Just wondered what people thought about this plugin? Have you bought it? What do you thinks about it? Supposed to sound like the Elton John Piano he used on many albums. I've listened to a few examples on youtube, but those examples always seem to feature far too much reverb and Elton's piano was pretty dry on the albums, so its difficult to tell if its as great as they hype it up to be. They don't offer any demos either. too many times I've been stung on non demo pianos and been disappointed after purchase. They sound good in a youtube video, but who knows what extra processing they use. So, thoughts anyone?

 

I have it but I find myself going back and using BBC Symphony Orchestra Piano Professional instead.
You can make the Chateau Piano dry but for me I quickly realized my style of playing is more lighter and refined and wasn't really suited for this Piano. Can't say anything negative about it's sound quality.

 

Imho : Nah stay away from it,nothing special....if you want a character piano from Spitfire wait for the next available good sale and get the Heirloom Library instead (I got it for $150).

If you want a more classical tone then get the BBC Symphony Orchestra Piano Professional instead or the core version of it and save some money and hard disk space.

Then for something great and cheap definitely check out :
Originals Intimate Grand Piano / Originals Firewood Piano / Originals Jangle Box Piano.
If you're a Kontakt fan the OPW - The Shoe Factory has a nice piano sound.
^
Hope the above helps you a bit, cheers!

 

The only reason I'm interested is because its supposed to replicate Eltons piano that was recorded at the chataeu recording studio in france. They hype it up as sounding like that famous steinway B thats apparantly been restored there and recorded in the same way.
I can hear some similarities in tone now and again, but its difficult to hear when very often its flooded with reverb in the examples.So I guess maybe I should aim my question towards any Elton fans, and whether they have puchased it and believe yay or nay whether its worth the money.

Btw...I already have too many piano libraries but still searching for that steinway b Elton sound or the 100 yo bechstein piano sound he used at trident.

 

Spitfire pianos are always too expensive for the amount of effort they put into it. Has always been like that. Make sure to research the amount of dynamic layers they've put into it before pulling the trigger, they're famous for sampling pianos with only 3 dynamic layers, which is frankly embarrassing for a company of their size and status.

In the case of the Chateau Piano, it's just 5 dynamic layers for a very premium price. Embarrassing stuff.

 

Thats a good point. This is why I prefer companies who offer demos. It shows confidence in their product. When they don't offer a demo it always makes me think the product isn't quite up to scratch, as they know if anyone tried a demo they might not purchase it because of certain failings.
Dynamic layers is very important, as is equal dynamics in playability. I've played some vst's were some notes are dead sounding compared to others. Everyone should be able to try a demo before purchase. When they fob off with 'Oh we have demo's to listen to' its not the same as playing on your own keyboard to feel how it plays.

 

Yeah, that's also my stance with sample libraries as well. It got to a point where I have started doing extensive research on vi-control before buying anything, because every demo sounds amazing and every instrument is groundbreaking in the marketing. Then, once you start using it, it sounds nothing like the demos and there are multiple issues (noise buildup, out of tune notes, etc). Spitfire has their own player, I can't believe they can't offer a timed demo, even if it's just one hour on the clock after you hit start. At this point, even a subscription for a month would be better than the inconsistency of their libraries. My attitude towards Spitfire soured pretty hard as more developers break ground in terms of programming, like Strezov, Impact Soundworks and Sonuscore. The people at The Crow Hill Company seem to follow the same mediocrity, which makes me believe it was systemic to how Spitfire always worked.