[Spall]

Originally Posted by PinnacleProdUK

Do you slutz think that having a great master keyboard say Roland RD700GX with a sustain pedal, coupled with a Piano library like Vienna/Ivory or EW and Altiverb can sound just as authentic if not better than as using a real Steinway?

That is a fantastic combination - I use the RD700GX with Ivory Grand Piano.

Yes - to my mind the sampled libraries are incredibly useful and realistic. There will be many who don't agree, but Ivory (and other high end libraries) sound so realistic that placed within a mix you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Heck, even when you are playing it you really get a sense that you are playing the real deal.

The other benefit to libraries other than convenience is that the sounds are already near ready to go once they are sitting in your session. Especially Ivory and the like where there are so many different pianos and combinations/articulations to choose from. EQ to taste and there you go.

To back this up, a few months ago I used the Steinway piano from GPO (garritan personal orchestra) on a classically-styled score for a TV Commercial. I recorded real strings etc and would have recorded real piano too but this sounded so darn good in there that why change it?! So I ran with it and am glad I did. Because the piano wasn't the only focus of the peice it hardly mattered because it sounded great overall.

But I have also played/recorded piano acoustically in a studio and I preferred this for the style of songs I was recording but really it all depends on taste and importantly - context. You bet your bottom dollar that libraries are used heavily on countless records, ads, soundtracks. But then again, there is no substitute - nor will there ever be - for sitting behind a real piano in a studio. Unbeatable feeling.