Chocolate Audio releases The 88 Series Pianos Bundle for Kontakt with launch offer

17th August 2015 - KVR Audio News

Chocolate Audio has announced the release of The 88 Series Pianos Bundle for Kontakt with a special 35% off launch offer.

The four libraries making up the bundle, a total of 26GB and 21240 samples, cover a wide range of styles and crafting methods, from acoustic grand pianos to upright and electric models.

The Model 7 Grand (from a '80s C7), Model D Grand (from a '30s vintage D274) and Steinbach Upright feature 4 separate microphone sources. The microphones available in the release were chosen among up to 12 different possible sources, all top-notch models and recorded with the shortest possible path to the converters, featuring Millennia, Neve, SSL and Focusrite preamps fed into Apogee converters at 96K. Additionally Chocolate Audio chose the recording venue according to the pianos themselves: a studio with a large concert-like room for the grand codas and a studio with a medium-sized lively room for the upright piano.

The Model 80 Electric Grand (from a fully restored CP80) is a nice addition, being the only electric piano with proper piano hammer mechanics and a staple of the sound of popular music from the '70s and '80s.

Model 7 Grand Overview:

9.12 GB (lossless compressed) library size, 6640 samples.
4 microphone sets: Schoeps CMC6 MK4s, Royer 121 ribbons, modded Oktava MK-012s and Neumann M149 tube stereo room set.
Chromatically sampled: 11 sustaining dynamic layers, 8 release trails layers, independently controllable sustain-pedal, key-release noise, sustain-pedal down and up noise layers.
34 factory presets.
Price: $129 ($83.85 with 35% off introductory offer).

Model D Grand Overview:

8.32 GB (lossless compressed) library size, 7979 samples.
4 microphone sets: Schoeps CMC6 MK4s, Neumann KM184s, mono AKG C12 tube mic and Neumann M149 tube stereo room set.
Chromatically sampled: 11 sustaining dynamic layers, 12 release trails layers, independently controllable sustain-pedal, key-release noise, sustain-pedal down and up noise layers.
34 factory presets.
Price: $129 ($83.85 with 35% off introductory offer).

Steinbach Upright Overview:

5.95 GB (lossless compressed) library size, 4688 samples.
4 microphone sets: Royer ribbon Blumlein and Spaced, Neumann M149 mono and Oktava stereo room set.
Chromatically sampled: 8 sustaining dynamic layers, 4 release trails layers, independently controllable sustain-pedal, key-release noise, sustain-pedal down and up noise layers.
23 factory presets.
Price: $99 ($64.35 with 35% off introductory offer).

Shared Features (acoustic pianos):

Sampled with Millennia, Neve, SSL and Focusrite preamps fed direct into Apogee converters.
Full-featured and easy-to-use mixer and effect section.

Model 80 Electric Grand Overview:

2.26 GB (lossless compressed) library size, 1933 samples.
Chromatically sampled: 12 sustaining dynamic layers, 9 release trails layers, independently controllable sustain-pedal, key-release noise, sustain-pedal down and up noise layers.
Sampled direct from the output to a Millennia preamp and Apogee converter.
Modeled Tremolo and 3-Band EQ.
Full effects section with preset compressor, distortion, amplifier, chorus/phaser/flanger, delay and IR reverb.
23 factory.
Price: $79 ($51.35 with 35% off introductory offer).

Shared Features (all) :

Full length samples.
All of the details of the piano recreated through the use of our custom advanced scripting.
Recorded at 24-bit / 96 kHz, released at 24-bit / 44.1 kHz.
Custom User Interface, made for ease of use.
Custom touch response control, envelope and level-management of the piano's details.
17 custom, in-house developed, high quality IR reverbs.
22 (+ 22) compressor + tape presets.
User savable presets.
Many under the hood techniques to make the piano true to the original (life-like re-pedaling, release trails attenuation, intelligent attenuation of each single dynamic layer for maximum dynamic response...).
Envelope controls.
Download only.
Requires Kontakt 4.5.3 Full Version and up.