The Giant: New Sampled Piano Library from Native Instruments

[quantum7]

EVERY piano by N.I. has every released has absolutely STUNK in my opinion....except for Alicia's Keys, so I'm not expecting much from this new N.I. sampled piano offering.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

EVERY piano by N.I. has every released has absolutely STUNK in my opinion....except for Alicia's Keys, so I'm not expecting much from this new N.I. sampled piano offering.

Alicia Keys was done by Scarbee. The Giant was done by the Galaxy piano guys.

You may want to raise your expectations a bit.

[quantum7]

EVERY piano by N.I. has every released has absolutely STUNK in my opinion....except for Alicia's Keys, so I'm not expecting much from this new N.I. sampled piano offering.

Alicia Keys was done by Scarbee. The Giant was done by the Galaxy piano guys.

You may want to raise your expectations a bit.

OK, there may be hope then.

[bailees7irish]

Yeah, I'm confused standalone, what up? Were you on the beta team or something and we struck a nerve?

honestly, i think standalone makes a good point. the differences of the two pianos ARE huge...and just read what Kaboom75 said about The Giant.

or was he part of the beta team too?

[standalone]

Yeah, I'm confused standalone, what up? Were you on the beta team or something and we struck a nerve?

It's only that I feel very ashamed when I read someone in a music production forum suggesting that it doesn't matter one or another piano, all sound more or less the same. That's something that makes all members of such forum look like completely inculturated jerks.

Differences between pianos are a lot bigger than differences between electric guitars, no one here dares to say here that a Telecaster sounds the same as a Les Paul.

I'm allowed to have an opinion, and I'm sticking to that.

In a discussion you need to accept that there will both be arguments for and against a subject

If you do not agree with somebody, and do not want to start a discussion, the best thing is often to ignore their posting

Do what you want with your opinions about pianos when you have at least one. Right now you've proved that you know nothing about the matter, what can I do about that? The only honest thing to do is to make you realize that you are wrong: differences between pianos are very important, not negligible as your lack of knowledge tells you.

If you can't tell an African elephant from an Asian elephant you should't give your opinions about elephants in a biologists' forum. If you can't tell a giant vertical concert piano from a upright piano you should't give your opinions about pianos in a musicians' forum. Not because you don't have the right to do so, only because it makes you look bad.

[Gonga]

I don't believe I've ever heard Alicia Keys music, but I've been playing serious piano for 52 years, and it's my favorite of many. The only thing Alicia Keys had to do with my purchase decision is that if she hadn't undertaken that project, the piano vst wouldn't exist.

Yes, there are quite a few people at kvr who sit around being condescending to others and hurling insults, but most of us here are serious musicians of one sort or another, who actually like to discuss the craft substantively, and it's a mistake to think you know our motivations, especially if you assume they are vacuous when they are not.

The reason why I added my comment in the first place is that I feel the Giant is a market ploy to sell another piano sample pack.

When the first sample packs came around it was enough that a Steinway had been sampled.

My opinion is that selling a piano sample under the name of Alicia Keys or the biggest upright piano is more or less a repackaging of the same old product.

I don't question the quality of the craft, they have probably done a great job.

Whenever I read an ad for a new Yamaha or Casio piano for instance, it is more or less always sold as being the most realistic piano sound ever. But haven't they said that about every new product for the last 20 years, and will they not say that about the next piano they bring out as well?

I, like most players, don't care about the marketing. I audition the instrument (when possible - this is why I say if there's no demo it's a major bummer) and decide based on feel and sound. Alicias Keys feels and sounds significantly better to me in very important ways than any other piano I have, and I have a LOT of them. I think most players would say pretty much the same thing about their choice...that it feels and sounds better to them, and they pay little attention to the marketing. On the other hand, the opinions of others who they have come to know, understand and respect, can be a major factor in a decision. I know it is with me.

[DaKlavins]

Hi everybody,

Came across this thread while I was looking up some feedback on the Giant, and decided to join the discussion, as I felt you're sincere and creative folks, discussing in a more civilized manner than many other places in the virtual space...

First thing I'd like to say - IMO Uli Baronowsky and his team did an outstanding job on capturing the sound of the Model 370. I was thrilled listening to the demos on the Galaxy and NI sites, as I know from my own music productions with this piano how difficult it was to record a sound that's close to the real thing.

Second - the main idea with the size of this piano is to create a concert grand that has improved dynamics at all registers, purity and depth of tone in the bass register as well (no matter how hard you play), and a well balanced tonal quality all over the scale, in particular at the transition from bass (copper wound) strings to the middle register (plain steel), hence it's straight strung.

Last not least - I'd never expect virtually everyone to like the 'new' piano sound, of course there's very different listening traditions, styles of music, room acoustics to adhere to, etc., etc., - it's all about adding an option to the choice of musical instruments that offers new ways for musical expression and creativity.

So, I think the discussion shouldn't focus on "better", or "worse than the xy piano...", but rather on likes and dislikes, ideas how to utilize the vast options of the Giant (or other pianos), etc..

Enjoy the journey - exploring the infinite world of sounds and music!

Cheers..!

David

P.S.: Kaboom75, I just loved your statement: "If you hit them really hard you hear something that should be kept in a cage..."

[hibidy]

Yeah, I'm confused standalone, what up? Were you on the beta team or something and we struck a nerve?

It's only that I feel very ashamed when I read someone in a music production forum suggesting that it doesn't matter one or another piano, all sound more or less the same. That's something that makes all members of such forum look like completely inculturated jerks.

Differences between pianos are a lot bigger than differences between electric guitars, no one here dares to say here that a Telecaster sounds the same as a Les Paul.

The only way I can judge these since I'm not willing to simply buy every NI piano library is by the demos........which allot of people agree sound very same-ish. Anyways, cheers to those who like it!

[sorohanro]

Seriously, I suggest a retreat.

I'm allowed to have an opinion, and I'm sticking to that.

Blind people might have opinions about paintings. Some might express things like "I like old paintings in oil, smells better than the new ones in acril", yet in an art forum their opinion might not really be useful.

Back to pianos, I have Komplete 8 and got several Kontakt versions of Acousticsamples pianos. New York and Upright sounds the best from NI stuff (to my ears) not a big fan of Vienna and Berlin.
From the demos, Alicia Keys wasn't really what I would use in my music, but I don't have it, I judge only based on the demo songs.
Demo songs of the Giant sounds interesting, big, really something I would like to use. On the other hand, when I hear a prepared piano by Soniccouture (the Xtended), Soundiron Emotional or Granny piano, then I would think twice before spending money on "the Giant".

Heck, truth to be said, I would like to have money to get all of those

[standalone]

Yeah, I'm confused standalone, what up? Were you on the beta team or something and we struck a nerve?

It's only that I feel very ashamed when I read someone in a music production forum suggesting that it doesn't matter one or another piano, all sound more or less the same. That's something that makes all members of such forum look like completely inculturated jerks.

Differences between pianos are a lot bigger than differences between electric guitars, no one here dares to say here that a Telecaster sounds the same as a Les Paul.

The only way I can judge these since I'm not willing to simply buy every NI piano library is by the demos........which allot of people agree sound very same-ish. Anyways, cheers to those who like it!

You are talking about NI's libraries and I'm talking about pianos. I haven't mentioned NI one single time.

[synchronizer]

I created this topic in order to inform people of the existence of The Giant, and was hoping that it would be home to very thoughtful discussions and reviews. Would everyone be able to stop complaining about the general quality of
Native Instruments-sponsored piano libraries? They're not even made BY NI, rather, they are made by other third party companies such as Scarbee or Galaxy Instruments. Of course not everyone is going to like everything.

[hibidy]

n/m

[hibidy]

n/m

[synchronizer]

Yes, I agree that it's too bad that there isn't a trial version, but you can't claim that the pianos all sound the same because they're identical. It's more likely that Native Instruments WANTS the demos to sound the same.

It's too bad that Native Instruments doesn't have more trials on this website:

http://www.try-sound.com/