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Topic: Best Steinway VST?  (Read 6548 times)

Offline noelcp

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Best Steinway VST?
on: February 13, 2021, 07:06:37 PM
I'm using Garritan Abbey Road CFX and was hoping to find a comparable Steinway, in particular one that does not employ PACE licensing software to install.

Thanks in advance

Offline d.nash

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #1 on: March 07, 2021, 11:15:19 PM
the most EXPRESSIVE vst i've come across, and best sounding, is Modartt's Pianoteq.  they have several steinway models that do well, especially live when i can't bring my ACTUAL steinway.

it's a modeled instrument, not sample based, so everything is done on the fly mathematically, and there are a TONNE of options to modify the sound and the feel/response. 

i've used a lot of piano libraries, but this has been my goto for work or studio over the past several years.  it's not cheap, but it's awesome.

d.

Offline j_tour

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #2 on: March 08, 2021, 02:28:58 AM
Well, the one I've heard here that knocked my socks off is one of the Garritan,  I believe it's a sampled instrument, and I'm not sure if a Steinway of some sort was used,  Probably at least one iteration.

But, that's just as a listener:  it's been twenty years or so since I've had a full DAW set up to reproduce sounds triggered from a MIDI controller in real time.

My name is Nellie, and I take pride in helping protect the children of my community through active leadership roles in my local church and in the Boy Scouts of America.  Bad word make me sad.

Offline kosulin

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #3 on: April 11, 2021, 01:26:44 AM
These are 3 best sampled Steinway D VST IMO:
- VSL (requires e-licenser, but fabulous Hamburg sound);
- Embertone Walker (very fat New York sound, but hard on computer resources);
- Synthogy American Concert Grand (requires iLok).
Vlad

Offline nfp001

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #4 on: July 13, 2021, 01:09:42 AM
D.Nash is right ! Definitely the modeling with Pianoteq by a big margin, with the full version it’s incredibly customizable. I’m talking about sympathetic resonance, string length, hammer hardness, wear of the instrument, duplex scaling and the list goes on and on. All these wonderful settings can even be edited on a note to note basis for even more versatility. It can be used as a vst instrument with a DAW or as a standalone software. You can also create a pretty nice velocity curve to create more realism in the feel response (dynamic control) and get even closer to a real Steinway D. Listen even Steinway themselves endorsed the product because It’s so convincingly real sounding. I have a Yamaha P515 which I would compare the action to a good upright and It’s a match made in haven for me.
Check it out for yourself: https://www.modartt.com/ 
You will be pleased ;)

Offline johnlewisgrant

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #5 on: October 08, 2022, 02:17:12 PM
You'll never get the feel or the sound from a piano VST that you'll get playing a real piano. You CAN however make solo RECORDINGS with SOME piano VSTs that are extremely difficult to distinguish from professionally recorded pianos.

 This fact has given rise to 2 very different types of piano VSTs. 

VST type 1: VSTs like Pianoteq. These VSTs feel very tight and "playable" or responsive under the fingers. They are in my view the best option for practicing. 

VS T TYPE 2:  These piano VSTs are made to sound indistinguishable from professionally recorded pianos. They are not as responsive as Pianoteq.  And they tend to be expensive. My favourite is the  "Hans Zimmer Piano" or "HZP".  I used HZP to do all of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier:

https://on.soundcloud.com/CKT5Z

Offline danno88

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #6 on: October 19, 2022, 04:46:39 PM
I use VSL - their Hamburg Steinway D-274 is very expressive - the sound is phenominal

Offline alexf26

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Re: Best Steinway VST?
Reply #7 on: November 06, 2022, 12:50:50 PM
I have tested and played over 20 VST's mostly Steinway based.
If you want the BEST sounding then you have 2 choices all the others are not even close. Forget
Pianoteq (sounds so artificial - only good for practicing technique in my opinion). HZ piano has a nice open and vibrant sound but the tone is just too crazy harsh and bright - very hard to tame.

1. The big and expensive VSL Steinway D - 500$: The cleanest most perfect sound there is the BUT the tone is sometimes a bit too metallic - it has the "VSL sound" so if you are trying to mimic a classical recording it becomes a challenge AND all the presets suck - requires a lot of messing around with the settings and post processing.
 
2. (My recent favorite): Simple Sam's Signature Grand (with very few tweaking) it is the most realistic virtual piano that exists - I can tell it apart from a Deutsche Grammophon recording but have to listen carefully and that's the kind of comparison I have to do so you see where I'm going with this.
Sweet tone, singable, amazing space and room. The fact that the developer has videos showing their attempts on imitating a professional recording with side by side comparisons, shows you how strong this VST is.
Also - 50$. It is my desert island piano.

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