Hi!

I wanted to make a top 5 list of the best piano sounds available on the market today in a keyboard/synth and the price had to go down the better the sound was.

I did some incredible findings:

5.Kurzweil K2600 - Concert Piano - 3499 euro.mp3


4.Yamaha S-90 - Romantic - 2190 euro.mp3


3.Yamaha P90 - GP1 - 1045 euro.mp3


2.EastWest Galaxy Steinway 5.1 - s5.1186191 - 298 euro.mp3


1.EastWest Galaxy Steinway 5.1 - s5.1186189 - 298 euro.mp3





Best regards,
YamahaAndy

Seems pretty silly to compare softsynths to hardware on a simple price basis without adding in the hardware it would take to make the softsynth work. It's not like you could walk out of the music store and go straight to a gig with the East/West pianos like you can the Kurzweil or Yamaha.

In terms of quality of sounds, it would all depend on what type of PA system you are running both the softsynths and hardware on.

Because the differences are not just the tonality of the sounds but the nuances and the details of the sounds. The sound system would aide or impair bringing out those details of the sounds whether it is a software synth or hardware.

[This message has been edited by to the genesys (edited 03-12-2005).]

Of course the Galaxy Steinway is a little under priced if you don't have a computer or a sound card. But this comparison was done partly to proove that instruments can compete even though the price difference might be huge. For instance there is a huge difference in price between the Kurwzeil and the P-90.

>In terms of quality of sounds, it would all >depend on what type of PA system you are >running both the softsynths and hardware on.

Well, more so in the samples we heard, actually both the keyboard and the sound card would have to be connected to an amp so that will not make any of them better sounding. The hardware is of course crucial, so ifyou would need a good sound card for the Galaxy Steinway you would have to add about 1000 euro. The price gap is still huge and for those who already have a computer and a good sound card they get really much sound for a low price tag in comparison.

Best regards,
YamahaAndy

[This message has been edited by YamahaAndy (edited 03-12-2005).]

Soft Instruments certainly can compete and often exceed what a generic workstation can do. I know this from playing both through my sound systems, both studio and live.

It makes perfect sense, because there is often as much and sometimes more sample memory dedicated to a single instrument in a vst or multisample as there is in an entire workstation for every sound. Check out Dasample Electroacoustic for example ( 7 day full dl ). I've never heard anything hardware that matches the guitar sound. For lush analog sounds, I can't come close on the Motif ES even with the an150 analog modeling board vs CS80v, Absynth, Z3ta, etc.

The tradeoff is setting all of it up and using it, ie.. making it all work and sync together.. It can be great in a studio if you have the time and patience. Not so great trying to do it live, but it can manageable if you keeep it simple.

I use softsynths a lot. I think going in though one should realize that there is much more setup work than using hardware alternatives. For some, this can be a real creativity killer. It doesn't bother me so much, but I also like working with computers in general and had a blast messing with and programming the old analogs of 20 yrs ( or more ) ago. Still, I tend to use hardware where I can, and software where I need it.

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-12-2005).]

Umm, maybe the cost of a controller keyboard should also be included?

--Barry

The Grand of Steinberg????
This is not a comparison, need to take account the keyboard built cost!!!
We are comparing Flower, Apple, Cake and Cheese?!?

Well, whatever conclusion you want to make of the list I posted, I can certainly myself find a few interesting things going on in that list. I have a midi controller, an audio interface and a computer and realise I no longer have to spend several thousands in order to get great new sounds. I think it's really interesting that software synths have taken a huge step forward and can really shine on a record (or live). Some have a really nice price tag too! Being able to digitally play with the sound of the original thing is great!

Best regards,
YamahaAndy

With the launch of NI Kontakt 2 comes new possibilities:

New: 192 KHz, 32-bit sample engine with 64 fold multi-timbrality and unlimited voices.

New: Advanced surround sound features allowing up to 16 channel mix-downs

New: Universal Import ensures compatibility with virtually every sample and library format:

GigaStudio™, Akai™ S-1000™/S-3000™, EXS24™, HALion™, MachFive™, AIFF, WAV, .S™, .SND™, .KSF™, SoundFont2™, REX I & II™, BATTERY 1 & 2™, SDII™, LM4™, Reaktor™, ACID™, Unity™, Apple Loops™, Emu EOS™, ESi™, Roland S-5x, S-7x™, Kurzweil™, Reason NN-XT™, Akai MPC™, Akai S-5000/S-6000™, Pulsar™, Beat Creator™, Ensoniq™, Akai MESA™

MAC:

VST®
Audio Units™
Core Audio™
Core MIDI™
RTAS™

WIN:

VST®
RTAS™
DXi™
ASIO™
Direct Sound™

This is GREAT stuff!

Correct me if I am wrong, but does not Kurzweil come with hundreds of sounds built in. Which would make the cost of the piano sound according to your funny arithmetics somewhere about $30 - way cheaper than the Stainway sample you mentioned?

Of course, one would be stupid to buy a Kurzweil if all they needed was a piano sound - there are hardware piano modules out there (I believe there is one from Kurzweil as well), which give you dozens of piano sounds for $500 or so.

On the other hand, you MUST add to the price of the Stainway sample the cost of the sampler software to play it - I think NI costs around $300. Paying $700 to just play a piano sample is kind of excessive. I am not even talking about the fact that a regular laptop will not get you nearly the polyphony advertized: to get any software sampler close to the maximum specs, you need a fast high-end computer with lots of RAm (1 GB), and a dedicated fast (as in 10000 RPM) = expensive hard drive.

It sounds to me that the MP3 samples you posted above you have copied from some websites, rather than generated them yourself. If you did that, you would find that it is not as simple as just selecting the tone and pressing black and white keys on a keyboard.

I am glad you are enjoying the sound of the software sampler. However, this is neither cheap nor easy, especially if you try using it live.

Regards.
Alex