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08/08/2004 |
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The Grand Can you buy a Grand for 170 quid? Ian Waugh checks out Steinberg's new program that reckons so...
Once upon a time, the reality test for any synth or sampler was the quality of its piano. Now, with the advent of plug-in synths and samplers, this has become less of an issue but a good piano sound is still regarded by many musicians as the essential core of their sound collection. Steinberg's The Grand is a dedicated sample-based piano plug-in. It's a VST Virtual Instrument (VSTi for short) and works with any VST 2.0-compatible host software. You get both PC and Mac versions in the same box
although there's no stand-alone version which would have been very
handy. Users could then have used it simply as an instrument,
playing it live from a laptop, for example. However, the most
popular use will probably be for piano sounds played from within a
sequencer.
And the piano sounds are stunning! As well you might expect - the samples are hosted on three CDs and take up 1.3Gb of hard disk space. It supports not only Sustain but Soft and Sostenuto controls for all you three-pedal piano fans out there. It has the sort of quality which allows you to plug in a keyboard and makes you just want to play... Needless to say, there are many configurable options which are set in a well-laid out Edit screen. You can adjust the velocity curve to suit your personal playing style and the keyboard you're using. There are seven velocity curve presets and, of course, you can create your own. I There are settings for adjusting string resonance and hammer release which all add to the authenticity of the sound.
There's also an Ambience control for creating "room" effects and an Anechoic Chamber which remove all traces of reverb and produce a very dry sound. You might want to use this if you plan on adding your own effects later on. For the aficionado, you can select Well Tempered or Concert Grand scale tuning. Summary Not so long ago, a sampled piano of this quality would cost an arm and a leg - and you'd have need a hardware sampler with bags of RAM to run it. You still need bags of RAM to run this well and the suggested 256Mb really is the minimum. It requires a fair amount of CPU power, too, although there are various settings that allow you to reduce the number of voices and the authenticity of the sound in some areas in order to reduce CPU overheads. You also need to ask yourself whether you need this amount of realism. There are other virtual instruments and pianos that might be quite adequate for your needs. The Grand is absolutely superb but if it's going to be hidden in a mix it may be overkill and overspend. Steinberg was largely instrumental (sorry!) in bringing down the price of plug-ins to the £100 mark so it's disappointing to see prices creeping up again. However, you are getting a lot of piano for your money and if you want top quality, we have no hesitation in recommending this. It's knockout! |
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you have a weighted-action 88-note Master Keyboard then all well and
good but you can just as well play it from a synth keyboard or one
of the many inexpensive synth-type master keyboards designed
especially for computer musicians.
There
are four quick Sound Character buttons - Natural, Soft, Bright and
Hard - which certainly affect the sound. Select which best suits the
current music.