Refreshing Pianos Sample Subject!

[RedLeo]

Also the Tack piano is a bit tame - I could do with one that sounds like it's being played with ice picks.

I use that one occasionally,and I find that a bit of EQ makes it really zing. I roll off a little mid and bottom as well to exaggerate the whole thing.

[JiminWales]

I have no idea who Mr Folds is
Yeh, I'll have to check him out now...

... referring to this behaviour?
"During his concerts, Folds performs two of his concert traditions: palm-smashing and throwing his stool at the piano." (Wikipedia)

[themixtape]

I think the best "Grandma's Piano" could be the Bambino Upright... it really sounds like "home". Close second and third: Rain and Romantic. Maybe Blue Swede, too. Amber is too "new" (though I love it)

[kirsty]

The Velvet could probably qualify for the grandmas piano. It has somehow a very unexciting and 'old' feel about it

Personally it reminds me of a battered old grand that we used to play at college that sounded like it was so lifeless it just wanted to jump off the stage

[Rusty Mike]

I think i am the only one don't like the Imperial Grand...

I do not like it either!!!

Hmm, seems I've not contributed to this thread . . .

I think it depends on context -- horses for courses and all that.

My own musical context: traditional jazz, big band and jazz fusion.
Preference: I much prefer an older, authentic piano sound. I like the jazz recordings from the 40's, 50's and 60's. The piano needs to blend in most of the time and occasionally stand out. My current preferences:
1. Amber Upright - it's a beautiful, well rounded sound. Expressive, not too heavy in the bass and accepts EQ modifications very well.
2. Grand Lady D - Clearer than the Amber, works well with jazz ballads
3. Silver Upright - Can be warm and expressive, but also cuts well when you need it. Great for fusion and latin songs.

I do tinker with the Italian and Royal grands, but that have not found a home in my repertoire. I love the Black Upright and Blue Swede uprights as well, but the Amber pretty much displaced both of those and the Queen Upright. I still keep the Black and the Blue loaded in my Stage and will use them on occasion. They are wonderfully quirky and vintage.

I never warmed up to the Imperial; it's just too large sounding with no intimacy to it. I've been thinking about experimenting with the Velvet again to see what it can do.

[23skidoo]

I love the Imperial for rock piano and as a layer underneath a lot of synths. It's not "beautiful" or "warm" on it's own, but that growl is lovely and it seems to have just the right sonics for showing up even when seemingly overpowered by other mix elements.

I think I commented in one of the other piano sample threads here that I really love the Rain piano for moody stuff, and the Royal Grand is beautiful to my ears, it's my favourite for ballady things and just a nice warm well rounded large piano sound.

The Velvet gets special mention too, for softer stuff.

I don't like the Italian at all (as in, I actively dislike it) and I can take or leave the Grand Lady D, she's the best of the other pianos but lacks some sort of character I like. The other uprights do very little for me, but each of them does seem to fit a specific style or mood, so I leave them loaded since I occasionally switch between them. The Studio pianos are also "fine" but with all the other choice, they tend to get left behind.