Ultimate Piano VST Comparison: Keyscape, Spitfire, NI, Logic, Musio with the StudioLogic SL88 Grand

Hello Composers!

In this video I compare piano VST plug-ins both free and paid played on the StudioLogic SL88|Grand. Which ones work best with the Fatar TP400/Wood hammer action? Could free piano VSTs actually work for your compositions with a good controller?

#piano #vst #composer

FREE:

LINKS TO OTHER PIANOS IN THIS VIDEO:

Other pianos mentioned in this video:

Timestamps:

0:00 - The Kawaii Baby Grand
1:25 - My New SL88|Grand
2:43 - Spitfire Labs Autograph Grand
5:21 - Logic Bosendorfer Piano
7:20 - Native Instruments Noire
9:47 - A Noire Love Story
10:38 - Keyscape Yamaha C7
12:52 - Garritan Concert D
15:10 - Music Cinepiano
18:29 - Native Instruments The Grandeur
20:24 - Logic Yamaha Piano
22:26 - Native Instruments The Maverick
23:53 - Musio Session Grand
25:12 - Yamaha C7 PianoBook
27:18 - The Dolan Piano PianoBook
29:00 - BBCSO Piano
31:10 - Piano VST Wrap Up

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[HelloComposers]

Give me your thoughts on your favorite Piano VSTs! Use any of these?

[mannyrdi]

For me, it’s Pianoteq then Keyscape. I’ve been exploring Ivory3 and Pianoverse lately but my go to is Pianoteq!

[MakerFarmNL]

As I am waiting for my SL Grand to arrive, I came across your video. Thank you for this very informative video!! Very much appreciated!

[marcboule]

Great overview! If ever you do a part 2, it would be interesting to get your opinion on modeled pianos. I've been using Pianoteq and liking it a lot! 🎹🎶

[NeuroPete]

Noire is my goto for when I want to just sit down and play a nice piano by itself, with Garritan CFX a close second. Both have many dynamic sample layers and are highly customizable with multiple mic positions and timbre controls. Both are based on the Yamaha CFX grand, which I like the more delicate sound of, compared to VSTs based on the Steinway D grand, which I find too brash. I also have all of the Native Intruments pianos from Komplete 14, including Grandeur, Giant, Gentlemen, Maverick, Uni Corda, and Alicia Keys. They're ok, but I'm not wild about them. Piano Colors is also based on the Yamaha CFX, but I don't like the plain piano sound as much as Noire or Garritan. Noire, Piano Colors and Arturia's Augmented Pianos come with elaborate customizable ambiant layer engines, which sound amazing and could be useful, but I mainly am interested in the core piano sound. I have heard from many sources that PianoTeq, Vienna, and Keyscapes are all excellent, but I can't justify the cost, as I have so many piano VSTs already.

[TrevisRothwell]

Nice review! I myself usually use the AcousticSamples C7 piano, but am also very fond of the Spitfire Jangle Box piano, for a very different sort of character.

[mollykeyzz]

Apologies from me for saying thank you too....l previously deposited for native mk3 but changed my mind to slgrand 88 ....thank you for not letting me regret it....

[rokmulec]

Grandeur is one of my favourites. And I was surprised to discover it was a hamburg Steinway Model D because my initial thought was also that it was a Yamaha. Nice playing, nice reviews, keep up the good work.

[okay]

Thanks. Interesting comparison. A varied selection, demonstrating how different piano samples can sound, in their dynamics, ambience and tone. The only thing I would add is one needs a really good listening environment, or headphones (preferably with crosstalk refinement) to hear these differences. Each with their own quirks. The Dolan was interesting, if a bit noisy.

[arbous]

Thanks a lot for doing this. I think having an anechoic room for sampling makes a difference for having a balanced sound between the high notes and low notes. I found the lowest two or even three octaves suffer from too much low mid frequency accumulation because the microphones catch the reflection from the room or piano body. That masks out some of the beautiful harmonics created by the strings and kind of mushes the tones. The other issue I found is that the zing you hear with velocities above lets say 80 or 90 sounds like on-off switch in some sample libraries which makes the sound artificial sounding. I think there need to be modification to the EQ to compensate for that. Perhaps relationship of MIDI velocity to real physics of string resonation energy that reveals that zing is not linear and that's why it leaves a small room of MIDI velocities for that zing to present itself. I tried to change the velocity curves in my MIDI keyboard as well as on the sample libraries I checked but still I couldn't settle in hearing that zing as a continually and gradually increasing experience. Also I think it is important to have mic angles and distances that you don't catch that thud from the keys. I think thud is not musical, is it? Again, I think these are things being picked up by the condenser mic which is more sensitive than ears and positioned too close to the piano wooden internals so the mic picks it up more than the musician's position and ears. Two of the piano sample libraries that I thought would be nice in the next round to be in the comparison are Garritan CFX and Spitfire Hans Zimmer piano. Both have massive libraries which reflect how many dynamic layers are created. I think it is like 20 layers, not sure for Spitfire because a lot of microphones were used which is part of the reason for inflation of the library size. I wished the sample library companies would not create so many varieties but get the best clean and clear and balanced mic and mic position and just focus on capturing more layers to maximize the continuity of the tone and expression in different MIDI velocities. Thanks again.

[rudolfboukal]

Great and thorough presentation. I also enjoy Keyscape and use the Giant from NI. But my piano of choice is Ravenscroft 275. My controller is the Kawai MP11se (I had to rebuild the end of key pads myself - the ones that come from Kawai become "sticky"). When I do solo piano, I use a VST for the same reason you do - the difficulty of recording an acoustic piano!! What interface do you use? I use Focusrite Claret - but it does color the sound .... a little. Whatever you are using to do this video - the sound is great; you can really hear the difference between each piano. Thanks again - job well done!!

[mattmckeon]

That Keyscape C7 sounds wonderful - exactly how a real Yamaha C7 piano professionally recorded in a studio would sound. 🎹 👌

[themultimusicman]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Eric! I also like The Giant from NI. I used it in my Klavier Momente - Album.
I also use sometimes Augmented Piano from Arturia.

[jonos]

Kontakt pianos are my go to. I also mix piano samples in kontakt to get the sound I want.
I like the sound of the maverick, grandeur, and the upright (which I've forgotten the name just now 😂)
The Kontakt Kawai piano I like too.
I have keyscape which is great, but I wish they hadn't just focused on the Yamaha piano and had included a bechstein too. Garritan is OK but not the sound I go for personally. Cinepiano is good but with my keyboard I find it less responsive than say keyscape which is very responsive. I'm with you on the reverb. So many samples have the room sound which you can't turn off. The Ravel is notorious for this. You can turn off reverb but it still sounds like reverb.
I like as dry as possible piano sound that I can add reverb or room sound to. I'm more into 70's pop piano. Listen to albums like Elton John, Jackson brown and you won't hear loads of reverb, but a dryer more intimate piano sound which I love. Too many vst creators use reverb to mask the poor quality of their samples.
Love your playing BTW. 👍

[tobyfisher]

Thank you very much ! Very helpful ! Bendiciones !

[kennethjackson]

Great video! I can’t chord a grand piano, but this piano you are using sounds great, but was thinking of the Native Kontakt SL88 grand. Maybe making the wrong choice but what do you think? Love the Keyscape. Don’t have it!

[ricksolds]

This was excellent! I wish you could have added native instruments the gentleman and my absolute favorite pianoteq

[andreamodenese]

No one ever mentions Ivory pianos which are MASTERPIECES

[richardpenrose]

Noire is my goto despite trying the VSL piano's. This piano just works extremely well on a wide range of styles due to it's tweakability. I would love it if NI updated this library to Noire 2 with an additional mic perspective and Una Corda. However, I don't think they captured any other mic perspectives and Una Corda samples in the session and Galaxy Instruments don't want to use modelling to re-create this.
I have also started using Pianoteq more seriously on recent projects and think this is constantly improving with each update! I don't think certain aspects of the sound is quite there yet but in other ways I find some things surpass any piano library I've tried.

I am considering adding one more piano sample library with multiple mic perspectives and am torn between the Garritan CFX, Ivory 3 and the new Premier Kawai Legend library.

[leanderquest]

I have a SL 88 Grand too, but the keys are hard to press, even hard than my real Yamaha piano...I have problems with my tendon sheath...so no more SL Grand for me :(. I use an M-Audio Keystation 88 MK3 now which is of course a compromise.