konradh
Synthogy is still the top of the line for me and many people.  There are some equal, but I don't know of any better.  I have Ivory II Grand Pianos which includes three different pianos for about $329.  Ivory II American D for about $189 is a Steinway only.
 
My Ivory II Grand Pianos Steinway sounds so real I can smell the wood and felt.
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=ivory+II&Go=Search
 
There are a couple of new huge piano sample libraries out there but I am not convinced they are better.
 
It is funny how spoiled we have all gotten.  Most real pianos in the world don't sound as good as some of the less expensive sample libraries like True Pianos, and the real ones are always going out of tune, have to have mics placed perfectly, etc.

You are right about how nice the sample libraries are these days for pianos.  I have pianos with every note sampled for 30 seconds, which also gives me all the natural overtones - FABULOUS.
 
I just wanted to add though that I am about 2 weeks away from having a 1994 Kawai grand piano delivered - it is a gift to me from my mom.  It is an absolutely beautiful MAHOGANY wood piano in mint condition.  As much as I love recording with the sampled pianos, there is NOTHING like the tactile feel and sound of a real grand piano.
 
My son is about 3 months away from finishing getting audio engineer certifications for music and film, and when we upgrade his current home-based studio to a full-fledged purpose-built facility, I am going to donate that grand piano to him, for his brand new studio.  He's earned it, maintaining a 95% grade for about 1000 hours of training, and while he was still 18 he already got audio engineering credit for 2 album drops, AND got to play guitar for a giant festival in DC where there were 40+ bands on 5 stages over 2 days and over a half million folks attending.
 
Bob Bone
 

brundlefly
My take is that Addictive Keys is easier to fit into a mix, but TruePianos has a more full-bodied, resonant sound that makes it a better solo instrument and more responsive in live performance.

Very good point.
 
Which piano to use? This TOTALLY depends on the application/project you want it to fit into.
 
Would you use a faithfully modelled/sampled concert grand to fit into a busy pop mix? Not likely is it.

Dave King
Hi Tom,
 
Yes, I have the full version of TP.  I prefer the Amber module over all the others.  But from what I heard in demos, the Addictive Keys Grand sounds more convincing.  Thanks.

That's cool everyone has their taste. I generally don't like Amber at all. :-)
 

I use all four of the Addictive Keys products, but if I had to choose just one it would be the Grands, they are all so very versatile, and the sounds is truly amazing. and yes, it fits so well into the mix. Definitely a recommend from here!

Other than the content included in Splat, Sample Tank,  and my wife's Yamaha Clavinova, I have not tried a lot of software based pianos. And as primarily a guitar player, I don't claim to be an expert. And there really is "no accounting for taste".
 
That said, I really like this one:
http://www.acoustica.com/pianissimo/  It sounds very realistic to me, and it's inexpensive, under $70. Also there is a free demo, so nothing to lose by trying it.
 
The true pianos plug included in Sonar sounds a bit tinny by comparison. 
 
The only real disadvantage in my view is that Pianissimo is 32 bit when used outside of Mixcraft as the host.  (within Mixcraft it is 64 bit) Hopefully they will correct this some day.
 
I generally run everything at 64 bit, and this is one of two plugs that I think enough of to keep around at 32 bit. 

Tom Riggs
True Pianos is not a sample library. It is a modeled. I have the full version of TP and have been using the beta version of the Atlantis module and it sounds much more realistic than any of the other TP modules. It a preview of the True Pianos 2 version that is still in development....and has been for a long time.
 
If you own the full version of TP and you have not tried the Atlantis module yet you really should.
 
I'm sure that others that are mentioned are very good but I don't own them so I can't say.
 

 
I agree with Tom. I also bought the full version of True Piano a few years back and it's become my go-to piano sound. Bear in mind, I'm a guitarist not a keyboard player and piano tends to take a supporting role in my music. I'm just able to get TP to sit in the mix the way I want it to. I'm sure that if piano were my main instrument, TP wouldn't cut it and I would gravitate towards one of the sampled instruments mentioned here.
 
Hope you find what you're looking for!

Dave KingI've been using TruePianos for years and have been happy with it, but I've been away from recording for a while and wonder if there are other better options nowadays for affordable, "real" sounding piano soft synths.  What are you using now and what would you recommend?  Thanks!

I like Pianoteq. https://pianoteq.com/

konradh
Synthogy is still the top of the line for me and many people.  There are some equal, but I don't know of any better.  I have Ivory II Grand Pianos which includes three different pianos for about $329.  Ivory II American D for about $189 is a Steinway only.
 
My Ivory II Grand Pianos Steinway sounds so real I can smell the wood and felt.
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=ivory+II&Go=Search....
 

 
The turn off for me was "iLok required". Deal breaker for me...
 
Walt

Dave King
Hmm...  So which one to get?  The Studio Grand or the Upright?

Dave,
 
The Addictive Keys Trio Bundle for $179.00 provides you with three types of pianos to choose from out of the four available.  
 
i have the Studio Grand, Electric Grand and the Mark One.   I love using all three.
 
Peace
 

For quite a while my gotos have been Sampletekk's "Black Grand" for grand piano and "Rain" for a more honky upright. Both require the full version of Kontakt.
 
I have recently be impressed with EastWest pianos gold which I have as part of the Composer Cloud subscription. These sound really nice.
 
Native Instruments Definative Piano Collection is nice too and it gets you on the upgrade path to Kontakt or Komplete