4Front Piano Module

This is a strange little VSTi. Part of the 4Front suite that also includes the E-Piano and Rhode[s], it offers a no-frills workman-like, chunky, slightly hallucinogenic bar-room piano-type sound that is great for bashing out ideas for songs.

Unlike the mda piano, which is really more of a sound for fitting into a mix to represent a piano, the 4Front Piano actually offers some pleasure to be had from playing it for its own sake. It has a slightly dirty, crappy, worn-out kind of sound with a strange little twinkle to it which reminds me of wasps buzzing round a pot of honey or people rattling jewelry over a corpse. Really.

The quality of the sound is pretty consistent right across the range, with no notes overpowered by others when playing two-handed chords, and while in a mix it can be a bit fuzzy, it nonetheless has a unique sound that, while not authentic (I use free soundfonts and sfz for that), is nonetheless part of the piano-family. I recommend giving it a go.

User inteface:
Simple, elegant.

Features:
It makes a sound like a piano. That's it.

Documentation:
None, and none needed.

Presets:
None, and none needed. This is what it does. How many presets does a piano have?

Customer support:
You won't need it, but programmer George Yohnge gives the impression of being pretty approachable.

Value for money:
Yes.

Stability:
It has it.Read Review