
At the NAMM Show in Anaheim last week Art Vista showed a new version of the Art Vista Virtual Grand Piano - a piano software based on recordings of a 1960 Hamburg Steinway Model "B" with presets for most recording genres. It includes emulations of famous piano recordings from the 1950's through today by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Donny Hathaway, Chet Baker, Jan Johansson, Ray Charles, John Lewis, Bobby Timmons, Billy Preston, Keith Jarrett, Jackson Browne, Leon Russell, John Legend, Arthur Rubinstein, and Bill Evans.
While the price for the piano software is slashed in half, version 3 introduces a revamped interface with new functionality, simplifying the customization of piano recording parameters of individual presets, a hybrid tonal element for modifying the string tone, and an added limiter.
Art Vista Virtual Grand Piano 3 will be available in Kontakt 5 format, which supports all major plug-in formats on Mac OS X and Windows. It is scheduled for release spring 2015 with a projected MSRP of US$99.00.