E-MU Systems has announced Platinum 88 Grand Piano Sound Library, which offers Emulator X and Proteus X users over 7GB of 24-bit grand piano samples. Using a meticulously sampled Steinway Model L concert grand piano, the Platinum 88 features 12 layers of samples for each of the piano's 88 notes: five layers with the sustain pedal up, six with the sustain pedal down, and a layer entirely dedicated to note-off sounds.

Every note was recorded through its natural delay, enabling the Platinum 88 bank to be completely free of loops. The samples were then mapped to their proper key and velocity positions in Emulator X and Proteus X and programmed with Pedals and Continuous Controllers.

The Platinum 88 Professional Grand Piano contains three versions of varying size:

1. Platinum 88 (7 GB)
   Platinum 88 contains complete non-looping samples of all 88 notes - five layers with the sustain pedal up, six layers with the sustain pedal down, and one layer of note-off samples. Each stereo sample is 24 bits, 48kHz.
2. Platinum 88 LE+ (1 GB)
   The Platinum LE+ has three layers of pedal-up samples, and three layers of pedal-down samples. Each stereo sample is 16 bits, 44.1kHz, looped.
3. Platinum 88 LE (200 MB)
   The Platinum LE has two layers of pedal-up samples. Each stereo sample is 16 bits, 44.1kHz, looped.

Platinum 88 is priced at $149.99 and available from E-MU dealers and direct at www.emu.com.