KVR Audio

genesis1 · Post by **genesis1** » Wed Sep 28, 2022 6:21 am

I've been trying out several virtual pianos. I like AK but there seems no difference in tone from playing harder to softer. All that happens is the volume obviously changes. Is this all AK can do or am I missing a setting?

cdbaksu · Post by **cdbaksu** » Wed Sep 28, 2022 6:16 pm

For acoustic pianos I found sample based libraries to be somewhat lacking. Even those "huge" 21 dynamic layered ones (like Hammersmith). A decent shout is NI's Noire, but if you're really serious about pianos do yourself a favour and get Pianoteq. There's nothing like it in terms of playability, customisability, and sound.

genesis1 · Post by **genesis1** » Wed Sep 28, 2022 8:55 pm

What about keyscape?

cdbaksu · Post by **cdbaksu** » Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:03 pm

Keyscape lacks a lot of detail like string resonance and una-corda, and is also a sample based library.

Oh and I forgot to mention Pianoteq has a trial version you can try out.

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:57 pm

Addictive Keys have some nice effected pianos, but is not great for dynamics. I love Keyscape personally, even if there isn't some of the more fancy physical modeling stuff you might get in some products. It sounds great.

mixyguy2 · Post by **mixyguy2** » Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:15 am

cdbaksu wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 6:16 pm Pianoteq. There's nothing like it in terms of playability, customisability, and sound.

Two out of three isn't bad.

tonedef71 · Post by **tonedef71** » Fri Sep 30, 2022 7:45 pm

Is Waves' Grand Rhapsody Piano (with the HD sample set) suitable for the task?

Tj Shredder · Post by **Tj Shredder** » Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:17 am

Piano V from Arturia seems to be based on an older version of Pianoteq and is modeled as well. Cheaper, but not as flexible as Pianoteq…

soulata · Post by **soulata** » Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:39 am

AK CP80 sounds fine to me. I usually use AK to quickly record ideas. When it comes to mix I exchange it for something else or augment it with other sounds.

Btw, Teletone audio has an amazing piano library. Or two.

k

dickiefunk · Post by **dickiefunk** » Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:08 am

I have used Addictive Keys and totally agree the dynamic range is really lacking. I also have Pianoteq 7 Pro and whilst I fully agree about its playability and customisation options. However, I still find Pianoteq sounds quite synthetic.

My goto pianos are NI Noire and Embertones Walker Concert D. However, there is a very annoying bug when using tempo track in Cubase which was reported to NI over a year ago but nothing has been done to fix this!

I’m looking to upgrade Noire and the new Porduction Voices 300 Grand sounds stunning in the demos.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:04 pm

soulata wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:39 am AK CP80 sounds fine to me. I usually use AK to quickly record ideas. When it comes to mix I exchange it for something else or augment it with other sounds.

Btw, Teletone audio has an amazing piano library. Or two.

k

I thought it was a CP70, which sounds different than a CP80 imo and is its actual appeal for me. Even though I sold AK previously, I found it was the one sound they nailed the best and was a good addition to the other piano plugins I have. Picked it up again when the market flooded with $5 for all NFR licenses.
And even the real CP70 wasn't known for the best dynamic range anyway.

Softer dynamic ranges do indeed suck on all of their keyboards. But for that little of money, there's no reason not to have them in the plug-in arsenal.

Pianoteq is still my first choice to go to and gets played daily and recorded regularly though.

soulata · Post by **soulata** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:52 am

Yeah, it's either cp80 or 70

It sounds good.

I think I got most of their AK libraries for free or almost free so I'm not complaining.

zzz00m · Post by **zzz00m** » Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:39 pm

Agree on NI Noire.

Here's another one worth taking a look at. At least the price is right!

The free Soundpaint player comes with a free sampled 1928 Vintage Grand Steinway.
https://soundpaint.com/products/1928-vi ... d-steinway

Infinite Velocity Grand Piano
32 Programs / 4 Parts
4.892 Real-Time Samples™ / 8.05GB
Soundpaint™ Engine (Free)
VST, AU and Standalone

They developed the Soundpaint engine in an attempt to overcome the limitations of sampled velocity layers. How well did they do?
"We feel the 1928 is the perfect demonstration of the Soundpaint Engine Technology and lets you feel the power of real-time rendering and velocity morphed samples."
https://youtu.be/1w2l30QD5iM