Ravenscroft 275 on special till 31st December.

[Chris Towns]

Hi,

Just found V1 LABS have reduced the prices on all their sampled pianos for Christmas. My sons are covering the $139 cost of the Ravenscroft 275. Cool present !!

It's the first software based piano for me, so really looking forward to getting it up and running. The Youtube videos sound amazing. A very good deal ($60) off, so hopefully one or two other Forum members might take up the offer.

Chris

[LX88]

I would lpve to have it, but because my computer skills are severely limited I doubt that I can make it happen.

 

My current controller would be a Yamaha P120 with no USB interface.... another factor. I have yet to get into software sounds because of nebulous installation instructions etc. I am not tech savvy at all - nor is anyone else I know BTW.

[Steve Nathan]

Well, it's no secret around here....

I heartily endorse the Ravenscroft piano library.

[vanderSchoot]

Well, it's no secret around here....

I heartily endorse the Ravenscroft piano library.

I feel a bit tempted, I only have Garritan CFX and i am extremely happy with it.

But there seems to be some great other flavors out there right now.

C.Bechstein vst, Ravenscroft, Hammersmith and Mercury all have my attention.

I don't need any of them, i just want another flavour besides the Garritan.

I have narrowed it down to the four contenders above. Difficult to pick just ONE.....

[ElmerJFudd]

Vanderschoot, have to installed the 1.09 update for Garritan CFX?

https://store.makemusic.com/Downloads/Default.aspx?p=1

[chas50]

my humble opinions on the matter.

madly love CFX.

also, Ravenscroft is incredibly awesome too.

read about Hammersmith for hours.

not pulling the trigger after reading some stuff that well, made me quite hesitant.

truth be told, I could be happy with CFX and Ravenscroft. period.

highly recommend both.

now.

I mean, what are you waiting for? Christmas?

 

and Elmer, I have installed the CFX update. major love city. awesome to the max.

[Stokely]

I picked up the Addictive Keys bundle. I really needed a grand, but thought I could use the upright...then the CP70 (or 80?) was only 10 bucks more. So three different keys for $70 or so when they were on sale. They sound very nice but I expect Ravenscroft is a bit of a step up. When/if I upgrade my computer I might consider a higher-end piano but for now I'm happy with Addictive Keys.

[AnotherScott]

My current controller would be a Yamaha P120 with no USB interface.... another factor.

Not a factor at all. Roland UM-One, or iConnectivity MIO, or Yamaha UX16, whatever.

[Analogaddict]

I have the 275 in my Receptor. Love it!!!

[vanderSchoot]

Vanderschoot, have to installed the 1.09 update for Garritan CFX?

https://store.makemusic.com/Downloads/Default.aspx?p=1

Yes i did.... it is almost flawless now

[vanderSchoot]

my humble opinions on the matter.

madly love CFX.

also, Ravenscroft is incredibly awesome too.

read about Hammersmith for hours.

not pulling the trigger after reading some stuff that well, made me quite hesitant.

truth be told, I could be happy with CFX and Ravenscroft. period.

highly recommend both.

now.

I mean, what are you waiting for? Christmas?

 

and Elmer, I have installed the CFX update. major love city. awesome to the max.

Ah thanks..... how would you describe the overall vibe/sound of the Ravenscroft ?

 

I have created my own RECORDING sound on the Garritan that is very different from what i first heard from it on youtube and soundcloud examples.

The close mikes open from the players perspective and the ambient/ear position ones 3/4 open untill i hear a natural, warm , crystal clear and intimite ambience And of course calibrated eq and other settings to my liking.

This is a sound that could be more in Ravenscroft territory... i want something really different.

 

How would you describe the Ravenscroft ?

[chas50]

glad to tell you my thoughts.

first off, know that I am an amateur. I am an expert at nothing.

next, I play with headphones on. never with speakers.

next, not sure about how it records or sounds in a mix. my guess would be excellent. I have recorded it alone. but, I have not focused on the results enough to give you a good answer for that. these days, I really just play for fun.

now I have certainly been on a grail search for the most awesome piano vst.

I love CFX!!

I bought Ravenscroft when it came out. and had problems with clicks, and dropouts and all that.

works much better now.

I must not forget to mention, that the headphones play an important role. also, I find that I definitely need a headphone amplifier, to get enough volume for any of the vst's to sound good.

as for Ravenscroft's sound and playability?

off the charts phenomenal.

I have been using it with the Close and Player mics.

I really like it alot. very pretty.

rich. some sparkle and some bite.

beautiful lower octaves. solid and detailed. sweet timbre.

beautiful throughout the mids and highs.

I was disappointed for a long time.

but now I think I get that none of these are perfect.

but I like some of them better than others.

like Ravenscroft, for example.

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

edit: just did some comparing.

for my tastes, Garritan CFX is the best. thats my tastes. mine. your tastes my be different. just sayin'.

[sMatt]

I feel old fashioned saying this but I continue to love Ivory

[chas50]

thats awesome. good for you.

I have a friend who has told me many times that Ivory ACD is his favorite.

[WheelHead]

thats awesome. good for you.

I have a friend who has told me many times that Ivory ACD is his favorite.

 

I was at a Guitar Center not long ago and they had reps in a booth playing the Ivory

ACD and all said that it was the best piano they have put together in the audio booth of many software pianos. (their opinion, and better than any of the hardware pianos)

 

I have Ivory 2 but not the ACD, perhaps soon

 

I will mention, not to be a 'fly in the ointment', that I would not spend a nickel (and this is me and perhaps to my detriment) and purchase another Garritan piano again after my Authorized Steinway experience that I paid 399 for. It needed fixing and in the 'authorized' forum they had a developer (one) who promised a new version update and he was working on it. Posting once in a while, this went on for a year or year and a half.... or perhaps more

 

They did remove a chair sound or knock of a chair from one of the samples, earlier on, that someone caught, with an overwrite in a sample folder

 

Never happened (release of their update)

 

 

WH

[chas50]

roger that.

I just recently got CFX.

I read the same kind of thing about Garritan promising to update CFX with half pedaling. but never doing it.

and then.......they did it.

and also, I just played Ravenscroft again.

alright, its just phenomenal.

it is madly good.

highly highly recommend.

[allan_evett]

I picked up the VI Labs Ravenscroft 275 about two weeks ago. While I'll continue to use Ivory 2 ACD for its particular 'color', the Ravenscroft has a much more versatile tone and playability, to my ears. I have a Kawai upright at home, and use a Kawai grand on my church gig. The Ravenscroft has a feel and sound that's closer to the acoustic piano experience - more 'jumpy' and startling when I need it to be, yet gentle and dynamic on ballads. Ivory 2 ACD has a more processed, 'produced' sound right from the box; but sometimes it's just too polite. I can get it 'rock' a little more by scooping mids in the low 400's, along with other processing in Logic Pro X. But for modern country and rock, and really most anything, the Ravenscroft is the winner.

[WheelHead]

I feel old fashioned saying this but I continue to love Ivory

 

Yes I still use it too but oddly after being real fond of the Steinway sample set, I seem to really like the C7 Grand (I wonder at times if my 'ear' changes - because sometimes I think Pianoteq (Pro version) is 'it' - now I am playing the Ivory 2 C7 and really liking it better than the others.)

 

This has been an frustration of mine as my opinion changes and I can't nail something as 'this is the goods' because it will sound different on another day with the same

audio chain and something else will sound better

 

WH

[Mark Schmieder]

I feel the Ravenscroft is the most versatile of all pianos. I don't use it for everything, but that's just because I have an established workflow with other products and already know how to quickly get the sound I'm looking for, so I mostly pull out Ravenscroft when others frustrate me.

 

What I find is that it can be assertive or passive, with powerful note attack that doesn't get brittle or brash or overly bright. It has some things in common with Fazioli in terms of extended dynamic range, but is a bit darker in timbre overall (though miking can change this as well).

 

As I've switched back to rock songs this past week and am therefore mostly using Yamahas at the moment, I'll have to return to this thread later with more detailed observations, after reviewing the jazz songs that I did on the Ravenscroft.

[chas50]

I am ecstatic about Ravenscroft.

it is positively sublime.

its heaven to play.

[Mark Schmieder]

I'm not focusing on my jazz project at the moment -- it's all done except for final takes of the horn overdubs -- but brought up my synth-pop project again tonight and forgot that I had used Ravenscroft 275 on this one soulful ballad.

 

Absolutely haunting. It's mostly ppp to mp, with some mf in the middle, and lots of pedaling. I really don't think anyone would be able to tell that it's a sample library recording -- it's that real.

 

So I can definitely say that Ravenscroft takes the best to subtle and quiet playing, with pulsing pedaling on held chords and the like, of any piano source that I own in the virtual world.

[vanderSchoot]

glad to tell you my thoughts.

first off, know that I am an amateur. I am an expert at nothing.

next, I play with headphones on. never with speakers.

next, not sure about how it records or sounds in a mix. my guess would be excellent. I have recorded it alone. but, I have not focused on the results enough to give you a good answer for that. these days, I really just play for fun.

now I have certainly been on a grail search for the most awesome piano vst.

I love CFX!!

I bought Ravenscroft when it came out. and had problems with clicks, and dropouts and all that.

works much better now.

I must not forget to mention, that the headphones play an important role. also, I find that I definitely need a headphone amplifier, to get enough volume for any of the vst's to sound good.

as for Ravenscroft's sound and playability?

off the charts phenomenal.

I have been using it with the Close and Player mics.

I really like it alot. very pretty.

rich. some sparkle and some bite.

beautiful lower octaves. solid and detailed. sweet timbre.

beautiful throughout the mids and highs.

I was disappointed for a long time.

but now I think I get that none of these are perfect.

but I like some of them better than others.

like Ravenscroft, for example.

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

edit: just did some comparing.

for my tastes, Garritan CFX is the best. thats my tastes. mine. your tastes my be different. just sayin'.

Ah thanks !!!! I use my vst's with headphones too .... primarily for enjoyment as a player just like you. The recording purposes are limited, but need to be pristine , because in a friend's studio we can glue and finalise all tracks together.

I have an RME sound card and outputs so the soundquality is very good.

 

I wanted My Piano from FluffyAudio, because it is the most haunting upright sound i ever came accross in my search for unique sounding piano vst's. But it requires the full version of Kontakt and i don't want tons of vst's to justify the full version of Kontakt. Enough stand alone and Kontakt player options around. Only regret..... no "my piano/ FluffyAudio" and the breathtaking Elya Efimov guitar libraries, because both need the full version of Kontakt.

 

I still don't think the Ravenscroft is truly the sound i want......,, the Hammersmith and the Mercury seem more attractive for some weird unfounded reason.

Mark Schmieder's highly rated comments are very tempting ..... it is just that i have never come accross any sound example of the Ravenscroft that made me want it ! CFX did from the very first 'making of' video i watched....... so did the Hammersmith, My Piano and to a lesser extent Mercury ( a mixed bag)

 

I never truly warmed for Ivory and i thought Ivory1 was nothing more than mediocre.

Then i got to play the American Grand on a VPC1 through quality Grado headphones.

It was nice indeed but not superb and not the same level of warmth and character as what the CFX provides.

 

Could you provide me with a sound example of the Ravenscroft that highlights it's sound ?

I know you have tons of options to change it's sound etc. and the limitations of Youtube and soundcloud........but i have never personally heard something that sounded fantastic 'live', but underwhelming on youtube. I have experienced it the other way around many times though......

[chas50]

ah, awesome. all you said.

very interesting.

I have an RME Babyface.

update would be:

I am pretty much ecstatic over CFX and Ravenscroft.

I like both of them THAT much.

really wish I could try the Hammersmith before buying.

I will be glad to make a recording.

PM me your email address.

[Steve Nathan]

really wish I could try the Hammersmith before buying.

 

I don't think anyone would be disappointed by the Hammersmith, other than it does need some serious CPU juice to run optimally.

It is imho a beautiful but less versatile choice than the Ravenscroft. I use it for certain recordings, but have found that 99.9% of the time, I can get what I want from the Ravenscroft. It is much more capable of "sitting down into a mix", "holding it's own in a more complex mix", sounding bright and powerful, dark and contemplative, Rock aggressively or lay down unobtrusively.

I own so many but it remains my favorite. How lucky we are to live in a world where there are so many choices.

[chas50]

thank you so much for that Steve.

I agree 100 % with you. we are indeed so lucky to have all these excellent choices.

your words about the Hammersmith have me champing at the bit again to get it.

what to do, what to do.

oh bother.

[vanderSchoot]

ah, awesome. all you said.

very interesting.

I have an RME Babyface.

update would be:

I am pretty much ecstatic over CFX and Ravenscroft.

I like both of them THAT much.

really wish I could try the Hammersmith before buying.

I will be glad to make a recording.

PM me your email address.

Thanks...i think i am more or less convinced about the Ravenscroft

[chas50]

Steve,

does Hammersmith's lack of half pedaling and re-pedaling bother you?

I know that Keyscape's lack of such does bother me.

that said, I really like Keyscape. I am liking its LA Custom piano more now too.

[vanderSchoot]

Steve,

does Hammersmith's lack of half pedaling and re-pedaling bother you?

I know that Keyscape's lack of such does bother me.

that said, I really like Keyscape. I am liking its LA Custom piano more now too.

Hi chas i was unable to PM you, because you seem to be over the PM limit.

Do you by chance have a promo code/discount voucher that you don't need yourself ? Was willing to pull the plug, but every reduction is of course wellcome....

 

Thanks anyway !!!

 

[chas50]

hmm,

ok I will try to PM you.

(I don't have any discounts.)

[chas50]

just PM'ed you.

got this message:

This user is over their Private Topic limit

 

ok, I see you have a home page. something about guitar stands maybe.

anyway, there's an email address there. sales@ something or other....

should I email it there?