i own Ivory II, and pianoteq, and UVI, always come back to Pianoteq .. especially when you own high quality Piano controller and Pedal, it feels like a real piano

 

Keyzone Classic VST is a great piano virtual instrument, and best of all, IT'S FREE!

 

i like xln addictive keys, at least I think better than ezkeys and arturia piano

 

I use 8DIO's Steinway pianos occasionally but my main ones are some Bosendorfer 290 library I found ages ago (forgot where) and Production Grand 2 but that's huge. Pianoteq is also really good but that's physical modelling, not really a sample library.

As soon as I get my XF I'm probably gonna switch to the K-Sounds Signature Piano (a Yamaha C7) and only keep my Bosendorfer.

I have some Live Packs I used ages ago with really good pianos, I'll look them up later. I tried Alicia's Keys and it's pretty underwhelming. It's like little jimmy's first piano library.

Addictive Keys is surprisingly good, I quite like it but the interface sometimes freezes for me.

 

Last edited: Feb 24, 2021

I keep going to motif xf piano. Addictive keys is still good though

 

Which piano is the best?
It depends on style, genre, key(!) etc,
for example for this piece I tried almost everything listed here since 2013...
and all of them gave up...then I chose...who calls what did I choose?

 

I really like these:
Bechstein Digital C. Bechstein Digital Grand for Kontakt (24GB)
e-instruments Session Keys Grand S, Y or Upright for Kontakt (5GB each)
Modartt Pianoteq VST (125MB)
Pianoteq is the most versatile and realistic one.

 

I know right? A lot of people don't seem to like the S6 Grand but I quite like it. I prefer the S700 myself (and I still dream about owning a C7) but the S6 is really good imho. The way Yamaha samples and programs instruments is unbeatable.

 

I use either:
-Claustrophobic Piano (Kontakt, and FREE), my number 1
-Mason & Hamlin Model A (Kontakt, and FREE) (Both these libraries can be also used with the free DecentSampler)
-Ableton Grand Piano (not free...)

And Pianoteq for the Yamaha CP-80 sound.

 

There are quite a number of superb sounding free libraries in the .sfz and Decent Sampler formats to choose from. Here is good diverse list as a starting point (you most likely DO NOT need all of them at once):

SFZ Format (free Sforzando VST or alternatively free Sfizz)

Piano in 162 by Ivy Audio
https://ivyaudio.com/Piano-in-162

The legendary Salamander Grand Piano:
https://sfzinstruments.github.io/pianos/salamander

Maestro Concert Grand:
https://github.com/sfzinstruments/M...ncertGrandPiano/archive/refs/heads/master.zip

Headroom Piano by Bengt Nilsson:
https://github.com/sfzinstruments/BengtNilsson.HeadroomPiano/archive/refs/heads/master.zip

City Piano:
https://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/2015/09/all-keyboard-instruments.html


Decent Sampler (most of these also available in either Kontakt or EXS format)

Sol's Piano
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/sols-piano/

Steinway Grand
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/steinway-grand/

The 9000ft Piano
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/the-9000ft-piano/

Spring Piano
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/spring-piano/

1911 Bechstein Upright
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/1911-bechstein-upright-andrew-ward/

Claustrophobic Piano
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/claustrophobic-piano/

 

Last edited: Jun 12, 2021

the original PMI Emperor with sympathetic resonance patch is my go-to...Boesendorfer 290

needs no processing, just record
can take a large CPU hit and can have feedback in some situations, but worth it
i think its around 5 gigs

 

I know right? I'm still trying to figure out what piano they sampled. There's really nothing quite like it.

 

The Claustrophobic piano at Pianobook.co.uk is just incredible. I also enjoy the English Classic (an old Danemann).

 

Yeah, so much good stuff in the Pianobook collection. I'm trying to slim down my sample collection, but there are some definite keepers:

Blüthner - Leipzig & The Yamaha U1 & Rättvik Upright are some other go tos if you want good uprights!

Matts Fender Rhodes,The Array Mbira & Orff Chimes are some other (non-piano obviously) libraries that stuck out for me while going through my collection of downloaded instruments.

 

This ^^^

 

Last edited: Jun 13, 2021

This again! ^^^

 

Last edited: Jun 13, 2021