Lighthouse Piano

About the Library

Built in 1907 and subsequently restored in 2021, this Blüthner Style VII was chosen by Marcus Warner for its clear, harp-like sound and dynamic versatility. The strength of this piano comes from its ability to play warm, gentle passages with the crispness and intimacy required for modern scoring, but without the limitations of recording with felt. Play softly, and it sounds like a living room upright; play harder, and the piano opens up into a bright, lyrical performance capable of cutting through the rest of the orchestra. A felt piano, without the drawbacks.

With this collaboration, Fracture Sounds brings its signature piano sampling expertise, including hammer, pedal, and pianist noise controls, alongside a fresh set of Atmosphere Layers created in partnership with Marcus. The library also includes a vintage Harmonium, performed by Marcus extensively alongside the piano on his latest album, Legendarium.

A true all-rounder and inspirational starting point, Lighthouse Piano is the grand piano every composer would want in their studio – and now it can be yours, too.

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The Home Studio

The piano sits in the corner of Marcus' home studio, a converted cotton mill with high ceilings and warm, exposed brickwork. The L-shape of the room and the mezzanine floor shield the piano from excessive reverb, allowing it to ring naturally while retaining a controlled, dry character, especially when close-mic'd.

Signature Sound Design

Alongside the microphone options, Lighthouse Piano allows you to mix up to three unique, sound-designed Atmosphere Layers, enhancing the original piano samples and giving the piano a filmic, contemporary backing ambience. With 10 layers available and the option to solo any of them, this allows you to create a variety of moods using just Lighthouse Piano.

Advance Controls Made Simple

The three microphone mixes in this library were chosen specifically to bring out the different characteristics of the piano. They can be used either independently or in combination to customise the timbre to your needs.

The Hammers mic, captured with Marcus' own pair of Soyuz 013s, offers the extreme close-up: barely inches away from the source of the sound, these small-diaphragm condensers highlight the piano's percussive detail and ability to imitate a felted upright. The Body mic provides a wider, darker tone with subtle room ambience, adding depth and a more traditional soundstage, whilst the Player mic captures the perspective of the performer which, as with Homestead Piano, gives you a natural, immersive view of the instrument.

Alongside the mic positions are Colour and Timbre Shift controls, which digitally enhance the brightness and darkness of the piano, giving it even more flexibility across a wide range of music.

Response Controls

As with our other pianos, you can control the response of the instrument's timbre and volume, giving you precise control over how the character of the Blüthner changes to your touch. Timbre Scaling lets you shape how soft or bright it sounds by adjusting the threshold of the original dynamic layers – allowing you to stay more easily within the 'felt-sounding' range, or the 'concert grand range', if desired. This is complemented by the Volume Scaling, which gives you precise control over audible volume, so you can bring out the best side of the piano for your composition without the need for compression.

Bonus Instrument

The Harmonium patch can be played like a regular instrument, with multiple dynamic layers, Stereo Width and Colour controls – but to emulate its use as a backing for live folk performances, a toggle switch is also available on the interface. This makes the instrument 'latch' onto any notes you play and loop them infinitely, giving you a handy drone-maker for improvisations or, with the use of the keyswitch, an easy on/off pad to play throughout a composition.