East West Bosendorfer 290 GrandPiano VSTi (Macintosh and Windows)

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zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Bösendorfer 290 Grand Piano virtual instrument

The 5-star awarded PMI Bösendorfer 290 is simply the best sampled Bösendorfer 290 Grand Piano on the planet - and now it's available as a 24-bit plug-in for the first time.

This pristine piano library has finally captured all of the beauty of this piano. Up to 16 velocity layers, true release samples, true repedalling and two different microphone positions (close and ambient) for ultimate ambience control... and best of all: it sounds as good as the real thing! This Plug-In version comes with 28 programs (9 Dry programs, 9 Wet programs (with and without true real-time repedalling), 3 Dry & Wet layered programs and several FX variations. The bass of this instrument is absolutely huge with a very focused pitch.

PMI Bosendorfer 290 comes as a virtual instrument which includes a high-performance Native Instruments interface powered by the efficient Kontakt audio engine, including Direct-from-Disk*, for Mac and PC (*With freely-downloadable Direct-from-Disk extension).

The virtual instrument combines intuitive handling with excellent 24-bit sound quality, and functions as a plug-in instrument, without the need for a sampler.

For the sonically adventureous, many sound shaping tools have been built in to the interface. Powerful multi-mode filters, envelopes, and LFOs give a wealth of creative possibilities. Integrated high-quality reverb, chorus, and delay effects are also provided.

Direct from Disk playback easily handles large samples beyond available RAM (which is assignable.)

System Requirements

2 GB Free Hard Disc Space, DVD Drive

Minimum Requirements (for Native Instruments software):
Windows XP/ME/98, Pentium III/Athlon 500 Mhz, 256 MB RAM
Mac OS 9.2, OS 10.2.6 or higher, G3 500 Mhz, 256 MB RAM

Recommended System (for Native Instruments software)
Windows XP, P III/Athlon 700 MHz, 1 GB RAM
Mac OS 9.2, OS 10.2.6 or higher, G4 733, 1 GB RAM

Recommended System (for sound library)
EastWest recommends using a fast processor and up to 1.5 GB of free RAM to optimize the performance of this sound module.

Compatibility:
WIN (VST®2.0, DXi2, ASIO, MME, Direct Sound, **RTAS)
MAC (VST®2.0, ASIO, Soundmanager, OMS, Audio Units, Core Audio, ***RTAS)
(**RTAS support for Windows will be available as a free download later.)
(***RTAS is not supported for MAC OS9)

*DFD - Direct from Disk extension from www.soundsonline.com/techsupport.shtml is required.

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 323-957-6969

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. (21 ratings)
Submitted October 29, 2005 by a customer from eclipse.net

"L and R channels are swapped"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
I'm satisfied. The L/R channel swap is annoying but easy to work around.
Sound
Sound is very good. The best of several piano synths I tried. Synthogy's Ivory was not out for PC when I bought this, and it may be better. I intend to try it, too. But this B290 will be tough to beat.
Features
It's a piano sound. Not many features, but the VST has lots of tweakable options.
Quality
L and R channels are swapped. Otherwise, everything's fine.
Value
Good value for a very good piano sound.
Manufacturer Support
I rate support only a 7 not because they are bad, but because you have to get a software key sent to you to unlock the software. I have had software think I changed computers in the past when I've changed my configuration. If I could just re-activate over the net, that'd be fine, but I don't like having to wait to get an e-mail key sent to me. What if the company decides to stop supporting B290 and I change computers? I'm out of luck.
The Wow Factor
I think it's between this and Ivory for the best PC piano sound. This one is a lot cheaper, but Ivory comes with 3 pianos.

Musical Background:

Musician

Musical Style:

Classical
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