It's that time again - what are your top 3 acoustic samples?

[SteveNordP3]

RESULTS:

Thanks to everyone for taking part in this extremely informal "poll" of acoustic sample preferences. I know we do these all the time on this forum, but offerings, tastes, and participants change so frequently that it's always useful to see the current zeitgeist! Plus - some of us don't strictly "trust our own ears" and it can be very helpful to hear the opinions of others on the merits or demerits of certain samples.

The method was not very scientific - I assigned points based on how a user ordered their preferences. 3 points for the first piano, 2 for the second, and 1 for the third. If there was less than three pianos listed in a post, the first got 3 points, the second (if present) 2 points. A few posters were a little vaguer in their rankings but I went with what seemed to be the piano(s) they preferred, based on their comments.

White - 29 points
Royal - 15 points
Imperial - 10 points
Bright and Silver - 7 points each
Bambino - 5 points
Amber - 4 points
Italian - 2 points

Thoughts:

--White is the king by far. It's the newest sample, three years younger than the next one. Is it newness or quality that make it king - or both?
--Royal holds second place - after holding first for a long time. Yamaha samples dominate the digital keyboard world and this one is Nord's best
--Imperial was the big surprise. This piano has made a comeback! It's one of the "classic" Nord samples that appeared in 2011.
--Bright and Silver are now running neck-and-neck for dominance in the "I need a sample that cuts through the band mix" category.
--The Bambino edged out the Amber for favorite upright - likely because of its very distinctive sound.
--Ah, the Italian - once upon a time it was considered one of the best. This one fell out of favor quickly.
--No Grand Lady D! This one was on everyone's fave list for a long time - age has finally taken its toll.
--The elephant in the room - no love for the Velvet. A newer sample that wasn't a hit even when it was first released.

Thanks again everyone!!
--Gambold

Interesting summary.

White is my top choice in almost all situations.

Lady D is my #2, I use it a ton more than Imperial and the Studio C7, those both of those share my #3 spot.

Amber is still my favorite upright. And yes - Silver cuts through like a knife…

Where Amber and White are relatively new, I suppose it’s possible newer sounds are more shiny pennies in our ears, but I suspect it’s because Nord gets better at their sampling process over time - perhaps some of both.

I would LOVE a new Lady D XL and Yamaha C7 XL that have the feel and depth of the White (Steinway B). But honestly, they’re all pretty damn good.

Except for Royal.

How that rates on anyone’s list is a mystery to me. I realize everything is subjective and a matter of personal taste. I WANT to love it. But I hate it! I’ve never found a setting (other than headphones) that makes sense to me or feels remotely useable! Even in phones, it’s never grabbed me like the others.

I’ll also add that over the years, I thought I was getting a good mono sound from my Nord with my Bose L1 system (when traveling with just one of the two I use for a stereo setup). But I’m finding the Ravenscroft 275 on my iPhone provides a superior mono performance over any of my Nords in that unique situation. Otherwise, White, Lady D, Imperial and Studio are an absolute delight through a pair of Bose L1s in stereo!

[kirsty]

I’ve been messing with the Imperial in my home studio the past few days. I initially dismissed it as I think the top end sounds to “tinkly” compared to the Lady D, which was my go-to at the time. It gets very bright with just a little velocity, and I favor a warmer, darker sound, so it fell off the list pretty quickly. I’m using studio monitors and controlling the E6D from my Roland RD800.

What I’ve found is that the piano is incredibly expressive, and that the upper keys sound tinkly because I’m playing them too hard! You really need to treat this piano with some sensitivity to find its voice. The sample dynamics are seriously deep, and it’s telling me a lot about my playing style.

Doubt it will find it’s way into the Stage, as I wouldn’t be able to control it for live use. But it’s pretty amazing as a way to help tame my ham-fisted playing.

Mike I think your analysis of the big Bosie makes sense given my playing tends to be quite light with the occasional dig for some thunder and expression - the Imperial sample reacts really well to that. Great for darker moodier music like Tori Amos songs or thundering classical pieces and its 100% my favourite for solo piano accompanying the singer I work with. Love this Grand Imperial piano sample and when I win the lottery I'm buying a real one for the living room (one can dream)

[agcohn]

I’ve been messing with the Imperial in my home studio the past few days. I initially dismissed it as I think the top end sounds to “tinkly” compared to the Lady D, which was my go-to at the time. It gets very bright with just a little velocity, and I favor a warmer, darker sound, so it fell off the list pretty quickly. I’m using studio monitors and controlling the E6D from my Roland RD800.

What I’ve found is that the piano is incredibly expressive, and that the upper keys sound tinkly because I’m playing them too hard! You really need to treat this piano with some sensitivity to find its voice. The sample dynamics are seriously deep, and it’s telling me a lot about my playing style.

Doubt it will find it’s way into the Stage, as I wouldn’t be able to control it for live use. But it’s pretty amazing as a way to help tame my ham-fisted playing.

Mike I think your analysis of the big Bosie makes sense given my playing tends to be quite light with the occasional dig for some thunder and expression - the Imperial sample reacts really well to that. Great for darker moodier music like Tori Amos songs or thundering classical pieces and its 100% my favourite for solo piano accompanying the singer I work with. Love this Grand Imperial piano sample and when I win the lottery I'm buying a real one for the living room (one can dream)

I keep coming back to test the Grand Imperial, as it is really expressive and is one of the samples that sounds the most like sitting in front of a real grand piano, however I've I always been bothered by some of the sampled keys, which to my ears have a sort of quacky, wah-wah sound.

[ziozeus]

No one here suffers from this sample lack of energy/volume at the end of fourth/beginning of fifth octave during single line solos?

[agcohn]

No one here suffers from this sample lack of energy/volume at the end of fourth/beginning of fifth octave during single line solos?

Which piano sample?

[ziozeus]

Bosendorfer (imperial)

[kirsty]

No one here suffers from this sample lack of energy/volume at the end of fourth/beginning of fifth octave during single line solos?

I do know what you mean with this comment. Its my only bugbear with the sample and why I sometimes use other piano's for certain songs.
Its like the upper registers are a little plinky and weak in contrast to such strong bites from all the lower keys.
I have the 73 key board and a lot of the time I use the octave -1 function to have a full bottom register when I'm playing accompaniment and the very upper registers aren't in use in that scenario so it isn't as much of a problem.

I might have a go at trying out a split, using the same sample in both parts and experimenting with some EQ tweaks, comp & reverb on the upper split. See if that improves things?

[Hlaalu]

I might have a go at trying out a split, using the same sample in both parts and experimenting with some EQ tweaks, comp & reverb on the upper split. See if that improves things?

Or, using two different samples and making them gradually fade into each other, using "fading" split points. I am pretty sure the Piano 5 has the same feature as the Stage in this respect.

[Elias]

RESULTS:
--White is the king by far. Is it newness or quality that make it king - or both?

I'd say it's the quality. All the other grands are equally new to me, but I still think White Grand is the best when it comes to just sounding good. This has been quite an informative thread.

[Rusty Mike]

No one here suffers from this sample lack of energy/volume at the end of fourth/beginning of fifth octave during single line solos?

I do know what you mean with this comment. Its my only bugbear with the sample and why I sometimes use other piano's for certain songs.
Its like the upper registers are a little plinky and weak in contrast to such strong bites from all the lower keys.
I have the 73 key board and a lot of the time I use the octave -1 function to have a full bottom register when I'm playing accompaniment and the very upper registers aren't in use in that scenario so it isn't as much of a problem.

I might have a go at trying out a split, using the same sample in both parts and experimenting with some EQ tweaks, comp & reverb on the upper split. See if that improves things?

Ziozeus and kirsty, that is pretty much what I referred to above, that the upper octaves are rather thin and delicate. It’s been a great practice tool for me over the past few days, trying to play sensitive enough to avoid the “plink”.

Gambold, I wasn’t really aware you were scoring, so here’s my vote:
1. White Grand
2. Amber Upright

I don’t really use anything else on a regular basis, but do experiment from time to time. I can’t figure out how to easily work the other samples into my own repertoire or if it’s even worth it when the two that I like serve me just fine.

Both of those pianos have a lyrical singing quality in the solo area. They balance between delicate and bold fairly well. The White has a bit more robustness about it, and fits nicely for both “big sound” needs and sweet jazz ballads. The Amber is older sounding, and a bit lighter in the lower register, so it works great for big band swing - enough of a voice on its own yet can stay out of the way when necessary.

Happy Sunday, all.