Garritan CFX is absolutely my desert-island piano library. The timbre, the mics used, the ROOM and it fits like a glove to my SL88 Grand. Nice review, EXCELLENT playing. 👍
extremely funny what you played at 43:10, its a part i landed in when improvising a few years ago. its extremely funny to see someone improvise and land in the same situation. its like having these parking moments when your brain is switching gears xd
For me Pianoverse is exceptional. I had it on subscription then they had a really good offer to buy the whole lot outright so I did. Five incredible grand pianos, superbly recorded, total control over every sound with exceptional production possibilities and I never have to call in a piano tuner! Absolute no-brainer! 😎
Noire sounds extremely well balanced to me. Its got a nice warmth and richness without sounding too perfect and tinny like VSTs can be sometimes. I seriously am considering getting it as someone who is learning classical piano. Anyway, thanks for the vid, and fantastic playing!
I really love Noire, but it's lacking in dynamic range; also you can't get a really dry sound. Great for softer playing, and the felt version is fantastic.
It’s honestly amazing, but beware that playing dynamically intensive stuff can be a bit of a struggle because it’s dynamic range is fairly limited (my biggest difficulty is moonlight sonata 3rd movement). But in fairness, my keyboard isn’t the greatest, so that piece is a struggle with most libraries.
I LOVE the sympathetic resonance on pianoteq. What's crazy is that now you can use pianoteq as an effect. You can apply that sympathetic resonance to other libraries! Can you show us how that sounds? Keyscape + pianoteq resonance?
Hi Sam, with UVI, you can choose between subscription (Sonicpass) or purchasing perpetual licenses. The Austrian Grand is $79 when not on sale. It can also be purchased as part of bundles.
You hit the nail on the head with Pianoteq. A little boxy and in your face at first but a little tweaking yields great rewards. I absolutely love the new Bosendorfer, which has put Pianoteq back on my top shelf alongside the VSL stuff. The thing that sets Pianoteq apart for me is the playability - with (potentially) 127 velocity levels vs a few sampled layers just feels smoother to me.
You gotta great feel brother... God is Good. They're all great but the Noire Pure did it for me. Warm, full bodied, unpretentious with subtle detail and natural harmonic resonance that radiates sweet and easy. Wow.
I've got them all, well most of the biggies, including Keyscape, various UVI crap, Garritan, Komplete 14 Collectors Edition, Ivory II, Ravenscroft 275, Arturia, and VSL Synchron etc... I bought them all myself (I have more money than sense.) The only ones that I regularly use are Pianoteq Pro Studio Bundle, Keyscape, and the Komplete Pianos. Pianoteq is, by far, my favorite. I like Keyscape for the various electrics and hybrids. I like the Komplete ones because they are right there. and they sound good enough in a mix. Pianoteq is great and it improves constantly. If you are a concert pianist or jazz pianist, this (or maybe the $3000 VSL piano library.) No sampled piano will ever be updated, upgraded and reconfigured as much as Pianoteq. It is configurable to a ridiculous extent. Also, when you tweak Pianoteq, you are not just warping static recordings (which is what samples are.) If Pianoteq sounds tinny to you, you don't know what you're doing. Stick to Alicia's Keys. The top version of Pianoteq is the STUDIO BUNDLE. It's around $900 (trust me on that). That is a fraction of what VSL costs. Garritan AB CFX is garbage.
@@SamTheBeardGuy I have Ivory II. It's one of many piano libraries I no longer have installed. They didn't update that thing for a solid DECADE! I don't really blame then for that. Just the microphones used in a premium piano library probably cost a few hundred thousand dollars. Such is the reality of sampled libraries.
Oh, I wish I found your channel sooner. Thank you for the reviews, very informative and helpful. And thanks for some just entrancing performances here. You are a really fabulous musician!
As I suggested many years ago, while being a “keyboard magazine” reader ,(the real, paper version..), in a reader letter, someone should manufacture a really good real acoustic piano keyboard, in a cool design, high quality “box”, inside all computer stuff needed for loading any kind of those high end pianos sounds, with a cd/usb/Wi-Fi/ whatever needed, and a needed small screen, etc….. what I mean is that so many pianists just want to push the “on” button, and play… Sure, acoustic piano is best … but when an electronic one is needed/ useful, if you want as less compromises as exists, or the best there is,you need a computer, sound card, keyboard, wires, wow… We just need a best quality all in one keyboard that can handle any data of those high quality piano sounds to upload once, and then just push “on” and play…. And always to be able to buy another “piano” data and upload it to this cool instrument….
Thank you for this Sam. 🙏You play very beautifully (according to my taste of course). Great that you included The Gentleman. Love the sound and sweet character of it, and I'm going to install it. 🙂
Keyscape is not my favorite grand piano sound but it’s so damn good with everything else which I find very ironic. Nothing wrong with their sample quality, you’d just think they’d put some more grands in there with how many instruments are loaded in
Listened to the sweet end. So glad I did because now I know I want the CFX Concert Grand. Listening to your review of all the pianos has been also medicinal to the soul. Loved every moment. In another of your fine videos you saved me from purchasing Eastwest Pianos. I have Hollywood orchestra Opus, Hollywood Choirs, Spaces 2, and Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra and have been an Eastwest customer since the early 2000s with Symphonic Choirs, Orchestra Platinum, and other items of theirs. Love their stuff, but I can see what you are saying about Pianos. Thank you Sam for allowing us to hang with you in this wonderful sampling of pianos.
This is a very good review. I have been using a variety of libraries over the last decade, and Pianoteq is my everyday library. I save presets for the sound I want from a particular instrument for the style of music. Again very informative, good review.
Hi! Great review of the different digital pianos. Could you talk a litle about the, amplifications of the digital piano , as i myself find it difficult to find a very good amplification and sound reproduction of the digital piano in a live situation? Greetings per trolle and thanks
Also agreed, just here right? - th-cam.com/video/FB8MXQAAYUA/w-d-xo.html - @SamTheBeardGuy - would love to know what this is from, I'm guessing a worship song? Or was it something you came up with on the fly? Edit: Found it, it's from the piano part of a song called "Good plans" th-cam.com/video/D4ayfi4iXdU/w-d-xo.html (Love Sam's take on this!)
This is SO good, thanks. I taught myself to play piano during the UK lockdown, and went down the midi piano + macbook + NI route. Bought a couple of the pianos you demonstrated on here. I love the piano playing on your videos, but I came away feeling like I have SO much work to do to play better than I do right now. Like you, I'm in the church/worship scene, but that is where I play almost exclusively. I'm now using Sunday Keys through the iPad, but this makes me want to connect my MBP back up again and see what I can do. Thanks! (Also, your website link is dead, fyi!)
While the great playing makes all of those sound good, the ones I liked the most were the Garritan CFX, Hammer and Waves, and Noire. SonicPass sounds great too, although I prefer buying once and having it forever. Thanks for the recommendations! I'll be sure to subscribe so I can hear more of your playing.
Can't believe you don't adjust the dynamics in pianoteq. Sampling pianos sound great, but to me what really sets pianoteq apart is the endless dynamic layers of modelling. I always increase dynamics quite a bit and that makes playing feel so much more like a real piano.
True, if I'm dialing in a piano sound I'll adjust dynamics, among other things. But these reviews are typically out of the box presets, I don't spend any time making them anything they're not by default.
I believe the Grandeur would work well for gospel as well as what we call country gospel here in the south. Sounds beautiful and the playing is absolutely top notch. The Grandeur may be at home living on a Surface Pro 4, I well have to check the specs. At the moment it is on sale for $49.95. I think the stars could be lining up. Thanks for the review(s)!
Upgraded to Pianoteq 8 today from version 6 😊 I d like to mention even its lightweight a faster computer helps. With a fast AMD cpu and a ASIO driver its like I am playing a hardware instrument. Before with an I5 and 8 gb RAM I had some latency. Also as a long time user since 2016 it was cheap (only 30) to update and it takes some steps forward in quality. I also tried KeyScape and Arturia. They sound better in the mix but for solo playing I prefer Pianoteq. I like the chord display function and midi recording (always) and export options.
Hi. About four months ago, I purchased a piano library which I think is better than Noire, even better than the other CFX library you showed us. Production Voices made a CFX library called 300 Grand, and it sounds phenomenal. It's 72 GB, so still huge, but you get 9 microphone perspectives that you can control independently.
Thank you for these great recommendations! You do them very well and i like the style of the videos. Are you planning to do some online courses/lessons and maybe private lessons? I'd like to learn your style of playing and your improvisation techniques. You play very cool stuff:)
TIMESTAMPS TO ACTUAL PLAYING FOR COMPARISION: KEYSCAPE: 5:00 PIANOTEQ: 11:50 GRANDEUR: 17:42 GENTLEMAN: 21:53 HAMMER AND WAVES: 27:20 NOIRE: 31:54 SONICPASS: 40:14 CFX GRAND: 47:43 U're welcome, consider checking my piano covers: th-cam.com/video/O1IsIaufDq8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=f0dwC0DghxI9J9eQ
I had this sick piano sampke back in 2011, super under the radar, don't think they still exist. And had a name that was so easy to forget. Virtual grand?
Wonderful playing as always Sam, outstanding! Well keyscape remains incredible no matter what comes out, for pop and jazz styles I guess they are in a league of their own. If they ever release an update in their library however they should record a full grand; like a D or a larger 9FT Yamaha. I think both Keyscape and The Nord piano library as we hear it in Nord keyboards need a full grand sound which sounds clear. Then this pianoverse is very good! I've heard they work both with sampling and modeling the sounds. I know they can't compare but the supernatural engine in most Rolands did the same, and although old it still provides some of the best pianos you'd find on a keyboard, in my opinion even better than their solo modeling engines which sound nothing special. Pianoteq isn't my go to, I think it'll never be, because when I choose a piano VST I like to play something which sounds like a piano, not something that allows me to create my own new instrument through changing a thousand parameters. No doubt it Sounds good, but I don't find any specialty in it and this applies to all modeled pianos. Their everlasting promise for providing subtlety elements just like a real grand is rather stupid, Because sampled pianos do that pretty fine if you calibrate the velocity curve right, and also because... well... Pianos aren't that subtle by definition, not as much as for a library with 1000 samples per note to fail replicating it. But there are things with which modeling can help while building a digital piano sound for sure. Keep it up! :)
Another con of Keyscape is that the 'I think' the piano sample (the tone, not the hammers and other effects) is mono. It 'sounds" as if the high notes are panned to the right and low notes to the right. Lastly, the piano tone has a massive and narrow boost at around 8K? Hard to remove it. Hammers and Waves has some inspiring presets. A budget grand to consider would be Acoustic Samples C7 Grand. Not bad for $100. CFX is also a really nice grand. But you need to experiment to find the right sound for your music genre.
I own about 80% of them and agree with you almost 100% on your comments on them. Great, really great piano VIs!. Have you tried VSL pianos?. I love them also
@@SamTheBeardGuy You probably know they use to have 1 month trial licenses, right?. I know it is not ideal, but as you can activate them when you wish, what I did was to "order" all of them and then use them one by one. Months of free pianos when you can select the one(s) you like more and wait for next sale to grab it (them) 🤩
Wow you can play! Excellent reviews as well! Quick question... I am looking for a midi keyboard to purchase. Do you have any recommendations? Weighted key style for sure. Budget around 2k. Thanks
FYI, you can purchase Austrian Grand separately for $79. You don't need a subscription. I used that for quite a while. It doesn't feel totally natural out of the box, though. You can hear the abnormally short releases in your sample playing. I had to adjust the ADSR setting to get a more natural note release, although the bass notes are disproportionally affected by ADSR, so you then get abnormally long releases on the low notes. But for $79, I'd be hard pressed to find anything that sounds as good, with an excellent dynamic range and warm sound. Now, CFX Grand is pretty much my favorite, even though certain notes have a bit of a buzz when playing them hard. Do you notice that? I hear it in your playing sample. Interestingly, the compact versions of the samples don't have the buzz, but then you miss out on some of the richness. Even with the buzzes, though, the tone is just so rich and thick, and the bass so clean and strong, I've replaced all my piano tracks with the CFX.
Honestly, the only reason is because I don't have it anymore. They sent it to me to review a few years, and I think I lost it in transition to a new computer and new harddrives, and I've just never needed to go back. The Sonicpass stuff is great too, so I haven't needed to.
@@SamTheBeardGuy oh yeah, I've realized that. I remembered in your video how you met the guy that lead you to get a copy of Ravenscroft. God bless you bro!
I actually own all of these libraries and few others, but my goto usually ends up being CFX. The biggest "con" for me is the fact that they have not updated CFX in a very VERY long time. I can only imagine what they could do to it. I own a Kawai RX-7 and when I play CFX, I can feel the "wood" from my RX-7.
Hi, thanks for sharing this informative review. I would like to hear your thoughts about Native Instruments Una Corda and Synthogy's Ivory 2 or 3 grands too, if you tested them. Thanks!
Hey, nice video as usual Sam! Have you tried VSL Synchron Yamaha CFX or Steinway? I'd really like to watch your reaction and review on those (they are expensive as hell lol) but I've heard from some people that they are the closest ones to the first time playing a big grand experience
Thanks! Like many, I came for the review, and stayed for the inspiration. Would you let me know which controller, that you play recommend, for connecting to the instrument, a piano of course. Thank you.
These software pianos go along way in explaining why the likes of Roland and Yamaha have almost given up on bringing new decent (RD88 /08 don’t qualify) stage pianos onto the market. RD2000 - 2017 vintage CP88 - 2019 vintage. They used to work on a two/three year replacement cycle - long gone. If only some enterprising start-up could box up a decent kbd action with memory for VST’s such as these for those of us that don’t like taking laptops on stage.
What a nice video! Thank you! Is there a difference in sound if you connect your computer to your keyboard with a USB cable or through an interface? Or is the sound of the software all the same? Thanks a lot in advance!
Keyscape was kind of a disappointment for me as a solo classical piano. I also disliked pianoteq because there are some ranges where it sounds very nasal. However, their new Bosendorfer 280 minimizes that nasal (boxy) sound enough that I might purchase it during their end of summer sale. The VSL Bosendorfer 280 is also really nice. I’m 100% with you on the Grandeur and the Garritan library. I’ve been trialing the garritan (cough cough), but I’m going to buy it as soon as I get my refund from VSL for their CFX. I tried their CFX and it just sounds too glassy on the top end. More importantly, thanks for the video as it was super fun to watch.
I love Keyscape and the NI Stuff. But I'm interested in Hammers + Waves acoustic especially the uprights. Do you think they could be great in a live Worship Set? I can imagine that with Hammers + Waves I'm able to add something new, but what's your opinion?
There is one thing I absolutely don’t like with soft-pianos, which for me always is almost a dead giveaway that the piano was sampled and not a real acoustic recording. Lets say you during a piece/performance need to repeat the same note at the same velocity, that tone is going to sound exactly the same every single time on a softpiano. On a real piano, due to its organic nature, you’ll never going to make a note sound exactly the same ….like never. In a busy mix, no one is going to notice the difference. But for my solo-piano stuff, I think plugins are going to have a pretty hard time keeping up with a real Fazioli F278 grand recorded with my Schoeps mics. Maybe one day plugin will come to this level of authenticity, but that day is definately not today.
Im getting that m3 Max with 12 performance cores so I can run stuff like the CFX no problem lol. fyi, logic users beware, logic doesn't use the efficiency cores! So if you don't get the max chip for the latest generation, you will get more power from the m1 pro chips. Just ignore the efficiency cores and only count the performance cores when factoring in more budget friendly models. For some reason, Apple has been replacing the pro chip performance cores for more efficiency cores. Don't waste your money on a bunch of cores that your DAW won't even be able to use!
the grandeurs sounds incredible compares to pianoteq or even keyscape ( pianoteq lacks of body, and keyscape, the notes are like cut off as if there were no sustain) . The grandeur sounds full.
not sure why, but i have the cfx garritan and it just feels too... tinny and aggressive around the mid range? i've been searching for a piano plugin that sounds more like a roland or a yamaha cp, but i'm not sure why when i use the cfx garritan live on a sunday worship band, it sounds muddy/not smooth coming from the speakers
I found that the sustain control of the Grandeur is pretty bad. Ìve made measures of the cc64 control that shows a quite terrible behaviour especially in the lower octaves. There is endless sustain until the pedal is nearly full depressed.
Thanks for that! Any video explaining the midi controller you are using? Looking at purchasing an SL88 studio but would be very curious to know what you are playing on most of the time, I saw you had an SL88 in the background from time to time.
HI SAM, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCE, VERY USEFUL. I'M INTERESTED IN WHICH KEYBOARD YOU USE, OR WHICH ONE IS CLOSEST TO YOUR "REAL PIANO" TOUCH? Thanks,M
Very nice demos, thank you. In your video, are you running CFX M2-native or is Rosetta 2 required? Garritan states that the Garritan player must be used with Apple Silicon, but I've also heard that the CFX player is working fine. I'm porting my copy from an older Intel mac and may pick up Pianoteq to complement.
Hi Sam! I've just bought myself a Korg D1 after reading some of your comments saying that you recommended it. I'm a newbie and wanted to ask how you connect it to your computer to play VSTs? What kind of cables/devices do you use? Thank you!
@@SamTheBeardGuy Hi Sam thanks, just wanted to ask if your headphones are then connected to your laptop/computer or the Korg D1 itself when wanting to hear VSTs with a Midi USB cable?
Brilliant playing and style. Came for a piano; discovered an artist.
Thanks :)
Man, I gotta tell you. I could listen to this all day.
I have years of videos for you to check out :)
Garritan CFX is absolutely my desert-island piano library. The timbre, the mics used, the ROOM and it fits like a glove to my SL88 Grand. Nice review, EXCELLENT playing. 👍
thanks!
@JPDC624 Which velocity curve are you using for your SL88 Grand so it would fit "like a glove" the CFX?
Garritan and pianoteq are great . I havé both
extremely funny what you played at 43:10, its a part i landed in when improvising a few years ago. its extremely funny to see someone improvise and land in the same situation. its like having these parking moments when your brain is switching gears xd
For me Pianoverse is exceptional. I had it on subscription then they had a really good offer to buy the whole lot outright so I did. Five incredible grand pianos, superbly recorded, total control over every sound with exceptional production possibilities and I never have to call in a piano tuner! Absolute no-brainer! 😎
Thank you. this is the best informative and practical video on virtual pianos.
And Bravo for playing the piano so beautifully.
Noire sounds extremely well balanced to me. Its got a nice warmth and richness without sounding too perfect and tinny like VSTs can be sometimes. I seriously am considering getting it as someone who is learning classical piano. Anyway, thanks for the vid, and fantastic playing!
I really love Noire, but it's lacking in dynamic range; also you can't get a really dry sound. Great for softer playing, and the felt version is fantastic.
Noire is my favorite vst by far. With the pure and felt option it’s like the perfect piano for church and soft moments
@@michaelsnowviolinand which one has the dynamic range that you seek?
@@tendingtropic7778 CFX Concert Grand is my go-to piano these days.
It’s honestly amazing, but beware that playing dynamically intensive stuff can be a bit of a struggle because it’s dynamic range is fairly limited (my biggest difficulty is moonlight sonata 3rd movement). But in fairness, my keyboard isn’t the greatest, so that piece is a struggle with most libraries.
Have you ever talked about your piano learning journey and your playing style and objectives in any videos?
Thank you,
Michael
I LOVE the sympathetic resonance on pianoteq. What's crazy is that now you can use pianoteq as an effect. You can apply that sympathetic resonance to other libraries! Can you show us how that sounds? Keyscape + pianoteq resonance?
Hi Sam, with UVI, you can choose between subscription (Sonicpass) or purchasing perpetual licenses. The Austrian Grand is $79 when not on sale. It can also be purchased as part of bundles.
Yeah, I whiffed on this one. Called it pianoverse, and I couldn't remember off the top of my head how all their pricing works haha
All of this. Yes. I really love the bit on Pianoteq. Beautiful. I use bechstein and steingraeber models
Thanks! Yeah I love the bechstein specifically
The Bechstein is superb.
Ive recently added the Bosendorfer and wow it’s superior to the other models in my opinion. Sits well in various styles of playing. Wow.
I demoed it (the Bose). Undoubtedly sits well in a live mix.
Great playing. Something nice about Noire. Mix of realistic, pleasant and filmish/dreamy, so to say.
You hit the nail on the head with Pianoteq. A little boxy and in your face at first but a little tweaking yields great rewards. I absolutely love the new Bosendorfer, which has put Pianoteq back on my top shelf alongside the VSL stuff. The thing that sets Pianoteq apart for me is the playability - with (potentially) 127 velocity levels vs a few sampled layers just feels smoother to me.
A bought noire last month and it’s blown my mind! So beautiful! My favourite by far ❤
I'm looking at this too. Do you need Kontakt to run it?
@@critiqueoblique5820 Yes.
The Grandeur is way better.
You gotta great feel brother... God is Good. They're all great but the Noire Pure did it for me. Warm, full bodied, unpretentious with subtle detail and natural harmonic resonance that radiates sweet and easy. Wow.
Noire pure is great, use it all the time.
Beautiful playing, thank you very much! Subscribed!
thanks!
wow CFX sounds amazing of course thanks to you as well ;)
thanks!
Love the worship songs bro!
thanks!
Always so nice to hear a comparison video with an excellent musician making good music!
I've got them all, well most of the biggies, including Keyscape, various UVI crap, Garritan, Komplete 14 Collectors Edition, Ivory II, Ravenscroft 275, Arturia, and VSL Synchron etc... I bought them all myself (I have more money than sense.) The only ones that I regularly use are Pianoteq Pro Studio Bundle, Keyscape, and the Komplete Pianos. Pianoteq is, by far, my favorite. I like Keyscape for the various electrics and hybrids. I like the Komplete ones because they are right there. and they sound good enough in a mix. Pianoteq is great and it improves constantly. If you are a concert pianist or jazz pianist, this (or maybe the $3000 VSL piano library.) No sampled piano will ever be updated, upgraded and reconfigured as much as Pianoteq. It is configurable to a ridiculous extent. Also, when you tweak Pianoteq, you are not just warping static recordings (which is what samples are.) If Pianoteq sounds tinny to you, you don't know what you're doing. Stick to Alicia's Keys. The top version of Pianoteq is the STUDIO BUNDLE. It's around $900 (trust me on that). That is a fraction of what VSL costs. Garritan AB CFX is garbage.
I have still yet to try the Ivory or the VSL library, I've been trying to get a copy of Ivory for awhile now
@@SamTheBeardGuy I have Ivory II. It's one of many piano libraries I no longer have installed. They didn't update that thing for a solid DECADE! I don't really blame then for that. Just the microphones used in a premium piano library probably cost a few hundred thousand dollars. Such is the reality of sampled libraries.
Oh, I wish I found your channel sooner. Thank you for the reviews, very informative and helpful. And thanks for some just entrancing performances here. You are a really fabulous musician!
As I suggested many years ago, while being a “keyboard magazine” reader ,(the real, paper version..), in a reader letter, someone should manufacture a really good real acoustic piano keyboard, in a cool design, high quality “box”, inside all computer stuff needed for loading any kind of those high end pianos sounds, with a cd/usb/Wi-Fi/ whatever needed, and a needed small screen, etc….. what I mean is that so many pianists just want to push the “on” button, and play…
Sure, acoustic piano is best … but when an electronic one is needed/ useful, if you want as less compromises as exists, or the best there is,you need a computer, sound card, keyboard, wires, wow…
We just need a best quality all in one keyboard that can handle any data of those high quality piano sounds to upload once, and then just push “on” and play….
And always to be able to buy another “piano” data and upload it to this cool instrument….
Thank you ... wonderful emotional playing 🙏
Thanks :)
Hi bearded piano guy!
Brilliant video, thank you.
What are you playing as a controller in this video please???
Warmest regards,
Chris
Thank you for this Sam. 🙏You play very beautifully (according to my taste of course). Great that you included The Gentleman. Love the sound and sweet character of it, and I'm going to install it. 🙂
Keyscape is not my favorite grand piano sound but it’s so damn good with everything else which I find very ironic. Nothing wrong with their sample quality, you’d just think they’d put some more grands in there with how many instruments are loaded in
yeah it doesn't fit with everything, but it's great
superb.. simply captivating man...
Listened to the sweet end. So glad I did because now I know I want the CFX Concert Grand. Listening to your review of all the pianos has been also medicinal to the soul. Loved every moment. In another of your fine videos you saved me from purchasing Eastwest Pianos. I have Hollywood orchestra Opus, Hollywood Choirs, Spaces 2, and Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra and have been an Eastwest customer since the early 2000s with Symphonic Choirs, Orchestra Platinum, and other items of theirs. Love their stuff, but I can see what you are saying about Pianos. Thank you Sam for allowing us to hang with you in this wonderful sampling of pianos.
not only a great review and comparison but awesome playing! wow
Love this review and your wonderful playing! Was a bit surprised Pianoverse didn’t make the list, but still a solid selection of pianos!
This is a very good review. I have been using a variety of libraries over the last decade, and Pianoteq is my everyday library. I save presets for the sound I want from a particular instrument for the style of music. Again very informative, good review.
I use 3 pianos. The V-Piano on my RD2000 live, then I have The Grandeur and Hammer and waves more for home use.
I love the RD2000. Been fan of Roland keyboards
Great content! Beautiful playing sir. Thank you very much!
Hi! Great review of the different digital pianos.
Could you talk a litle about the, amplifications of the digital piano , as i myself find it difficult to find a very good amplification and sound reproduction of the digital piano in a live situation?
Greetings per trolle and thanks
Wow! Amazing playing
thanks!
Great Video Sam!
I been goin through listening to different kontakt pianos, and feel like the Noire is my favorite still.
noire is great!
The song you played on the the gentleman is amazing thank you
Agreed. Do you know what song it is?
Also agreed, just here right? - th-cam.com/video/FB8MXQAAYUA/w-d-xo.html - @SamTheBeardGuy - would love to know what this is from, I'm guessing a worship song? Or was it something you came up with on the fly?
Edit: Found it, it's from the piano part of a song called "Good plans" th-cam.com/video/D4ayfi4iXdU/w-d-xo.html
(Love Sam's take on this!)
Cheers mate, fantastic!!I'll watch this very soon. Keep up the excellent work 👍💞🇬🇧🇺🇲
Thanks!
Thanks for the walkthroughs. You saved me a ton of instrument audition time!
This is SO good, thanks. I taught myself to play piano during the UK lockdown, and went down the midi piano + macbook + NI route. Bought a couple of the pianos you demonstrated on here. I love the piano playing on your videos, but I came away feeling like I have SO much work to do to play better than I do right now. Like you, I'm in the church/worship scene, but that is where I play almost exclusively.
I'm now using Sunday Keys through the iPad, but this makes me want to connect my MBP back up again and see what I can do.
Thanks!
(Also, your website link is dead, fyi!)
Thank you, you had mentioned it in other responses.
I like your playing Sam! I have the noire and im very happy but want to try something new
awesome!
While the great playing makes all of those sound good, the ones I liked the most were the Garritan CFX, Hammer and Waves, and Noire. SonicPass sounds great too, although I prefer buying once and having it forever. Thanks for the recommendations! I'll be sure to subscribe so I can hear more of your playing.
Very helpful breakdown, thank you!
Can't believe you don't adjust the dynamics in pianoteq. Sampling pianos sound great, but to me what really sets pianoteq apart is the endless dynamic layers of modelling. I always increase dynamics quite a bit and that makes playing feel so much more like a real piano.
True, if I'm dialing in a piano sound I'll adjust dynamics, among other things. But these reviews are typically out of the box presets, I don't spend any time making them anything they're not by default.
I believe the Grandeur would work well for gospel as well as what we call country gospel here in the south. Sounds beautiful and the playing is absolutely top notch.
The Grandeur may be at home living on a Surface Pro 4, I well have to check the specs. At the moment it is on sale for $49.95. I think the stars could be lining up.
Thanks for the review(s)!
Thank you ❤
Upgraded to Pianoteq 8 today from version 6 😊
I d like to mention even its lightweight a faster computer helps. With a fast AMD cpu and a ASIO driver its like I am playing a hardware instrument. Before with an I5 and 8 gb RAM I had some latency.
Also as a long time user since 2016 it was cheap (only 30) to update and it takes some steps forward in quality. I also tried KeyScape and Arturia. They sound better in the mix but for solo playing I prefer Pianoteq.
I like the chord display function and midi recording (always) and export options.
Yes, I really like the Garritan GFX a lot also.
this guy deserves more followers
Mind blown CFX solo. Love it.
Very helpful video! Many thanks! Great playing.
Hi. About four months ago, I purchased a piano library which I think is better than Noire, even better than the other CFX library you showed us. Production Voices made a CFX library called 300 Grand, and it sounds phenomenal. It's 72 GB, so still huge, but you get 9 microphone perspectives that you can control independently.
I place this comment as a marker
Thank you for these great recommendations! You do them very well and i like the style of the videos. Are you planning to do some online courses/lessons and maybe private lessons?
I'd like to learn your style of playing and your improvisation techniques. You play very cool stuff:)
I did launch a patreon, and I'm in the early stages of developing a tutorial course, potentially.
TIMESTAMPS TO ACTUAL PLAYING FOR COMPARISION:
KEYSCAPE: 5:00
PIANOTEQ: 11:50
GRANDEUR: 17:42
GENTLEMAN: 21:53
HAMMER AND WAVES: 27:20
NOIRE: 31:54
SONICPASS: 40:14
CFX GRAND: 47:43
U're welcome, consider checking my piano covers: th-cam.com/video/O1IsIaufDq8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=f0dwC0DghxI9J9eQ
I had this sick piano sampke back in 2011, super under the radar, don't think they still exist. And had a name that was so easy to forget. Virtual grand?
Love your channel and playing
:)
Great video, as always. Which MIDI controller do you use, Sam?
Wonderful playing as always Sam, outstanding!
Well keyscape remains incredible no matter what comes out, for pop and jazz styles I guess they are in a league of their own. If they ever release an update in their library however they should record a full grand; like a D or a larger 9FT Yamaha. I think both Keyscape and The Nord piano library as we hear it in Nord keyboards need a full grand sound which sounds clear.
Then this pianoverse is very good! I've heard they work both with sampling and modeling the sounds. I know they can't compare but the supernatural engine in most Rolands did the same, and although old it still provides some of the best pianos you'd find on a keyboard, in my opinion even better than their solo modeling engines which sound nothing special.
Pianoteq isn't my go to, I think it'll never be, because when I choose a piano VST I like to play something which sounds like a piano, not something that allows me to create my own new instrument through changing a thousand parameters. No doubt it Sounds good, but I don't find any specialty in it and this applies to all modeled pianos. Their everlasting promise for providing subtlety elements just like a real grand is rather stupid, Because sampled pianos do that pretty fine if you calibrate the velocity curve right, and also because... well... Pianos aren't that subtle by definition, not as much as for a library with 1000 samples per note to fail replicating it. But there are things with which modeling can help while building a digital piano sound for sure.
Keep it up! :)
Any plans in the future for reviewing Embertone's Walker 1955 ?
Another con of Keyscape is that the 'I think' the piano sample (the tone, not the hammers and other effects) is mono. It 'sounds" as if the high notes are panned to the right and low notes to the right. Lastly, the piano tone has a massive and narrow boost at around 8K? Hard to remove it. Hammers and Waves has some inspiring presets. A budget grand to consider would be Acoustic Samples C7 Grand. Not bad for $100. CFX is also a really nice grand. But you need to experiment to find the right sound for your music genre.
I own about 80% of them and agree with you almost 100% on your comments on them. Great, really great piano VIs!. Have you tried VSL pianos?. I love them also
I'm trying to get them to send it to me!
@@SamTheBeardGuy You probably know they use to have 1 month trial licenses, right?. I know it is not ideal, but as you can activate them when you wish, what I did was to "order" all of them and then use them one by one. Months of free pianos when you can select the one(s) you like more and wait for next sale to grab it (them) 🤩
Wow you can play! Excellent reviews as well! Quick question... I am looking for a midi keyboard to purchase. Do you have any recommendations? Weighted key style for sure. Budget around 2k. Thanks
FYI, you can purchase Austrian Grand separately for $79. You don't need a subscription. I used that for quite a while. It doesn't feel totally natural out of the box, though. You can hear the abnormally short releases in your sample playing. I had to adjust the ADSR setting to get a more natural note release, although the bass notes are disproportionally affected by ADSR, so you then get abnormally long releases on the low notes. But for $79, I'd be hard pressed to find anything that sounds as good, with an excellent dynamic range and warm sound.
Now, CFX Grand is pretty much my favorite, even though certain notes have a bit of a buzz when playing them hard. Do you notice that? I hear it in your playing sample. Interestingly, the compact versions of the samples don't have the buzz, but then you miss out on some of the richness. Even with the buzzes, though, the tone is just so rich and thick, and the bass so clean and strong, I've replaced all my piano tracks with the CFX.
Love your videos bro. Was wondering why VI Labs' Ravenscroft 275 was not mentioned.
Admired your playing, so many musical ideas.
Honestly, the only reason is because I don't have it anymore. They sent it to me to review a few years, and I think I lost it in transition to a new computer and new harddrives, and I've just never needed to go back. The Sonicpass stuff is great too, so I haven't needed to.
@@SamTheBeardGuy oh yeah, I've realized that. I remembered in your video how you met the guy that lead you to get a copy of Ravenscroft. God bless you bro!
I actually own all of these libraries and few others, but my goto usually ends up being CFX. The biggest "con" for me is the fact that they have not updated CFX in a very VERY long time. I can only imagine what they could do to it. I own a Kawai RX-7 and when I play CFX, I can feel the "wood" from my RX-7.
Grendure : spot less playing He's already won. wow wow wow so fun sounds really good.
it's a great song!
Hammer & Waves. This is it. ❤
Hi, thanks for sharing this informative review. I would like to hear your thoughts about Native Instruments Una Corda and Synthogy's Ivory 2 or 3 grands too, if you tested them. Thanks!
Hey, nice video as usual Sam! Have you tried VSL Synchron Yamaha CFX or Steinway? I'd really like to watch your reaction and review on those (they are expensive as hell lol) but I've heard from some people that they are the closest ones to the first time playing a big grand experience
I'm trying to get a copy haha
Merci bien joué👍
My top three are Keyscape, Garritan CFX, and Noire, since i have these three i no longer feel any desire to buy other vsts anymore.
Thanks! Like many, I came for the review, and stayed for the inspiration. Would you let me know which controller, that you play recommend, for connecting to the instrument, a piano of course. Thank you.
These software pianos go along way in explaining why the likes of Roland and Yamaha have almost given up on bringing new decent (RD88 /08 don’t qualify) stage pianos onto the market. RD2000 - 2017 vintage CP88 - 2019 vintage. They used to work on a two/three year replacement cycle - long gone. If only some enterprising start-up could box up a decent kbd action with memory for VST’s such as these for those of us that don’t like taking laptops on stage.
Eastwest needs to make a new piano library. And VI Labs Ravencroft is probably the best one
Cfx garritan, noire y the grandeur mis favoritos
It's like George Winston is living through you playing..
What a nice video! Thank you!
Is there a difference in sound if you connect your computer to your keyboard with a USB cable or through an interface?
Or is the sound of the software all the same?
Thanks a lot in advance!
Keyscape was kind of a disappointment for me as a solo classical piano. I also disliked pianoteq because there are some ranges where it sounds very nasal. However, their new Bosendorfer 280 minimizes that nasal (boxy) sound enough that I might purchase it during their end of summer sale. The VSL Bosendorfer 280 is also really nice. I’m 100% with you on the Grandeur and the Garritan library. I’ve been trialing the garritan (cough cough), but I’m going to buy it as soon as I get my refund from VSL for their CFX. I tried their CFX and it just sounds too glassy on the top end. More importantly, thanks for the video as it was super fun to watch.
The problem with Pianoteq is that none of their pianos sound like a sampled piano. On the other hand, very pleasant to play.
Have you tried PianoTeq 8?
I love Keyscape and the NI Stuff. But I'm interested in Hammers + Waves acoustic especially the uprights. Do you think they could be great in a live Worship Set? I can imagine that with Hammers + Waves I'm able to add something new, but what's your opinion?
I don't see why it wouldn't work! You could probably do some cool stuff with the engine for some nice effects
What is the name of the song you play with Grandeur? (Great Performance)
There is one thing I absolutely don’t like with soft-pianos, which for me always is almost a dead giveaway that the piano was sampled and not a real acoustic recording. Lets say you during a piece/performance need to repeat the same note at the same velocity, that tone is going to sound exactly the same every single time on a softpiano. On a real piano, due to its organic nature, you’ll never going to make a note sound exactly the same ….like never. In a busy mix, no one is going to notice the difference. But for my solo-piano stuff, I think plugins are going to have a pretty hard time keeping up with a real Fazioli F278 grand recorded with my Schoeps mics. Maybe one day plugin will come to this level of authenticity, but that day is definately not today.
Im getting that m3 Max with 12 performance cores so I can run stuff like the CFX no problem lol. fyi, logic users beware, logic doesn't use the efficiency cores! So if you don't get the max chip for the latest generation, you will get more power from the m1 pro chips. Just ignore the efficiency cores and only count the performance cores when factoring in more budget friendly models. For some reason, Apple has been replacing the pro chip performance cores for more efficiency cores. Don't waste your money on a bunch of cores that your DAW won't even be able to use!
the grandeurs sounds incredible compares to pianoteq or even keyscape ( pianoteq lacks of body, and keyscape, the notes are like cut off as if there were no sustain) . The grandeur sounds full.
Pianoverse Max is all you Need!
Thanks Sam for review, anyway about D1 Korg, how good does the keyfeel?
I like it, had it for a few years
not sure why, but i have the cfx garritan and it just feels too... tinny and aggressive around the mid range? i've been searching for a piano plugin that sounds more like a roland or a yamaha cp, but i'm not sure why when i use the cfx garritan live on a sunday worship band, it sounds muddy/not smooth coming from the speakers
You are awesome pianist ))))))
Can you make the best Strings Libraries 2024?
I found that the sustain control of the Grandeur is pretty bad. Ìve made measures of the cc64 control that shows a quite terrible behaviour especially in the lower octaves. There is endless sustain until the pedal is nearly full depressed.
Hello, perhaps I missed it on another video, what keyboard are you using as a controler for the top pianos of 2024
Korg D1
Man, your playing is just amazing. by the way which midi you are using ?
What’s the best option if I only want the most realistic sound of a real grand piano?
VSL is probably the most realistic sample library I've played
Thanks for that! Any video explaining the midi controller you are using? Looking at purchasing an SL88 studio but would be very curious to know what you are playing on most of the time, I saw you had an SL88 in the background from time to time.
HI SAM, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCE, VERY USEFUL. I'M INTERESTED IN WHICH KEYBOARD YOU USE, OR WHICH ONE IS CLOSEST TO YOUR "REAL PIANO" TOUCH? Thanks,M
Very nice demos, thank you. In your video, are you running CFX M2-native or is Rosetta 2 required? Garritan states that the Garritan player must be used with Apple Silicon, but I've also heard that the CFX player is working fine. I'm porting my copy from an older Intel mac and may pick up Pianoteq to complement.
Hi Sam! I've just bought myself a Korg D1 after reading some of your comments saying that you recommended it. I'm a newbie and wanted to ask how you connect it to your computer to play VSTs? What kind of cables/devices do you use?
Thank you!
I use a midi to usb cable since the Korg only has midi out. If you have an audio interface with midi you can also do midi to midi
@@SamTheBeardGuy Hi Sam thanks, just wanted to ask if your headphones are then connected to your laptop/computer or the Korg D1 itself when wanting to hear VSTs with a Midi USB cable?
Sam, the song you play at 18:00, is it a specific piece or are you just improvising?"
Keyscape slaps
oooooooo