VSL releases Steinway D

[Tanuj Tiku]

I have just skimmed through some demos - it does sound rather good to me!

[Tanuj Tiku]

Actually, that sounds exceptional. A very full and pleasant sound! May it is time to buy a VSL sample library after years!

[KyleJudkins]

oh boy

[tack]

www.vsl.co.at/Steinway_D

Wow, a piano sample library with release velocity samples. That's impressive. I only know of Pianoteq doing that (which is easier since it's modeled). And the robotic apparatus to trigger the keys should ensure consistent velocity layers between notes.

The room mic sounds great. But was there any demo of the mic positions separately? I'm also interested in the "intimate" preset but couldn't find an example of it.

This piano sounds fantastic. But I say that about so many piano libraries, and then buy them, and regret it inside of 30 seconds because something is invariably fucked up with the pedal response.

Despite that, I'd probably be enticed by the intro price were it not for the need for the dongle (which I don't have, and don't feel like waiting to get shipped).

[heisenberg]

Right now VSL has buy 3 vouchers, get 1free. You can get the vouchers in 100 euro increments, among others. You can use these on a puchase of the Stenway D. The dongle you can pick up at most music instrmunt stores. You get a Steinberg eLicenser.

Catch the sound demos off the VSL SITE, if you haven't: Debussy, Lizst, deFalla & Chopin. Very nice.

[Lawrence]

I must admit, I am SO waiting to hear Piet’s review of this. I don’t need another piano (and haven’t since the last 5 I bought!) but I always look forward to Piet’s review of the newest “definitive piano”.

[Piet De Ridder]

Late December at the earliest. (I fear I have overpaypalled myself a bit last month.) That being said: while I sure like some of what I hear in the demo's, it's not as if I'm wishing impatiently that it were late December already.

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[Lawrence]

Worrying about the Synchron experience, Piet, or feeling a little over-piano’d?

[Piet De Ridder]

No, Synchron's fine. And I'm not overpiano'd in the least. It's just that, for some reason, all the current demos present a side of the piano that I'm really not interested in : the dramatic bravoura side, with lots of reverberation. Liszt doing lengths in a swimming-pool, so to speak.
(Even for mock-concert mixes, I find the piano, as it appears in these demos, way too wet and distant.)

So, before I say yes to this, I would first like to hear what the instrument sounds like in few drier and more close-up presentations. Hear if it can do chamber-styled pieces and more intimate jazz-type kind of things too. And hear how much of the rich Steinway-glow and detail VSL has managed to capture with the closer mic's.

So at the moment, I'm professionaly interested at best. But certainly not musically convinced yet.

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