What is the most professional piano plugin?

[Synthman_]

I want to re-mix my 'Trying Harder' song into a dance hit with an awesome piano track. What's the most professional piano vst out there?

[Synthman_]

Would anyone agree that this is the best one out there? Garritan Virtual Piano

[muzines]

There is no such thing as "the most professional".

There are a *lot* of *great* libraries out there, and what really counts is the sound character and playability of the instrument. There is no point buying a great library of a piano you don't like the sound of.

If you are going to invest, get something that has a few different pianos to cover a bunch of needs, and also bear in mind your intended music genres - some pianos are great for classical stuff but not so much for a rock mix, some are great to cut through a band ensemble but not so much for emotional soft filmic pieces - and so on.

[Guido3]

I know people who use Ivory and swear by it. I personally use Pianoteq. It doesn't use samples, therefore it has a very small file size compared to the mega GB sample pianos. Horses for courses really......

[Synthman_]

What's the best one to use in a pumping dance mix where the piano would be the most prominent? You know,like if it was compressed?

[Synthman_]

Would the Garritan be ideal to use in a pumping dance track?

[Tomás Mulcahy]

You want the Korg M1 piano.

[Temp]

What's the best one to use in a pumping dance mix where the piano would be the most prominent? You know,like if it was compressed?

As you've been told countless times, there is no such feckin' thing as the 'best' - it's subjective and wholly depends upon the context. And if you're going to be compressing it for a dance track, any half decent piano would work, even the MDA freebie VST plugins.

The whole point of expensive piano plugins is the dynamic range, depth, warmth, clarity, resolution and articulation - all the things that'll disappear when you compress it.

If you're really bent on getting what you consider to be the best, just don't bother asking the community and buy the most expensive one you can find.

At the other end of the spectrum, you can get the Iowa and Salamander VST and sForzando pianos for absolutely nothing, and I personally think they're superb.

http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/all-keyboard-instruments.html

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=Iowa_Piano&id=2294

Cheers.

[Synthman_]

What's the best one to use in a pumping dance mix where the piano would be the most prominent? You know,like if it was compressed?

As you've been told countless times, there is no such feckin' thing as the 'best' - it's subjective and wholly depends upon the context. And if you're going to be compressing it for a dance track, any half decent piano would work, even the MDA freebie VST plugins.

The whole point of expensive piano plugins is the dynamic range, depth, warmth, clarity, resolution and articulation - all the things that'll disappear when you compress it.

If you're really bent on getting what you consider to be the best, just don't bother asking the community and buy the most expensive one you can find.

At the other end of the spectrum, you can get the Iowa and Salamander VST and sForzando pianos for absolutely nothing, and I personally think they're superb.

http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/all-keyboard...

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=Iowa_Piano&i...

Cheers.

What a load of garbage. I want the most realistic pro virtual piano sound possible including articulations.
Ok then, maybe not with compression then, but a really classy pro piano sound which I want to use in a hit dance mix.

[Synthman_]

Would the Garritan be ideal in using in a pop hit or is it just ideal for playing classical?

[Hugh Robjohns]

I want the most realistic pro virtual piano sound possible including articulations.

Would that be the most realistic pro emulation of a virtual Steinway? Or a Bosendorfer? Or a Fazioli? Or a Yamaha? What kind of piano tone do you really want/need for this one specific piece of music? They don't all sound the same...

Perhaps you should get this one:

https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Keyboards_Complete/Vienna_Imperial

It's a bargain and hardly takes up any hard drive space...

H

[Synthman_]

I want the most realistic pro virtual piano sound possible including articulations.

Would that be the most realistic pro emulation of a virtual Steinway? Or a Bosendorfer? Or a Fazioli? Or a Yamaha? What kind of piano tone do you really want/need for this one specific piece of music? They don't all sound the same...

Perhaps you should get this one:

https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Keyboards_Complete/Vienna_Imperial

It's a bargain and hardly takes up any hard drive space...

H

I want to use a piano tone like what The Happy Mondays used in 'Step On' but something more modern. Something that you would use in a hit today. Something that would really stand out commercially especially in a dance track. That Vienna Piano sounds interesting Hugh. I mean I own Vienna Strings so I'm very familiar with Vienna Samples so maybe that would be best option, what do you think?
I was thinking of a nice rhythmic bass piano sound used in a modern pop hit. I hope you all get the picture now!

[ezza]

I think the 4Front Piano VST would excel in this context. Unfortunately it's free.

[mhaigh]

i really shouldn't, but...

you don't want a big concert grand for a pop song. you could use a studio grand, but tbh some sort of upright would be fine if you're going to chorus/compress the hell out of it.

i'd look at -
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys/alicias-keys/
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan13/a ... ezkeys.htm
https://cinesamples.com/product/abbey-road-classic-upright-pianos

or the free ones or one included in one of the 5 million VSTis you've already bought...

[Chevytraveller]

If you are after a "Happy Mondays" stlye piano, there is very little point in looking for "the most professional" as that was an M1 piano and relatively lacking in dynamics and character.

The "most professional" pianos tend to be aimed at serious piano players and sell on the basis of their expression and subtlety of tone which would appear to be the opposite of what you are looking for.. Look through the samples you have and try layering and EQing options before bothering to spend out on another plug in.

[Synthman_]

Ok then. Well what about Clean Bandit 'Rather Be'. What VST piano should I use that sounds as pro as the piano track in that recording?

[Jonnypopisical]

Thats is the bog standard Logic piano - Yamaha I think - EQ'd bright.

Your overthinking it - it's not about the 'best piano sound' as it's totally un-natural.

Isn't it odd people always want a sound that's been on a hit record! LOL

[ezza]

There's a nice Yamaha S90 sound in Halion Sonic SE that is bundled in Cubase.

[Synthman_]

Do I get the impression that you can get away with using any built in piano sounds that come with DAWS in a hit record?

[ezza]

I haven't made a hit record myself... but I would hazard a guess that it's all about context. In the context of a loud and pumping mix where the piano is part of the overall texture I don't see why a built in piano sound couldn't be used. If the piano will feature solo then you would want something that sounds rich and involving.

[Jonnypopisical]

I think it's illegal to use build in sounds from DAWS on chart records - something to do with the EU or MU.

[muzines]

I think it's illegal to use build in sounds from DAWS on chart records - something to do with the EU or MU.

Tell that to the people who made hit singles using Logic-bundled Apple Loops for their main hook... (eg, Rihanna's "Umbrella", or the Sugarbabes "Change"...

[damoore]

I think it's illegal to use build in sounds from DAWS on chart records - something to do with the EU or MU.

Depends on the licence. Always read the licence agreement on your samples.

There are some interesting uprights around. Akoustic Piano had a Steingraeber for example.

Pianoteq is nice in that it has lots of different instruments and you can modify them - there's a "condition" slider that takes a given piano from nice to yuck. Somewhere in the middle is often what you want.

But for a "killer" piano track, the ability of the piano player is probably the most important part of the puzzle. And next is setting them up in a situation where they can play the part in a way that works with the song. As it is featured, you can start with a guide piano part but record a final version once the rest of the song is in place. You may then not need huge amounts of compression. If you still do, have the piano player play through the compressor rather than adding it later.

[Temp]

[Richie Royale]

You want the Korg M1 piano.

+1 for house/dance music. Available on its own

https://www.korguser.net/shop/software/index.asp