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wondering what you guys use for piano on recordings. I mean as far as soft synths, virtual instruments et al? I have the steinberg grand 2 and it souinds ok but some of the stuff I hear on the forum users music is just outstanding!I also wonder if because I am not using a weighted keyboard but rather an old roland jv-35 as a controller if that would have anything to do with the sound realism or not. I am NOT a piano player but use piano for various styles and would appreciate any advice on what's good to usethanks scott

Try the 7CG from sampletekk. I believe they have a sale now.www.sampletekk.com

I'm also in the market for a good controller on the cheap-almost everything has an action built by either Fatar or Yamaha. (not sure about Nord and CME, though)I have dozens of synth-patch pianos of varying quality, but generally use a Korg M1-style patch, (for pop-type stuff) the Garritan Steinway, or the Maestro grand, if I'm feelin' romantic.I think a good hammer-action is a big help to those that learned on actual pianos, and can help prevent synth players from doing stuff no 'real' pianist would do. Sometimes the right feel can be just as important as the right sound.

brin and mojo thanks so much for your reply. checked out the soundtekk page. reallll good stuff there. I do think I need a hammer controller though to sound authentic. scott

If you're not a piano player, then you probably aren't used to playing a "hammer" feel action anyway. There are ways to customize the feel of the keyboard velocity-wise, either at the keyboard itself or in the software. Either way, you can change the response of the sound to possibly make it feel better to play from a synth keyboard.That being said, the Sampletekk stuff is good. One caveat, you need Kontakt to run it, which will add to the price of admission. Kontakt also comes with a very useful library, which you may or may not need.Ivory is also very nice and has it's own player. There's lots of options out there. The Garritan Steinway is also very highly regarded and comes in three "flavors". I haven't tried it but the Standard and Pro versions have multiple mic positions, which would help to customize the sound to different styles of music, etc.Have fun!Mazz

Mazz probably knows best. I have a real grand so no VI sounds good to me. But as a piano player myself the MOTU symphonic sounds good because of the range around middle C. All the VI's I have tried did not sound good to me in that range, but the MOTU does. But, then again, Mazz is the man on that. I would try his suggestions.

My first choice would always be a fantastic grand in a great room with excellent mics, pres, converters, etc.But, alas, my wife wants to use the living room too, so I'm relegated to VIs for now!

Some months ago I tried a Ronisch grand (having learnt for a long time on a Ronisch upright). I would've smuggled it out in my laptop bag but at $60K they wouldn't let me take it home on approval. I'll have to go back to the interrupted refurbishing of my 1880 Brinsmead 6'6"", sob...Mojo, I'm using a Medeli SP-1 stage piano as controller (Garritan Steinway samples), has an action slightly better (to me) than the Yamahas, fraction of the price (though ohhhh, some of the sounds are....ooowwww...industrial price, industrial output. But it's solid....

I use either the Ivory Italian Grand http://www.synthogy.com/products/italiangrand.html or the Pianoteq http://www.pianoteq.com/. I play a Roland RD700 but I really like (and actually plan to buy) a Kawai MP8ii cause of its weighted keys.Panos

The controller matters. Perhaps you could borrow a weighted controller to see how that changes the sound. Playing with the velocity sensitivity could help as well.I use Ivory with a weighted controller (Nord Stage) for most piano tracks. Three pianos and lots of useful presets. It doesn't hurt to have options, though. I have other piano sounds (Garritan Jazz Steinway, MachFive pianos, et. al.) that sometimes are just right for certain tracks/styles even though I would be unlikely to use them for a solo piano tune.