First Class Grand Piano Samples with Software Player. Compatible with Intel-based Macs.
32 People rated this product : 7 out of 10
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8 People wrote reviews |
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 8 out of 10
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Feature:
I give the features a 7. I really like how you just click the piano you want (or use one of the presets that came with the program, or one you've made yourself) and have it load up in under 20 seconds. The loading for the intruments seems incredibly fast compared so something like the Art Vista piano, where you have to sit and wait to be able to play for about 6 hours.
I really love that the convolution samples on the right-hand side of the interface load absolutely instantly, without the slightest delay or hiccup. There are no wet/dry sliders to mess with, nothing technical. Just select the room, and how far you want to be from the instrument and you're set.
The built-in sound recorder doesn't seem to quite work, as it echoes and garbles the sound. I find it alot easier and stable to just use a recorder in a VST host, anyways.
Quality:
I have to give this a 5, actually; Besides the Steingraeber upright sample being so damn awesome, the other pianos flat-out suck for most playing styles, and if you want just a good, expressive Steinway sample get the Art Vista Virtual Grand Piano.
My biggest dip in quality is me being unable to update the produce to 1.1, which i'll elaborate on in the "Support" section.
Value:
I give the value a 7, and that's again for the upright piano sample. I'm sure this piano would be even more valuable if I could update to 1.1, and get rid of the polyphonic errors and the occasional non-working sustain (imagine trying to record a song, or playing live and all of a sudden during the chorus it stops sustaining and you have to raise and lower the sustain a couple of times to get it to work again!!!)
Desirability:
Uhm. . .I don't want it because I already have it. lol Get either this piano and install only the upright, or go on www.sampletekk.com and get the Black Grand sample and use the sympathetic/harmonic resonance scripts from http://music.mezo.com/
Sound:
The entire reason you should buy this is because of the Steingraeber upright sample. The upright sample (if that's the sound you're looking for) is extremely realistic, and it sounds just like a nice upright you'd want to have in your home. Part of what makes it sound so realistic is the bass notes sound "muffled;" you can actually hear the body of the instrument, rather than a microphone being shoved right against the strings. If you have a good controller and speaker system, i'd go as far as to say that you can just leave this sample loaded up all the time and use it to sight-read music from various styles, or just to jam/work out musical ideas simply because it's so pleasing and authentic to hear a "REAL" piano whilst playing.
The Steinway favors pp-mp playing. If you play very soft and expressively it'll sound 100% realistic (assuming you make sure that the key return sample isn't set too high), but if you try to play mf-FFF, the midrange sounds OKAY and you almost can't even hear the bass notes anymore. To give you an idea, it'll sound beautiful playing Aeris' Theme from Final Fantasy 7, but if you try to play any Chopin besides the ballades, it'll just flat-out suck.
The Bosendorfer is far too weak to even sound remotely like a Bosendorfer, and i'd recommend that you go with Synthogy Ivory, or Eastwest Bosendorfer 290 if you want a good Bos sample; This piano isn't even worth considering in this library.
The Bechstein has a slightly more even tone and playability than the Steinway in the mf-F velocities, but it completely falls apart during soft, expressive playing which is the place the Steinway actually shines. If you're the kind of player that plays things in-the-mix, go with the Bechstein with the Studio "Near" impulse and have at it.
What you have to understand, is besides the programming of the pianos each and every piano is going to have strengths, and weaknesses. I've played actual Steinways that favor one playing style over another, and i've played 7,000 dollar upright pianos in small shops that sound ten times better than a grand piano (with classical musicians agreeing with me).
Ease of Use:
Fairly easy to use, as i've said before. If you want "just play" and have an extremely simple interface, go and get a host called "Plogue Bidule" and if you use it once you'll want to use it whenever you don't feel like messing with Cubase, or especially Fruity Loops.
Support:
I was unable to update the program, so I sent an e-mail to Native Instruments and they actually never even got back to me. Service Center doesn't even find Akoustik Piano on my system, and tells me to register Art Vista (which isn't even installed on my system anymore). When I try to register that it says that an error occured and that's it.
I'm extremely disappointed in Native Instruments for neglecting a customer, and if they would ever even bother to get back to me I would gladly change this number to at least a 2, or possibly 3.
Submitted: 4/13/2007
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3 of 3 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 1 out of 10
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Feature:
Again, great samples. Steinway, Boesendorfer, etc. Key mechanics noise and pedal noise sampled too. Plenty of options.
Quality:
First set of DVD's were corrupt. They sent me new ones. The installer still has flaws, but works nonetheless. See "sound" above for details on why this software sucks.
Value:
Fine for the hobbyist. Professionals should avoid it like the plague. Maybe in a year they'll get it right, but for now, just stick with your digital piano.
Desirability:
Oh, the "sex appeal" is strong. Lots of hype around this product. Don't be fooled.
Sound:
Great samples, terrible playability. Maximum 50 notes polyphony is embarrassing. Pedal dynamics are unrealistic. Dynamic response flawed -- for example, you can't depress a key without generating a tone, no matter how slowly/gently you depress it (and varying the velocity curve and dynamics don't help). Notes don't fade out when exceeding polyphony, but cut out, and with an audible click to add insult to injury. Bottom line, they have a lot of work to do on this software before you can play Lizst with it.
Support:
They have no idea what's going on. They had to put me on hold for 15 minutes while they figured out what the polyphony is. (I had a hard time believing it was a mere 50, so I checked with them.)
Overall:
I'm already in the process of returning it.
Submitted: 10/25/2005
Style of Music: classical
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3 of 3 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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Read all Native Instruments Akoustik Piano Software Synth reviews...
Native Instruments products cannot be returned once the manufacturer's seal has been broken. Any defective merchandise must be dealt with directly through Native Instruments. If a product is found to be defective, you must contact Native Instruments customer support at 866-556-6487 for service. details
"This was the fastest shipment I ever experienced. Item shipped the same day of purchase! Received the item in two days.Thanks zZ." - customer on December 19, 2008
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