I’m looking for just a couple (for now) people to test a kontakt piano instrument in it’s early phase of development. I’ve heard it so many times I’m starting to lose perspective on the sound. Whenever I switch from my piano to other pianos I have, they feel “off.” The problem is that they all feel off, which means there’s a high likelihood that it’s mine that’s off and I’ve just gotten used to it.
I need a couple people to try it out and give honest feedback so I can make sure I’m not barking up the wrong tree.
If you are a kontakt piano junkie, let me know and I can get you a copy to test out in exchange for honest feedback. The only caveat is that it requires the full version of kontakt 5.8.1 or greater to work (for now. When I release it, it will work on the free kontakt player.)
I am yes and I have actually made a few pieces using your piano. I am personally looking for a natural and resonant sound rich in harmonics. A good natural sustain sound so I am not having to tweak the midi sustains or mod wheels too much. I loved your raw library tbh, had a bit of tuning issues with the lows which I think you fixed. I can definitely give it another whirl.
You are not the only one there. VST pianos out there are all off in some way or another. Most of them are just plain terrible and cumbersome to work with. Personally I think a piano vst library should be simplistic. Get a good signature sound and stick with it. Have some simple options like lid open - close, some simple sustain settings etc. Key is find that sweet spot for your piano and go with it and trust your “piano” ear. Don’t try to please too many genre’s with your piano sound, while its possible, it can get you to lose perspective.
That’s the approach I took with this one. I wanted it to just sound like I mic’d up the piano. I added other basic features as well, like EQ for each mic position and stuff, but nothing too out of the norm.
This one should sound quite a bit better. I got it all tuned up by someone who knew what they were doing, and resampled it in a way that should sound quite a bit better. I also put tons of work in the backend to get it all to sound “right.” More mic positions as well.
All the virtual instruments I’ve tried that aim at emulating a real acoustic instrument sound hyped to me. It sounds like they’ve tried to make them sound as good as possible by themselves, but that isn’t what works best in a mix, in general. In my opinion it would make more sense to have one “solo” piano vst that would be dedicated to solo performances and has all the hype, and more neutral samples for the rest.
I am originally a piano player and own a baby grand Tokai G1 and an upright Yamaha U3 (which I’ve had for 35 years so I’m quite used to its sound). I have tried several piano VSTs including the Native Instruments (Maverick, Grandeur, Gentleman, Noire…) but my favorite samples are those coming out of my Nord Stage. They sound more neutral and natural to me, and they usually work better in a mix.
I have Kontakt 6 but unfortunately I’m kind of swamped these days, probably for at least the next 2 weeks too.
That was something I noticed as well. When I started analyzing pianos, I found that they were very heavily processed. It makes sense if you are going for wow factor out of the box, but it really paints it into a corner on what it can sound like. With the samples more raw, it’s not as immediately satisfying, but you can shape it however you want.
I’m not in a huge rush. I’ll be gone for the next 2 weeks anyway, so won’t really be able to add anything to it before then. If you have time after that, let me know and I’ll send it your way.