somewhere WAY down in the noise level. Sampled instruments don't need 24 bit resolution; that's only important when RECORDING so you get the headroom, but if the samples are already recorded, headroom isn't an issue, they've already been normalised.

I agree with Susan about the Motif.  I have TP full version and I like it a lot (especially how little horsepower it takes) - but I'm using a motif as my controller anyway (have both the classic and the ES) and the built in piano is what I usually end up using instead of TP - unless the part calls for Ivory.
 
And, BTW, the Motif piano sounds awful in mono just like TP does.  For recording I always go stereo.  But for live performing it is too much to haul two amps (and very few sound guys will give me stereo to the mains) --- so I just end up using Rhodes or wurly instead of accoustic piano since it's gonna sound fake in mono.    So what grand piano sounds good in mono?  I'd love to have a great sounding grand I could use live in mono.

True Pianos is a modeled piano, not a sampled piano. I don't know how AK piano was done. 

*** OLD THREAD ALERT ***
 
And, FWIW, I'm not totally keen on TP, even after tweaking it