KVR Audio

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Wed May 02, 2018 7:42 pm

https://www.waves.com/plugins/grand-rhapsody-piano

It's $24 at plugin discounts. I'm planning to test it but it's like 20 GB so it will take a while to get around to it.

On paper it looks fantastic. Recorded on multiple mic combos and you can blend up to 3 mic combos + eq and other controls. This gives a ridiculous tonal range for a single instrument. Pretty much the only piano VST you'll ever need for all your DAW work.

However, not many videos showing it sounding good, and lots of videos are pretty negative. The CPU usage is over the top and so are the loading times. And many videos that showcase the plugin make it sound truly awful with brittle shimmering noises and lack of detail.

Looks like the plugin went through a long debugging phase from its inception. Many of the issues may be solved by now (I'm hoping).

What are your thoughts?

jdnz · Post by **jdnz** » Wed May 02, 2018 8:02 pm

jochicago wrote:https://www.waves.com/plugins/grand-rhapsody-piano

It's $24 at plugin discounts. I'm planning to test it but it's like 30GB so it will take a while to get around to it.

don’t know where you got 30gb from - it’s 14gb for the ‘hd’ samples and only 6gb if you use the ‘sd’ samples

https://www.waves.com/downloads/sample-libraries

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Wed May 02, 2018 9:08 pm

jdnz wrote:
jochicago wrote:https://www.waves.com/plugins/grand-rhapsody-piano

It's $24 at plugin discounts. I'm planning to test it but it's like 30GB so it will take a while to get around to it.
don’t know where you got 30gb from - it’s 14gb for the ‘hd’ samples and only 6gb if you use the ‘sd’ samples

https://www.waves.com/downloads/sample-libraries

I updated my post. Let me know if you have any grammar concerns as well.

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Wed May 02, 2018 9:22 pm

I heard some demo a while back and it sounded like the phase was out between the different microphones. Waves instruments tend to be very heavy on CPU (at least on my olde system).

Maybe you already know this ... there are two sample downloads, the standard and the HQ version.
Update: ^ Someone already pointed that out.

Dewdman42 · Post by **Dewdman42** » Wed May 02, 2018 11:37 pm

pretty good price for pretty much any piano but I'd like to hear opinions on it too...you get what you pay for

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Wed May 02, 2018 11:52 pm

it ain't hateful. heard better but heard a LOT worse from most others. it is well worth the $20 or so cheers

p.s. but you can always doctor it to taste

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Thu May 03, 2018 12:04 am

I tried it late last year, using the "HQ" (or "HD", or whatever they called them) samples. I uninstalled it within 10 minutes of installing it. For me, the sound just wasn't that good compared to the piano VSTs I already have (Addictive Keys's Studio Grand, NI's The Gentleman, Maverick and The Grandeur, and even a fairly decent Steinway Model D from UVI, and TruePianos and Arturia's Piano).

I own a lot of other Waves plug-ins, and I really wanted to like their take on the piano--especially when it was on sale. But in the end, it took me longer to download it than it did to demo it. The sound simply didn't do it for me, and I don't even consider myself a pianist.

Steve

Fantasie · Post by **Fantasie** » Thu May 03, 2018 12:40 am

I got it for 19 bucks in the introductory sale, but have never used once in my projects since.

The sound is really bright and harsh, which could be useful in a proper style of music, such as loud rock mix, but not go for a solo performance at least In my opinion.
The touch and feel is bad, but not that bad for the price.
Also, it eats CPU more greedily than any other libraries I have (Pianoteq, Ivory, Acousticsamples C7, NI Piano Collection etc).

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Thu May 03, 2018 1:26 am

You guys that have a few libraries to compare against, what would you recommend as a beautiful grand sound at an affordable budget, for solo performances.

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Thu May 03, 2018 2:46 am

I think this is the video that does it for me, Waves Grand Rhapsody vs the Mercury Kontakt instrument based on the same piano:

One thing I noticed right away on the Waves was the rough finish on key-up. The notes feel cut off harshly. The Mercury has a clean finish like a real piano, the notes ring a bit longer and are gently snuffed by the mechanics. You can hear that particular tidbit here:

The Wave Grand Rhapsody can sound very nice under the right hands, but there's something off about it even when played well. The Mercury sounds like a real grand at all times. I'm very picky with piano sounds and with the Mercury I cannot tell even 1% that is not a real performance on a live piano. It always sound like an excellent recording of a live performance.

Now I just need a a Mercury deal for $29 ;D

zadillo · Post by **zadillo** » Thu May 03, 2018 4:34 am

jochicago wrote:You guys that have a few libraries to compare against, what would you recommend as a beautiful grand sound at an affordable budget, for solo performances.

Garritan Abbey Road CFX Lite

About $40 if you buy from Audio Deluxe. And you can upgrade to the full version if you want the other mic positions

More expensive but Ravenscroft 275 And Pianoteq are also good

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Thu May 03, 2018 5:34 am

hey planet... i love the "Gentleman" too but it is an upright and sounds nothing like a grand. but i would take a good upright over a grand any day. i just prefer that sound. i grew up playing an antique upright

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Thu May 03, 2018 7:17 am

Right. I wasn’t trying to suggest it was a grand piano, just that I thought it sounded better than the one from Waves.

I played uprights growing up (including an antique one, I think) and I still really like their sound. But to me, the Waves piano isn’t “grand”—in any sense of the word. It’s not terrible, but for the amount of space it takes up with those HQ/HD/whatever samples, I just think it should sound better.

Steve

simon.a.billington · Post by **simon.a.billington** » Thu May 03, 2018 7:46 am

I didn't think I'd like it since I'm not really one for a broody love song-esque piano that you hear in Adele's Hello. Nor was I after a Queen like epic rock piano. However, after auditioning, I discovered it to be MUCH more flexible than that.

I just got a new computer, so I haven't gotten around to getting a sample drive, meaning, at the moment I don't have it installed. I will say auditioning between presets can be a bit tedious waiting for the samples to load. An SSD would be definitely an advantage here. Though, you can audition with the SD library and once you found the sound you are after, load in the HD samples.

There weren't too many presets, so I often found myself fine tuning a lot to get the sound I'm after. But this thing will do most styles from rock, ballads, to soul, jazz, classical. It just requires a bit of tinkering to get the sound you are after, sometimes.

I never really saw the point of this mega sound libraries just for one piano with 100 different mic placements. Once its in the mix, all those subtitles disappear and you can't even hear the difference. I definitely feel it is a diminishing returns kind of thing. Mind you all those extra samples tend to bog down a session too. The Grand Rhapsody, however, strikes a pretty good balance between level of detail and practicality.

Scrubbing Monkeys · Post by **Scrubbing Monkeys** » Thu May 03, 2018 9:36 am

I compared Waves to the Air music tech Mini grand. It was more detailed but not so much so that I went from demo to purchase. The mini grand serves well, is light on cpu ynd loads quick. Of course its a much snaller sample set.

Opinions: Waves Grand Rhapsody Piano