Steinberg today announced the much-anticipated update to its The Grand virtual concert grand piano product. The Grand 2 features an entirely new added grand piano, surround capabilities as well as a range of features designed to maximize computer resource efficiency.

The Grand 2 offers numerous new features and capabilities including an entire new grand piano model, painstakingly sampled from a real concert grand made by one of the world's leading manufacturers. Users can easily switch between the two models with a single mouse click. Added key click and pedal sounds as well as hammer samples further increase the level of realism offered. The unique new four-channel surround implementation allows The Grand 2 to be placed anywhere inside a virtual room, with the position adjustable from directly within the VSTi's user interface.

Further new features enhance the resource efficiency of The Grand 2. Incorporated into The Grand 2 is the RAMSave technology first seen in Steinberg's HALion 3 virtual sampler, which allows for highly efficient use of the host computer's RAM by allowing the "freezing" of the instrument and automatically unloading unneeded samples from memory. While the general disk streaming performance has also been enhanced in the new version, the new "Eco" mode can further reduce demands on the computer's resources, freeing up power for other processing tasks.

The Grand 2 supports all major plug-in formats - VST, DXi, and AU plus ReWire support and standalone versions.

The Grand 2 will be available for EU€239* from May 2005. Existing customers can update to the new The Grand 2 version for EU€89*.

*SRP includes 16% German VAT. Prices subject to regional variations.