TrueKeys on sale: $99.99

[zephonic]

If you don't already own it, at $99.99 this is a no-brainer purchase. And yes, I already did.

 

https://audioplugin.deals/?gclid=COq_26zW49ECFQ-dfgod4QoMXg

 

You still have twelve days!

[RoadHousePiano]

This is funny, I was literally just about to make a "should I get this" post. Over the holiday I went on a bit of a VST binge so I already have Pianoteq, NI Grandeur and Mavericks, and The Hammersmith. But $99 really is too good to pass up it seems. Are you enjoying it?

[zephonic]

Yeah, for a bill you can't go wrong with it.

 

First impression is very good, although it felt a little lean on the bottom, initially. Italian is bright, American is medium, and German is dark. The different mic positions are cool, too, but I like 'player' perspective the best. All in all, it is a quality product.

 

But I'll say Grandeur can hold its own! NI did a great job on that one. It really comes down to taste or what is needed for the song.

 

I also have Galaxy Vintage D, Piano In Blue, and the old Garritan Steinway Basic. None of those are in the same league.

[Doerfler]

I hear you, Menno, still on the fence, though. I'm most interested in the Bechstein, that might get me over the fact that I don't need any more VSTi's. When will it end?

[Mark Schmieder]

Interesting; I MUCH prefer Galaxy Vintage D over True Keys American, but I'll take True Keys Italian any day over any of the other Fazioli offerings on the market (and I own most of them). Not as big a fan of Bechstein as I have trouble making it sit in the mix; OK for soloing though.

 

This is a bargain at $99 for the Fazioli alone. But keep your eye out for sales on the Ravenscroft as that's the cream of the crop.

[RoadHousePiano]

I'm sure I'll end up pulling the trigger on this. I keep telling myself that it's cheaper than buying a new Nord but at some point I'll probably have spend enough on VSTs that I could have sprung for one. I really like The Hammersmith but I'm having trouble playing it without any snap crackle and pops unless I go beyond a 128 buffer. Even in Gigperformer which I'm finding runs a lot leaner than Mainstage. D4 and Bluethner in Pianoteq are really great, very responsive. And I agree that Grandeur is really strong.

[midinut]

Sometimes I hate you guys (jk). I already have Ravenscroft ... not sure I really need the other 3 but what a deal, huh?

[zephonic]

Interesting; I MUCH prefer Galaxy Vintage D over True Keys American, but I'll take True Keys Italian any day over any of the other Fazioli offerings on the market (and I own most of them). Not as big a fan of Bechstein as I have trouble making it sit in the mix; OK for soloing though.

 

This is a bargain at $99 for the Fazioli alone. But keep your eye out for sales on the Ravenscroft as that's the cream of the crop.

 

Yeah, I played the Ravenscroft at NAMM two years ago and it was fantastic. But that was on a Kawai VPC with Focal monitors and subs, which helped a lot, of course.

 

The Galaxy Vintage D has a nice tone, but it won't let me just play. I always feel like I have to tweak it first, because it never responds the way I want it to. I've tried, but I'm just not connecting to it. To me, it's not a players' instrument.

 

That's what I like about NI's Grandeur and TrueKeys: I don't need to think about it or tweak a lot, I load them and start playing, job done.

 

At first, I felt TrueKeys lacked bottom end, but I got used to it, and its strengths more than make up for it. It's dynamic, has personality, and runs very efficient.

 

[vanderSchoot]

Mmmmm since i only recently joined the piano vst club, i can say that the extremely diverse forum opinions about all current vst's are overwhelming but also helpfull when you want to dig in.

The pianoteq croud and to some extent the ''ivory'' croud were the loudest of the bunch.

''you can't beat pianoteq for playabilty'', '' it is so much more playable than everything else''....

Hahahahaha i don't need/want better playabilty from my Kawai master keyboard than the best sampled vst's....i don't understand how people can make up such nonsense while triggering their pianoteq from a Casio, NI controler or some other inferiour non ''Kawai'' keybeds.

I can understand that Pianoteq does play much better from those inferiour keybeds than your average sample vst.

 

I have bought the Garritan CFX and the Hammersmith (both full versions) and like them both very much.....no complaints.

 

This true keys looks very tempting, but it seems to me i will not gain anything than a different piano flavour, but not on the level as the ones i allready own.

Is this the wrong prejudice ?? Please comment...

 

I am very curious about the new studio grands from ivory,.....not cheap but two of my favourite models.

 

 

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

Different pianos. I work in every genre you could ever think of (or see listed) so need a wider tonal palette than most people.

 

Some stuff calls for Yamaha, others for Steinway, Fazioli, Ravenscroft, etc. But I feel Ravenscroft is the most versatile of all; I could make it work on anything.

 

A friend says he is convinced the three True Keys are the same sample set (with the Bechstein as the source), with different modeling and processing to make them sound different. I'm not at home so can't check my user manual, but I guess it would be "telling" if they don't list the source for the samples.

 

Some don't care, as they're fine with modeling or hybrid sampling/modeling. But as competitor True Pianos boldly announces their hybrid approach, I'd be surprised if VI Labs decided to "hide" the approach they took for True Keys.

 

I exclusively used Pianoteq for years, and though it continues to improve, I am finding more and more that the sampling world has caught up and that I only get my best results from Pianoteq about 60% of the time now instead of 95% like before.

 

It's been a few years since I've had a weighted keyboard; I sold my Kurzweil PC3X and never got around to buying a Digital Piano (my original plan). So I am exclusively tweaking, generating, and recording MIDI piano at the moment. I have so many years worth of backlogged material that it keeps me busy for now. :-)

 

Having tried live playing with semi-weighted keyboards though, I can definitely agree with the statement that Galaxy Vintage D isn't a live library like True Keys or Pianoteq.

 

At this particular moment, I don't care, as I have temporarily withdrawn from generating new piano tracks via keyboard entry on a weighted keyboard. Like I said, I'm busy finalizing eight albums worth of delayed material. And I don't play keyboards live anymore like I did for years; only bass and clarinet.

 

So, it is worth considering one's needs as driving piano library choices, beyond just the sound. And while that will be subjective, real-world feedback from players -- especially ones with good controllers -- is invaluable.

[Dave Osoff]

I finally bought the Ravenscroft for myself over the holidays and I adore it. But this is a tempting deal. I wouldn't mind having that Fazioli - The only other Fazioli I own is the Imperfect Samples library.

[mcgoo]

I just pulled the trigger on TrueKeys yesterday. Well worth the buck! My previous library was the ageing Ivory (version 1, not 2). The difference is playability / response is pretty extreme.

 

I personally find myself really drawn to the Steinway. I like the Bechstein and am ok with the Fazioli, but the Steinway just seems to take me into uncharted territory where I don't want to stop playing. It's funny because I tend to like brighter pianos, but the Steinway is the darkest of the 3 & the Fazioli is the brightest. Go figure! Whatever your preferences are, I give this a pretty big in the value department!

 

Oh... and many thanks to Zephonic for the heads up on the sale!

[RoadHousePiano]

I pulled the trigger as well but I'm having a problem installing it on my macbook. Has anyone else had any issues? I currently have an email in to Vilabs but hoping that someone might have some infight. When I click on the installer, I get a rather small VI Labs window with no clickable qualities.

[KeysPlz]

How does this compare to Keyscape? (Beyond the obvious price difference)

 

https://www.spectrasonics.net/products/keyscape/index.php

[mcgoo]

How does this compare to Keyscape? (Beyond the obvious price difference)

 

2 different animals. Best advice would be to get both.

[KeysPlz]

How does this compare to Keyscape? (Beyond the obvious price difference)

 

2 different animals. Best advice would be to get both.

 

Mcgoo - How do you use them differently? (I'm a newbie to the keys software)

[mcgoo]

I don't have Keyscape yet, but I will soon. TrueKeys is a piano library, giving you 3 different grand pianos- Steinway, Bechstein & Fazioli. Keyscape is a keyboard library, giving many authentic and alternate reality versions of many unique, rare & interesting keyboards. It has a Yamaha grand in its library, but it's not a grand piano library per se. So, they're really not in competition with each other, unless you really want what it offers but can't afford both libraries. A quick listen to available demos on each will answer your question more thoroughly.

 

 

[LX88]

I am probably going to go for this deal.

 

I am going to have one of my music students help me load it.

 

Two questions. Since they are selling 3 pianos, does that mean you can have them on separate computers?

 

Also ... my controller will be a Yamaha P120. There is no USB out on it. What will I need to adapt the computer to midi?

 

If I pull it off it will be my first software sound set. Hopefully its better than buying new keyboards for home use.

[shoe5442]

I just installed this. TrueKeys uses iLok (no dongle). You will be able to register the SW on up to three computers at one time (The SW is tied to the hard drives). You can un-register from one computer and move it to another.

 

If you search on "MIDI to USB", you will find many adapters to choose from. I think I paid $12 for one from Amazon. Works great.

[Werno]

I just installed this. TrueKeys uses iLok (no dongle). You will be able to register the SW on up to three computers at one time (The SW is tied to the hard drives). You can un-register from one computer and move it to another.

 

I pulled the trigger and downloaded it but I'm still working up the neurons to attempt to install it. After trying in vain to figure out from the documentation whether I'd need to get an iLok dongle to run it, I went back to this thread where shoe5442 was kind enough to answer my question. Thanks. All I have to do now is remember the iLok password I set up over a week ago...

 

 

[Markyboard]

A friend says he is convinced the three True Keys are the same sample set (with the Bechstein as the source), with different modeling and processing to make them sound different. I'm not at home so can't check my user manual, but I guess it would be "telling" if they don't list the source for the samples.

 

I was chasing down something yesterday and I'm now also convinced.

[BenWaB3]

I tried buying it with over an hour left on their countdown clock but it took me to a different page for strings & wouldn't let me get back to the TruKeys page. I emailed them & they replied that the sale ended at midnight EST but it was before that that I tried to buy it.

[zephonic]

A friend says he is convinced the three True Keys are the same sample set (with the Bechstein as the source), with different modeling and processing to make them sound different. I'm not at home so can't check my user manual, but I guess it would be "telling" if they don't list the source for the samples.

 

I was chasing down something yesterday and I'm now also convinced.

 

 

Why?

 

If it is indeed just one piano, their literature is extremely misleading (not to say outright false).

True Keys manual

[burningbusch]

A friend says he is convinced the three True Keys are the same sample set (with the Bechstein as the source), with different modeling and processing to make them sound different. I'm not at home so can't check my user manual, but I guess it would be "telling" if they don't list the source for the samples.

 

I was chasing down something yesterday and I'm now also convinced.

 

 

Why?

 

If it is indeed just one piano, their literature is extremely misleading (not to say outright false).

True Keys manual

 

I'm not buying into this at all. You can clearly hear sizable differences in the harmonic output of the same note on the different pianos. There are differences in the decay length and shape. Probably most telling is that you can easily detect differences in the tightness of the unison tuning. How do you artificially vary the unison tuning of an acoustic piano sample? If you want to look at the individual samples, load them up in Mach Five 3 and compare in detail. VILabs states the pianos are entirely sample based. The German .ufs is 18.15GB, the American 21.01GB and the Italian 23.99GB. Play a chord on the Fazioli and you'll hear the distinct clarity known to that brand where as the Steinway is much more resonant.

 

Busch.

[zephonic]

I concur.

 

But I'm curious to know what convinced Markyboard otherwise.

[Markyboard]

I contacted VI Labs today and they responded back almost immediately . They requested a sound file of what I'm hearing. They said no one else has reported this and it got me thinking that surely I would have noticed this early on (I've had TK for about 3 years). They also stated that all 3 grands use unique sample sets as stated in the literature. I believe them. Something else is going on causing these artifacts to show up in all 3 grands prominently on the same keys. But damn if I can figure it out- there really are not that many settings and all the effects are off/bypassed. Maybe something in Reaper although Ivory II is fine.

 

True Keys Ping

 

 

[Markyboard]

 

I'm not buying into this at all.

 

Nor should you - thanks for keeping me in check . Here's the email I just sent to VI Labs:

 

Greetings Arnaud-

 

With a fresh set of ears this morning Im backing off my claim that the artifacts evident (hopefully) in the Italian Grand are also present in the German and American pianos. Attached is a sample of the Italian followed by the German and then the American grand. While there is still a slight bit of ping present on and around the notes mentioned it does not resemble that of the Italian. In fact I can hear a bit of this in the Ivory II American piano as well. I assume this is simply a function of the microphone(s) picking up this particular harmonic.

 

To be honest I do find this truly bothersome in the Italian. However the American and German grands are excellent. Apologies for the false alarm its funny how your ears and brain can fill in sounds that are not present, but that you perceive to be there from earlier repeated exposure.

 

- Mark

 

True Keys - 3 Grand Comparison

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

That's good to hear (no pun intended). I will relay this to the original accuser. :-)

 

To me, it makes no difference, as I'm a big proponent of modeling, and especially of hybrid sampling/modeling. But I'm also a fan of getting facts straight and in detail.

[mcgoo]

On a different note, for 100 bucks I could care less if they sampled a sound canvas and manipulated the samples ad nauseum. It sounds good, plays good and is very usable. Everything else is just academic.

 

:-)