Piano software

[88keez]

Hi,

I am looking to update my piano sounds.

Does anyone have any experience with:

Ivory II
Keyscapes
Pianoteq5
XLN Addictive keys

I've heard good things about all of these, but wondering if anyone has hands on usage.

I will be using it on two computers, one for live and one for recording.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I have no experience with any of those, but of those four the one I think I've heard the most good comments about is Pianoteq.

 

[John Garside]

Whilst looking for piano software it might be an idea to consider the newish Garritan Abbey Road, CFX piano.
It comes in both a full version and a lite one.
Many people on the Piano World forum rate it very highly indeed.
I have the CFX lite version and consider it extremely good.
But, of course, it's all down to personal opinion.

 

[jake tanner]

Are you looking for super clean piano samples (most to me, are just unrealistically clean). Or do you want to get a sample of a piano that sounds more natural, as if you are hearing it live from about 20 feet? I ask, because there are various uses..Adictive keys, from what I remember, is not a great sample. Ivory II, way too clean for my taste, but has many options that you can tailor. Pianoteq is probably the most versatile of the bunch, since it's modeling, and can be sculpted to your needs. Keyscapes is most likely the best of the bunch, having listened to the demo.

Here are some others to consider. Ravenscroft 275, Piano in Blue by Cinesamples for Kontakt, Grandeur by NI for Kontakt...there are tons more, but if you can specify more details to your needs, we can help more.

 

[Richard Small]

Hi,

I am looking to update my piano sounds.

Does anyone have any experience with:

Ivory II
Keyscapes
Pianoteq5
XLN Addictive keys

I've heard good things about all of these, but wondering if anyone has hands on usage.

I will be using it on two computers, one for live and one for recording.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Richard Small]

I use Ivory II and I am very pleased with the sounds

 

[cpcohen1945]

I use Pianoteq 5. Both the "Bluethner" and "Grotrian" pianos (extra-cost options) sound good, to my ears. The "D4" (= Steinway?) and and "B2 (=Kawai?) (included in the base package) are less convincing.

The sound is quite different from the super-clean "digital piano" that comes out of most hardware digital pianos. Each note is more complex, and there's good modelling of inter-string resonance.

It's "modelled", not "sampled". The "stage" version (what I have) has a limited number of preset sounds (for each of its pianos), and you can't (for example) change the decay time of the notes. You _can_ change reverb, EQ, dynamic range, and other things.

The "Standard" version _does_ let you modify many of the underlying parameters.

There are free trial versions of each version -- fully functional, except:
. . . you must re-start after 20 minutes, and
. . . several keys are "silent".

It requires an Intel i5 (or faster) CPU to run well, live. And you may have to fiddle with anything on your computer that causes long delays in dealing with interrupts.

Download the trial, see if you like it or not.

. Charles

 

[Tim Speer]

I use the Vienna Imperial and it plays really well if you are in to more classical type music.