Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Grand Piano or Virtual Piano?? Who Has Both???

seanmccoy · 30th July 2008

I have a Kawai RX Series seven-footer, and a very large collection of sampled pianos (Vintech, PMI, Art Vista, Native Instruments, Sampletekk, etc...). I would always use the Kawai, but I have to keep it in a remote studio so it only gets used on piano-specific and large group sessions. The samples have gotten better and better, and with some care can be made to sound very good and very convincing within a mix.

But in addition to the indescribable depth and range of the grand that no sample library can emulate, I find that pianists just play better on the real thing. There's no replacing that tactile feel and the vibe of the instrument filling the room for pure inspiration. Each piano and room are different, but I've gotten good sounds from my Kawai using AT 4033's for a bright pop sound, Earthworks TC40k's for an extremely natural sound, and more recently have been using my new Gefell UMT70s's, which give me the personal and contemporary sound of the AT's, but are noticeably richer and bigger.

30th July 2008	#14
seanmccoy Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Central Point, Oregon Posts: 1,451	I have a Kawai RX Series seven-footer, and a very large collection of sampled pianos (Vintech, PMI, Art Vista, Native Instruments, Sampletekk, etc...). I would always use the Kawai, but I have to keep it in a remote studio so it only gets used on piano-specific and large group sessions. The samples have gotten better and better, and with some care can be made to sound very good and very convincing within a mix. But in addition to the indescribable depth and range of the grand that no sample library can emulate, I find that pianists just play better on the real thing. There's no replacing that tactile feel and the vibe of the instrument filling the room for pure inspiration. Each piano and room are different, but I've gotten good sounds from my Kawai using AT 4033's for a bright pop sound, Earthworks TC40k's for an extremely natural sound, and more recently have been using my new Gefell UMT70s's, which give me the personal and contemporary sound of the AT's, but are noticeably richer and bigger.