Hold out for Ivory? Or go with PMI Group buy?

[CeasefireXXV]

I'm looking for absolute quality more so than a value package type thing ... the Piano magic PMI Group buy right now does look pretty attractive, and they give you a bunch of pianos for a total of 15gigs I believe .. (i might be wrong) .. where as Ivory gives you 3 pianos but each one is an amazing 10gigs ...

So .. I'm asking you guys, what would you do? What's your opinion? Think it's down right stupid to let a group buy slip away boasting all those great PMI pianos (so the reviews say)? Or are they good, even great, but not insanely great which Ivory "might" end up being? (Might because we haven't heard it yet for PC) .. The reviews on the PMI site really do rave about those pianos .. and I don't doubt they'd be amazing .. and I've been dying for a good piano library ..

bah, would you wait? or take the groupbuy bait?

[Ocean Zen]

I have the PMI Bosendorfer 290, providing you have at least 1.5GB of RAM, it will sing. I've compared it to many other sample libraries and I love it.

Although the Ivory looks Fantastic and I've only heard great things about it. The PMI deal is AMAZING, for Price & Quality.

[tq]

Don't let the low price of the group buy fool you: The PMI stuff is simply the best out there. I have the Bosendorfer as well (and ordered both group buy bundles right away), and it is outstanding (not good or great, simply excellent).

[Prefab doubt]

Agree. I love my PMI Bosendorfer (and also other stuff from their collections)

[zai]

How about the iPiano package for GarageBand?

Zai

[tq]

How about the iPiano package for GarageBand?
Zai

These are cut down versions of the bigger instruments. Here's the info:

"The programming of the sampled pianos in PMI iPIANOS ’05 is designed to take full advantage of the possibilities of software instruments in GarageBand 2 software. The pianos use the sophisticated EXS24 sampler engine that is found in Logic Pro 7. This results in a very smooth response and an incredible authentic grand piano sound. Each piano is approx. 500 MB of sample data."

And:

"These pianos have a limited number of velocity layers to ensure compatibility with almost every Garageband set-up."

A comparison: On the PMI site, it says that Emperor and Old Lady are 4 GB each.

So actually I think the iPianos are great if you need an 'economy' version of the real thing (could be handy in a laptop). They are still a fantastic deal (remember what a comparable sample CD did cost just a few years ago...?).

[CeasefireXXV]

yeah .. i think you've helped me make my mind ... i'll be watching the group buy

[danielmm]

I've heard nothing but good things about Ivory and I would tend to lean that way for quality but I don't think you would be compromising a whole lot and you would be getting a fantastic deal with PMI.

I have the PMI Bosendorfer 290, providing you have at least 1.5GB of RAM, it will sing. I've compared it to many other sample libraries and I love it.

With Kontakt, can it not be used with "streaming from disk"?

dano

[Jake Jackson]

You may well end up buying both the Post pianos and Ivory, so you might as well take advantage of the group buy now.

[CeasefireXXV]

good point ... i don't know you ... yet you seem to know me ...

[matt9b]

I'm looking for absolute quality more so than a value package type thing ...

It depends on taste. You could try the Galaxy Steinway. The simplest of things are often the nicest of things.

I have quite a few sampled grand pianos, bosendorfer, steinway, old lady.... but my favourite by far is the malmsjo by arte vista, for it's gorgeous dark sound. Others just seem to sound too clean and sterile. With that said, how a piano sounds depends 80% on how it's played and produced. Once you get your ultimate "best" piano library and have used it for a while, you'll probably start to wish for alternative piano sounds. I block out the price when testing demos of instruments- if you think you can work with the sound, that's of primary importance!

You might also want to consider vintaudio's upright collection http://www.vintaudio.com/GUPC.htm .. they're very clean sounding. If you're looking for a live dark sound like the malmsjo, you'll probably like the Schimmel Upright Piano. Check out the demos http://www.stedeford.com/schimmelpiano.html (and yes I created it!)

[james0tucson]

I have the PMI Bosendorfer 290, providing you have at least 1.5GB of RAM, it will sing. I've compared it to many other sample libraries and I love it.

I have always stopped myself from buying any piano samples because I don't have a host to play them in.
You sound really happy with your PMI set, but you don't mention how you play them. The cost for the samples, plus sample playback software, plus 1-gig RAM chips, stops me cold every time.