I'm not up on the latest and greatest piano software stuff but my friend sent me this. There's a pretty cool history connected with this D that was used in the sampling sessions. Also interesting reading about the vintage 49 mics, Studer tape machine and Neve console used. The demos at the bottom of the page sound good to me.

http://cinesamples.com/products/piano-in-blue/

Their approach to the sampling process is interesting, too: Using a pianist who knows the piano and choosing by ear which timbre appears at each velocity level. The results sound good in the demo recordings.

The demos do sound interesting. However, I wonder if 8 layers are enough?

I didn't notice any velocity switching in the demo recordings, so maybe they've found that 8 layers gives them a good multisample.

It's strange and wonderful, to me, thinking about working with this piano--the same one that Kelly, Evans (and Davis during rehearsals) played. Being able to play the same note and hear the same sound that they would have heard? Sign me up.

The thing I liked about it was the piano didn't have that "perfect" Ivory sound to it.

On "All the Things You Are", it's definitely channeling Bill just sitting there playing solo like on those old Riverside sides.

Like someone on the Keyboard Corner, who is way more experienced with software pianos then me, mentioned-you'd almost have to wait and see how it plays or responds with the dynamic level.

I can't see myself going to these or any software pianos any time soon. I already have the King of the Mountain piano at home and arguably the two best DPs for gigging.

I thought it was interesting reading on the background of the session and the gear used...Man I'd love those 49s..

Thanks Dave for posting this. I am very impressed with the quality of samples that they were able to get in a relatively short time period. This particular Steinway D specimen is wonderful - it is what I think of in my mind when someone says "Steinway".

The harmonic spectrum of this vintage piano is unequaled in my opinion. Listen to the tenor notes usually played by the left hand below middle C - beautiful, full of character and color. And the melody notes usually in the right hand have richness, bite, but still sing at low volumes.

The sound of these demos (especially the d minor Bach prelude) reminds me of the Glenn Gould Steinway CD318 sound - rich, clear, singing, in-your-face when you want it to be, all with a colorful harmonic spectrum. Although this library doesn't have all the bells and whistles and a gazillion velocity layers, I think it sounds better than Ivory II, Vintage D, Black Grand, and Garritan.

That having been said, piano software is only as good as it plays - Let's see how this turns out. I hope it plays as well as it sounds! It will definitely be on my list of piano software to look for.

Thanks again for the link,
-Erich

P.S. Their Facebook page has direct links to more tracks:
http://www.facebook.com/cinesamples

To be fair, I don't think you can hear any velocity switching in any software piano in a demo. I certainly can't. I'm doubtful about our ability to hear velocity switching in a demo track of even a regular 3 or 4 layer digital piano. You have to be able to play it or have a track designed for hearing layers, normally. At least I do.

I think this piano is interesting in that it has not just a vintage piano sound like Vintage D or PMI Old Lady, but the sound of a vintage recording (i.e., they used vintage equipment for recording and processing). No wonder it sounds like our conception of an American Steinway piano! It was recorded and processed the same way a lot of our recordings were.

I'll be interested to hear how well it plays as well, though without the nice features of like progressive pedal (as far as we know) and repedalling, and with only 8 layers I doubt it will end up actually being competitive with current top software pianos. I guess Galaxy Vintage D would be the one to compare against. Who knows how good the new Ivory American Steinway is, but if trends keep up, it could provide an outstanding vintage piano sound.

I like the Kontakt interface, too:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1...e=3&theater

(Found by following the link from Erichlof)