Favorite piano plugins?

[bill5]

Anyone? Keyscape? Pianoteq? Something by Sampletekk or NI? Garritan? Others? 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

Direct comparison of a pretty big list discussed here: 

 

 

[davinwv]

I'm following the new Production Voices 300 Grand Yamaha CFX library pretty closely:

 

https://www.productionvoices.com/product/300-grand/

[Doerfler]

47 minutes ago, bill5 said:

Anyone? Keyscape? Pianoteq? Something by Sampletekk or NI? Garritan? Others? 

 

no bad choices there 

 

My current favorite is Noire by Galaxy Instruments

[napilopez]

Disclaimer: I'm an amateur who just plays at home and is beginning to dabble in composition. So my impressions are just on sound quality and playability, but might not be applicable to everyone.

 

Before I go through some thoughts, I wanted to share this massive comparison someone made of Piano VSTs, including most of the popular ones.

 

https://www.sinerj.org/~loyer/piano/Fantaisie/

 

It's worth noting that some VSTs can be dramatically changed by settings and velocity curves, while other less so. Still it's a great resource.

 

I know Keyscape is popular, but for solo piano (recording especially) it doesn't have sympathetic resonance and therefore sounds kind of dead to me and is uninspiring to play. Unfortunately a no go despite enjoying the tone. Usually sounds fine with other instruments where it's harder to notice.

 

Some of my faves, in no particular order.

 

Garritan CFX is imo the most well rounded especially for classical ish stuff, but can be tricky to get a good dry sound from (it's doable though). It does almost everything well and many things great. It's also surprisingly gentle on CPU resources. I just recommend turning up the release volume to the max and lowering the release volume to give it some more character. Actually not my personal favorite but one of the easiest to recommend.

 

Noire is super good, much more character than the Garritan by default and heavily customizable, but I wish it had soft pedal samples or even just a simulation (you do get a felt piano but I don't enjoy the sound. YMMV). Comes off a little more artificial than the Garritan to me.

 

If you have full Kontakt, the Simple Sam Piano is truly excellent for very little money. It's playability isn't quite as good as the rest with "only" 10 velocity layers, but it's very good still!

 

Highly underrated: Bechstein Digital. Also does almost everything right, just the built in reverbs suck so I use something external.

 

VSL Pianos are all fantastic and are some of the closest to sounding and playing like the real thing after you find the right velocity xurve. Expensive, but VSL at least has a painless 14-day return policy I've used a couple of times. The sympathetic resonance engine is meh, and soft pedal is only simulated but at least it's there.

 

If you like an upright sound, the VI Labs Modern U is IMO the closest thing to a perfect VST. It's imo the only VST I own that can sometimes fool me into thinking I'm playing the real thing, and it has the best resonance engine from a sampled piano Ive tried. VI Labs also does the best release samples in the game, lending a lot of authenticity.

 

I adore the VI Labs Ravenscroft for similar reasons. I prefer the overall tone of the actual instrument over the Modern U a good deal, but as an older release it's missing that last bit of polish and realism achieved with the Modern U. Still up there with the rest though.

 

Hammer + Waves is really good if you're into sound design. Kind of like Noire on steroids in this regard, and the sampled instrument has a really nice sound. Playability is the worst of this list but not bad. No half pedaling or repedaling makes it annoying for some types of playing though. They have a a 2-week return policy, which is much too rare among VST makers.

 

Pianoteq is great for practice and can be good with other instruments in the mix. I love it for it's playability and customizability, but it never convinces me it's the real thing. Still it feels more alive to me than any of the above because in a way it is a "real" instrument rather than just a series of recordings of one.

 

The Embertone Walker D is excellent and is another easy recommendation with more character than anything else on this list. Excellent resonances and release samples 

 

There are some uneven notes which vary by mic position, and with some settings it can be resource intensive. But the Lite version only costs $39 bucks and works with the free kontakt player, while the full versions and extra mics are very reasonable too. Imo the Lite version is the best deal of all piano VSTs, but the full version is worth upgrading to because the una corda samples are fantastic. 

 

 Better yet, Embertone has a 7-day return policy and allows resales.

 

Lastly, make sure to check out the free stuff on Pianobook.co.uk too.

 

 

 

[CyberGene]

Garritan CFX, hands down. 

[D. Gauss]

In a busy rock track, i use this wacky freebie over MUCH MUCH more expensive pianos. i.e. Abbey Road, etc.  

 

The amount of times we've used this to cut an "off-the floor" studio track (super low cpu overhead), thinking we'd go back and replace it, only to end up leaving it in is embarrassingly more than i'd care to admit.  Do the Elton John comp/eq trick on it and Bob's yer uncle.  YMMV

 

4front piano: http://www.yohng.com/software/piano.html

[Stokely]

I have Garritan CFX but only the Lite version.  I may upgrade at some point.  I use the Grandeur from NI quite often.   Getting Noire was one reason I was considering upgrading Komplete to Ultimate, but "ultimately" I decided it's too much money for the use I'd get out of the collection.

I've heard a lot of good things about Ravenscroft, may look for the next sale.

I've got various "character" pianos, including Fluffy's My Piano and Una Corda that I sometimes use.   I may also check into that Modern U mentioned above.  I've got the Gentleman and Addictive Keys upright, but I don't really like either of them.

[Reezekeys]

Not sure why these threads can be a little annoying since, let's face it, what happens? Everybody just lists the ones they use. There's never a real consensus as to what's "best" or even "better"; it's always about what each individual likes, and their reasonings may or may not coincide with what the OP is looking for in a piano plugin. We're all different when it comes to what we want or need (or think we want or need) in a piano plugin.

 

I don't have a "favorite", because my use case is simple and I have no need for anything but a satisfying basic piano that feels good to play and sounds good on a gig. "Favorite" implies choosing between multiple pianos. Of course we have that luxury with plugins as opposed to those with the real thing. Obviously a sound designer or film composer might want a bigger palette to work with, but when someone asks a general Q about a favorite piano plugin I assume it's in regards to a "vanilla" well-sampled or modeled piano.

 

I also think that listening to a u-tube of a piano has its place, to get a basic idea of a plugin's tonal qualities or lack of them. IMNSHO though, experiencing the finger-to-ear connection is the true determinant of how useful a piano plugin is. Nothing in this or any other "which piano VST is your favorite" thread is gonna communicate that experience to the person asking the Q.

 

So, my favorite plugin is, of course, the one I use! I found it around 2005 or 2006 and have been using it ever since. I've tweaked the velocity curves, both on my controller and in my host software, so it responds exactly how I like. There's something about having your instrument, a consistent-feeling and sounding axe that you're completely used to playing because you have years on it. IMO, this can be achieved with any high-quality piano plugin that offers the features we've come to expect, if one puts in the time with tweaking things to get there. In that spirit, I'm not gonna name the piano I use, because it doesn't matter! 🙂 

 

/curmudgeon  🙂 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

 

48 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

Not sure why these threads can be a little annoying since, let's face it, what happens? Everybody just lists the ones they use.

So with that in mind... 😉 

 

When I was using software, I found myself really connecting with Pianoteq. The modeled sound isn't to everyone's taste, but to me, it responded much more realistically than the samples I had available to me (my 2010-era Privia or the stock piano in Logic), and I enjoyed the moderate customization you could do on the "Stage" version. I'm generally a very aggressive, dynamic player, and it worked for me on that front. I found myself gravitating to the bright YC5 Rock Piano generally, and the Steinway grand when I needed something a little fuller and darker.

 

But since I got my CP88, I'm just using hardware sounds live.

[napilopez]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

Not sure why these threads can be a little annoying since, let's face it, what happens? Everybody just lists the ones they use. There's never a real consensus as to what's "best" or even "better"; it's always about what each individual likes, and their reasonings may or may not coincide with what the OP is looking for in a piano plugin. We're all different when it comes to what we want or need (or think we want or need) in a piano plugin.

 

I don't have a "favorite", because my use case is simple and I have no need for anything but a satisfying basic piano that feels good to play and sounds good on a gig. "Favorite" implies choosing between multiple pianos. Of course we have that luxury with plugins as opposed to those with the real thing. Obviously a sound designer or film composer might want a bigger palette to work with, but when someone asks a general Q about a favorite piano plugin I assume it's in regards to a "vanilla" well-sampled or modeled piano.

 

I also think that listening to a u-tube of a piano has its place, to get a basic idea of a plugin's tonal qualities or lack of them. IMNSHO though, experiencing the finger-to-ear connection is the true determinant of how useful a piano plugin is. Nothing in this or any other "which piano VST is your favorite" thread is gonna communicate that experience to the person asking the Q.

 

So, my favorite plugin is, of course, the one I use! I found it around 2005 or 2006 and have been using it ever since. I've tweaked the velocity curves, both on my controller and in my host software, so it responds exactly how I like. There's something about having your instrument, a consistent-feeling and sounding axe that you're completely used to playing because you have years on it. IMO, this can be achieved with any high-quality piano plugin that offers the features we've come to expect, if one puts in the time with tweaking things to get there. In that spirit, I'm not gonna name the piano I use, because it doesn't matter! 🙂 

 

/curmudgeon  🙂 

 

While I appreciate the sentiment behind your post, I do think there are some consistently well regarded performers as well as others that should really be avoided. I personally think preference is part of it, but there are definitely some objective aspects too.

 

The way I see it, the problem is that the vast majority of virtual instruments don't offer trials, refunds, or in many cases even resales, so it's useful to rely on use impressions to some degree.

 

Having tried most of the piano plugins out there, my experience has been that some of the most popular and widely lauded virtual pianos are indeed the ones that are most enjoyable to play. You absolutely favorite purchases will of course be individual, but some buys are safer than others, and threads like these can help isolate some aspects of personal preference too.

 

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

I like VSL’s pianos, but you can’t really totally get rid of the “Synchron Stage” hall sound, even with the close mics. They’re also quite expensive.

 

AcousticSamples makes some good pianos as well. I have a Motif version of some of their older ones (courtesy of GospelMusicians) and they’re rather nice.

[Mark Schmieder]

Well, I've used most of them and have tweaked them all heavily as well. I now exclusively use VSL Synchron Pianos. As I own them all, I'm aware of each one's strengths and limitations. It's true that the main ones can't go as dry as some would like, but the ones done on the smaller stage fit the bill when I want that sort of sound. I haven't had a chance to try the latest one yet, though I own it. Apparently a Fazioli is next.

[Doerfler]

4 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

Not sure why these threads can be a little annoying since, let's face it, what happens? Everybody just lists the ones they use.

Well, it's hard to list a favorite (what the OP asked for) that you don't use. 

 

Agree with Sam about Pianoteq, it plays very nicely. A/B it with samples acoustically and it falls flat, IMO.

I have owned Pianoteq for 10 years now and have many of the piano/electric piano options. 

Rarely use it anymore, it's great for low CPU usage if that is a factor. 

 

Wanted to give a shout out to Fluffy Audio "My Piano"  https://www.fluffyaudio.com/shop/mypiano/

 

It's an upright with lots of character if that is something someone needs. I bought it 2 years ago during the worst of the pandemic as they were donating proceeds from the sale  to hospitals in Italy, I forgot where they are based in Italy, so I won't guess. 

[dickiefunk]

I have 10+ piano sample libraries and my favourite is NI Noire. I love the overall tone of this instrument and find it extremely customisable. One thing that I’ve found with Noire is the various parameters for customising the tone sound way more natural than the other piano libraries I own.

I am particularly enjoying this library paired with Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms reverb vst though the built in reverbs in Noire already sound excellent.

 

I am currently working on a classical piece with an operatic female soprano and Noire + Cinematic Rooms gave me the most natural and realistic piano sound despite it being much smaller than one of my other libraries!

[David Emm]

I was fretting over the library sizes and streaming demands of the name pianos until I learned of physical modeling. I took up Applied Acoustic Systems' Chromaphone and then Strum for my guitar needs. When Pianoteq came into view, I studied the whole thing for a while and went for Steinway and Petrof pianos.

 

While they can feel a smidge less organic than pianos composed of meticulous WAV files, I rarely notice. They speak with plenty of authority. I've also enjoyed adding a bit of chorusing or distortion, which makes them even more distinctive. I'm going to demo the 4front piano, as I'm on a casual prowl for Enoid/Clusterish parlor models for wistful, ambient cloud duties, but for grands, I'm covered. 

 

Its also amusing to layer Logic's middling-good Yamaha under other things. Its too static for most solo duties, IMO, but no complaint, I wouldn't expect a Ravenscroft bundled in a DAW.  

[LarsHarner2]

Since 2013 my main one has been Addictive Keys- MF had a great deal where it was 3 instruments for $30. I also like the Yamaha U3 upright besides the Steinway, and the Rhodes is decent to my liking as well.

 

Since getting a new computer, I am now using Synthogy American Concert D, and Studio Grands which is a Steinway B and Bosendorfer- I enjoy those a lot.

 

My Arturia came with Piano V which is modeled, sometimes as people say it can sound a little metallic. I also have UVI 's model D which came with Studio One.

 

[drawback]

I’m in the process of deciding to continue cherry picking VIs or spend once and for all (yeah, right) on Keyscape. Currently mostly using Ravenscroft, Canterbury Rhodes & Famous E. Would like to add a primo Wurlitzer. If I stay on this course it’ll probably be Noire next, but Keyscape holds all the instruments I want. Decision to come.

[Steve Nathan]

I don't remember if I ever listened to Garritan CFX before this. Is it as good as the web demos sound?  I've played so many Yamahas in studios all over the place, and they're so prevalent in commercial studios, I've been conditioned to equate their sound with Pro Studio.  I may just have to buy ANOTHER PIANO LIBRARY 😧

[Doerfler]

6 hours ago, drawback said:

. Would like to add a primo Wurlitzer. 

Hey Rod, having sold my Wurlitzer 200 earlier this summer I was in the same position. Really like the Wurlitzer in my Yamaha CP 73, but don't always use that keyboard. 

When I want a Wurlitzer 200 while playing my Kawai VPC-1, this is my choice. Not affiliated in any way. Also, I should mention that I always stay in the Kontakt platform.

Keeps things simpler for me. 

https://e-instruments.com/instruments/pianos/session-keys-electric-w/

 

Also, will probably purchase SonicCouiture Broken Wurli next time it is on sale, most likely in 4 months during Black Friday sales event. Don't "need" it, so I can wait for the sale price. 

[obxa]

For recording:

 

Also a Pianoteq user since 1.0 - it plays and responds wonderful but sometimes  just doesn't work and can be oddly metallic.   Always needs a bit of softening with tube,  compressor, and tape things..   Got all the variations, but Grotian, Petrof, and  the Upright are my go-to.  Version 7 has done a bunch of nice stuff with response and also felt pianos.   

 

Noire- is very special, sometimes it doesn't make it onto final track but is always inspiring and lucious. 

 

New contender you should check out for $29.00:  Spitfire Intimate  https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals/#intimate-grand-piano

 

Speaking of Christian, there are some amazing FREE vibey pianos in pianobook- wonderful stuff go now:  https://www.pianobook.co.uk/  It's a delightful rabbit hole of cool stuff. 

 

Forgot to mention: Soundiron Emotional piano- just lovely, and can be coaxed to do wide range. Often goes on sale. 

 

Since moving to Mac many years ago- I miss ivory, and considering it again.

 

Rhodes: Depends on track: Orange Famous E is current fav,  and Neo Soul (Gospel Musicians), Pianoteq, and Lounge Lizard is surprisingly playable- using the free lite version that came with some Korg software- see if you have a coupon with anything you've bought?). ... But also use a real Mk1. 

 

Wuri: Use a real one, but for sessions that need recall:  Pianoteq's Wurli tweaked, Neo Soul, Waves.

 

[D. Gauss]

The Adam Monroe whurly ain't too shabby for $25 bucks.  https://adammonroemusic.com/wurlitzer-vst/am-wurlitzer-vst-plugin.html

[Baldwin Funster]

I'm glad the door opened to tine pianos.  

Any love for GSI Mr Ray73 or Mr Tramp? These are very old 32 bit but I find them usefil.

[Steve Nathan]

IMHO: the best Wurlies are Vreeds and Acoustic Samples (Plus: I know that another KC hanger has one in the works that is quite nice)

[Doerfler]

Steve -

VReeds is acoustic samples, correct?

[Steve Nathan]

10 minutes ago, Doerfler said:

Steve -

VReeds is acoustic samples, correct?

Yes. What I meant was I like Vreeds, and use it mostly, but I also sometimes prefer their first Wurly that came out a few years earlier.  It has a growl that I like for certain tracks.  

[obxa]

Wow,  never had seen that Acoustic Samples Wurli,  they got some of the other subtleties  that the Wurli does.  

 

I've ranted in other posts, the over spanked Wurli sound (Best friend,  3 dog night, Supertramp etc. ) is by no means the only thing Wurli's do so well. "Dancing in the Moonlight" any Donny Hathaway, "Brandy you're a fine girl"- that's the other Wurli sound.

 

BTW The Waves Wurli is on sale as part of their usual "limited"  $29.00 sale. https://www.waves.com/plugins/electric-200-piano#the-sounds-of-the-electric-200-piano

[davinwv]

58 minutes ago, Steve Nathan said:

 (Plus: I know that another KC hanger has one in the works that is quite nice)

I'm a bit of a Wurly library addict, so this is great news! I'm excited to learn more about this one.

[vanderSchoot]

I have most current piano plug ins. Like 30+ The VSL series, Garritan, Embertone, Sonic Couture, Pianoteq, Cinesamples, Production Voices, Simple Sam, Art Vista, VI Labs, Wavesfactory , Xperimenta Due and lots of others.

I suffer from sample fatigue in the latter stages which mean i only play with few of them and the rest gathers dust because i can’t enjoy most of them due to various reasons.

 

However few still inspire me (a lot).

Solo piano : VSL Bösendorfer 280VC full version with tube mic engaged.

Easy quick load piano : Simple Sam Steinway

Everything mix/band/blend/cut/clear : Embertone Walker with various mic settings.

 

When i played in a live band the Nord piano offerings were pretty pleasing to me, but i sure would have liked the Embertone live because it is the sound i was looking for all my life for in a band. Not to dominant or muddy/booming bass register, lot’s of warm wood/ hammer attack ( not that god awful Yamaha P/CP piercing attack when set on ‘rock piano’ ). 
The close mics or hammer mics simply immediately cut through a dense mix as many others fail miserably outside of solo usage.

only downside is Embertone needs a fast and powerful computer to run smoothly.

 

 

[Stokely]

13 hours ago, Steve Nathan said:

I don't remember if I ever listened to Garritan CFX before this. Is it as good as the web demos sound?  I've played so many Yamahas in studios all over the place, and they're so prevalent in commercial studios, I've been conditioned to equate their sound with Pro Studio.  I may just have to buy ANOTHER PIANO LIBRARY 😧

I'm hardly a real pianist so grain of salt!

I started by wanting to upgrade from the Logic Pro pianos, got Addictive Keys grand and upright.  I still use the upright occasionally.

I still wanted to upgrade so I got CFX Lite.  Since that time I also got the NI pianos that are part of Komplete standard (which unfortunately don't include Noire.)

CFX is the most dynamic of my pianos, with a basic patch up (ie, not one squashed with a compressor on purpose).   It also sounds the best out of my grand plugins although I also like the Grandeur from NI--not the same sound, as they aren't from the same piano, and the Grandeur doesn't have quite the dynamics, or at least it doesn't sound that way to me.   I don't have a lot of experience with Yamahas to compare.  It's a pretty straightforward, clean sound IMO, the opposite end of the spectrum from something like Fluffy's My Piano (which I also have.)   Keep in mind also I only have one of the three microphone recordings, as I only have the Lite version.

Dealing with Garritan was also a good experience.  I had some questions about licenses and other things and they were very helpful.  Very easy copy protection too, or it was at the time.