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 | | | | Dec31 Written by:Bruce Richardson
Friday, December 31, 1999 6:00 PM  One of the biggest gifts that GigaSampler has given the production world is the availability (at long last) of a realistic MIDI-driven piano. Until now, the available options were rated more in terms of irritation factor. They ranged from no good to pathetic to please kill me.
It's little wonder that Nemesys includes the GigaPiano with the fully-licensed GigaSampler application. Since the piano is a percussive instrument, and it does eventually decay into full silence, that makes it an instrument that can be almost completely captured and mapped, given GigaSampler's capability to provide unlimited sample length. It shows off the paradigm quickly and effectively.
With GigaSampler you can have a hyper-realistic piano sample. That's been proven. But the exciting thing is to be able to compare the hyper-real qualities of different source pianos.
This is where the fun really begins. For this review, I had an opportunity to evaluate three of the top-rated GigaSampler piano libraries - the GigaPiano (a Yamaha concert series grand), and the EastWest Steinway B and Bosendorfer libraries.
I've done a lot of playing with these sample sets. I've heard a lot of comments from users.
Overall Impressions
My overall assessment of the three is positive, probably more positive than some comments I've read. I believe that each has strengths and weaknesses in recording technique, sampling, and raw instrument quality. I believe in each instrument's case that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.
That said, they each have distinctive charms. The Bosendorfer tends to sit best in a pop mix straight out of the box. The GigaPiano has a nice quality for sparse exposed features, especially delicate melodic lines, thanks largely to its release sample layer. The Steinway seems to have the largest following among users, yet it tends to draw a strong like or dislike for its rather distinctive personality. I noticed its abundance of personality immediately, but did not really get into playing it for a while. It grew on me steadily, though, and I like it better now than I ever have.
There have been debates ad nauseum as to which of these libraries represents the state of the art. Some folks say none of the above. Among these three, the pecking order is clear at least in the online community. The Steinway, as mentioned, enjoys the highest marks in general, followed by the Bosendorfer with the GigaPiano a few steps back.
Beyond personal preference, is there any explanation for this? An interesting parallel comes into focus when we examined the number of actual discretely sampled keys that are mapped into the GigaSampler instrument. Call me crazy, but I don't think it's a coincidence that the Steinway has a full 88 sets of discrete key samples. The Bosendorfer has seventeen fewer at 71 discrete sets (although it has an additional velocity layer, making it the largest set of samples of the three). The GigaPiano weighs in at 31 discrete pitch groups. Surprised?
OK, which piano is my favorite to sit down and play? The GigaPiano, hands down, despite the drastically reduced number of discrete notes. I like the release triggers, and if anything the GigaPiano really points out just how much they can add. They document an important layer of the total sound that is a piano. It is simply not fully described without them. I hope that I've debunked the "muddy" myth once and for all. The issue with this instrument is NOT the release samples.
Release samples are good--very good. Everybody now. Release samples GOOD. I really wish the EastWest pianos had a release sample layer...but I'm sure they'll be coming along eventually.
I am being ultra critical, for sure. My comments are more concerned with how these sets compare to the hypothetical state of the art. The reality is that these pianos are indeed the current state of the art.
Sometimes the GigaPiano is the perfect sound for a given tune. Sometimes it's the Steinway, and some other times it's the Bosendorfer. Each individual will have a different preference for any given musical context. These are three fine instruments, more capable than anything preceding them. If you've got the ear and the patience, you'll always get a great piano track out of whichever you choose to use. And in reality, you'd be challenged to get a better piano sound from an actual piano unless you're very well appointed. These libraries can put a top-shelf piano sound in anyone's toolbox, leveling the playing field for musicians who need quality piano tracks on the cheap.
The Nemesys GigaPiano
This is a Yamaha concert series grand, which lives at Austin Recording Studio in Austin, Texas. It has quite a pedigree, appearing on hit records by everyone from Asleep at the Wheel to George Strait to Dr. John to Marcia Ball to Dolly Parton. It's about fifteen years old, and according to those that work with it most often, it's kept in primo condition.
The sampling was a team effort between independent engineer Larry Seyer and composer Dave Govett of Nemesys.
The GigaPiano has the most sophisticated mapping scheme of the three pianos we evaluated. Nemesys is naturally very invested in showing off its technology to full effect, so one would expect as much.
The unique contribution this piano brings is the gorgeous "release-sample" dimension. Simply put, as you release a key, a new sample is triggered. Every key on this instrument, in addition to its full length decay at multiple levels pedal up and down, has been mapped to a release-sample. Whenever you release a key within a certain staccato time range, the tail of this staccato sample grafted to the note's release.
What does that get you? Noticeably improved realism. You hear the actual damping of the string, just as you would in real life, rather than an envelope controlled gate. Put on some headphones and listen to the overtones shift as the string is choked by the felt damper. You get an absolute sense of being right there with the instrument.
Tonally, this is Yamaha all the way--for better or worse, depending on how you like Yamaha pianos. They are consistent instruments from one to the next. The tone is very fundamental-strong and centered with pedal up, and with pedal down, the resonance is intense. Churches love this piano, since it can really fill a room. It's a very "in your face" sound, and very responsive.
What would I change? I wish more than just the 31 discrete key samples had been used. The instrument would have been far better for it. I can only speculate as to why the sampling is this spread out, when it could easily have been a note for note study. Certainly smaller file size, faster load times, and the ability to pick the very "best of the best" samples makes it attractive to leave out some of the doggier notes. Every piano has them for sure.
I'm sure it also doesn't make particular sense to bundle an instrument with the application that would eat most of a user's RAM. I would love to hear a chromatic sample of this piano.
In my latest projects with the GigaPiano, I've started using a less aggressive curve on my controller's velocity output. I was somewhat surprised at how different it felt and sounded when I first tried it. Not only was it different, but better to my ear. I wonder how many folks have experimented with this. No two brands of controllers respond the same, so it's worth a shot. My new setting lets me dig in a little more without crowding all my strike velocities in the upper 30% range. The recorded result sounds more relaxed. And I bet it's probably closer to the way the designers heard it.
Give the GigaPiano its props, folks. For one thing, it's included. Good price. It's the most clearly recorded of the three. A boon in many cases. Clarity is easy to dial out, but not so easy to dial in. Matter of fact, when you're playing it solo, it really seems to sit in front of the speakers and take on its life within the room. I've been able to focus it into a tighter and smaller footprint by simply following it up with a Waves S1 and narrowing its stereo width. Follow this with a TrueVerb, and you can effectively place the piano anywhere in the virtual space of your mix.
In the softest pedal down passages, the sound of this instrument is superior to anything out there. That's where GigaPiano comes into its strength, if you ask me. And for the sheer joy of just playing and listening and drifting into the sound of it all, it's a winner.
EastWest GigaSound Bosendorfer Piano
One of the great experiences of any pianist's life is the first time he or she sits down at a big Bosendorfer, particularly a 275 as sampled here. We're talking nine feet of pure resonance and power. It's also nine feet of serious debt, by the way, if my description is giving you the urge to run out and buy one. They cost almost $90,000.
A distinct characteristic of Bosendorfer pianos is the extended low-end range. Not just extended low-end as in big bass response, but an extension of the keyboard itself. These notes are very rarely played--they exist mainly to add resonance to pedal-down playing. Since adding notes to the bottom of the range is a little unusual for players, the keys for this extra range are reversed in color to avoid confusion. The Bosendorfer 275 is also one of the largest pianos around--Bosendorfer makes a bigger one, but it's so huge-sounding as to be nearly impractical.
Bosendorfers are distinctive-sounding and reasonably consistent from one instrument to the next. They're full and big all the way around, but particularly in the lower register they project pitch center very distinctly. You don't have the phenomenon that exists on most pianos where the core pitch tends to be somewhat masked by overtones at the extremes. You hear distinct pitch all the way to the top of the keyboard, and very full and focused resonance all the way to the bottom.
We were fortunate to have a 275 back at my alma mater. I was strictly forbidden to monkey with it (that darn reputation again). It was secured in its own little stable in the concert hall under lock and key. Being the incorrigible youth that I was, however, I discovered that liberating it was as easy as unscrewing the hinges on the opposite side of the door. Six measly tiny screws...
What a sound. I played it whenever I could get away with it. And what a fortunate happening that GigaSampler should come along and make it possible for me to relive those lusty youthful days with the EastWest Bosendorfer library.
This is a beautiful sampled instrument, and it sounds for all the world like a well-recorded Bosendorfer in a nice room. I used this sound most often in our test project, because it simply fit the tone of our mixes best. For pop producers, this is your ticket. There is good attack combined with a transparent sustain that allows it to sit comfortably in the mix.
Another great thing about this particular sample set--it is well tuned. You will be happy with the sonority and resonance that the EastWest Bosendorfer can add to a piano-driven mix. In many cases, we simplified orchestrations after getting the piano in, because it filled in the blanks so well that we didn't want to disturb what we were hearing.
Does it have weaknesses? You bet. One example: You've been comping along, and a solo arrives. You want more volume, but the sample tops out on you even as you strike harder. So, you boost the overall volume. But it backfires--when you try to move out of the way, the pianissimo register becomes unnaturally loud. The instrument is now too hot, and is difficult to control. You trade one problem for another.
This instrument does not really solo well for me. I think it wants to be an accompanying piano, and it does that beautifully. Maybe it's due to less aggressive miking and mic choice (in this case, a single pair of B & K 4021s). Maybe it's the instrument itself. Maybe it's the fact that some of the consecutive notes are mapped to the same sample set. Whatever the reason, it lacks the stunning overtone buildup that is so well captured in the GigaPiano (this is definitely not due to mapping), and lacks the melodic quality of the Steinway B as well (which is probably mostly due to the mapping).
That's a bummer if you're looking for a "take me away" experience. However, in the context of a mix, it actually works in your favor for most styles. You get the brightening effect of harder playing without needing to use compression on the track--it's pretty much built in, whether by design or serendipity. I've put in enough time on a Bosendorfer to know that it's got more dynamic range than is represented here.
The second, more obvious deficiency (in my opinion, anyway) is the lack of staccato release samples. Instead, releasing a key simply gates the sound. It's well done--as well as any other sample you'd care to name, but it is a shame that such a beautiful and well-recorded instrument can't join the hyper-real club in a solo setting. The golden ears will be more apt to nail you with this piano (and the Steinway as well, which lacks this critical component). The capturing of the dampers as they mute the strings is one of the things that says "real" when the instrument is really exposed.
However, once again, in the context of the overwhelming majority of mixes, you won't be likely to hear this. You'll be too busy grinning from ear to ear.
And don't forget, I'm nit-picking seriously here. GigaSampler has upped the ante to a point where realism is just the beginning. This is a fantastic-sounding piano.
EastWest GigaSound Library Steinway B Piano
The EastWest Steinway B is probably the piano that evokes the widest range of comments. Some people really love this one. Some people cannot stand it. I fall into the former group.
Steinway. To almost anyone on the planet, this means "good piano." To pianists, it's the sound to which all other instruments are compared, on one level or another. No other piano has the Steinway's characteristic brassy fortes that can instantly recede into a mellow rumbling darkness or clear pearl-like pianissimo.
The range of color a Steinway can produce is not easily captured, even in GigaSampler. This library could really have benefited from a more detailed velocity spread of at least two more layers. But we simply don't have the infrastructure in today's GigaSampler. This will have to come in tomorrow's version.
I find its production strengths and weaknesses very similar to the Bosendorfer, especially the dynamic range. You'll notice that the production team is the same for both instruments. I wish it had release samples. I like the fact that it sits well in a mix. I wish it had a little more immediacy and warmth, but not so much that I feel like my head is inside the lid. I wish the pedal down samples had more sympathetic resonance.
These little wishes are becoming my mantra, it seems. They're also very picky points, as I've pointed out. The Steinway B sounds great and has a unique resiliency of feel. The GigaPiano is always ready to bark out, the minute you start really pounding the keys. The Bosendorfer feels like it has a slight compression attached that keeps it powerful yet controlled.
But the Steinway has a different feel altogether, that I guess I can only describe as slightly elastic. Somehow, the response really makes me feel connected to the instrument, and I find that I can get a certain quality of line out of it that eludes me on the other two libraries. The keys themselves take on a different feel. The sound tends to make me sit on notes, and really play the tonality of the sample set very consciously, just as I would interact with its acoustic counterpart.
I know I'm not imagining this, because several players that I know and respect have come to the same conclusion with no particular prompting from me. And with each of the 88 keys of the original instrument represented here, it's little wonder that this happens. We ARE more in touch with this instrument. No interval rings false because of suspiciously similar overtones. Every note has its own unique sound. Another very good thing.
On this library I really long for the release sample layer. If we had releases of the same quality as the beautiful and highly individual attacks, I'd be in hog heaven. As it is, I still find it to be a great sound, particularly useful for rendering expressive solo lines and melodies. Here again, the glossy / funky duality of the classic Steinway sound benefits us in terms of realism as much as the very literal note for note sampling. This instrument has probably the most distinctive personality of the three.
But I believe GigaSampler's very essence and capability calls for extraordinary measures in sampling technique. It challenges the instrument builder as well as the end user. Congratulations to the Steinway B production team for laying this instrument bare, and letting all the individual note characters speak out.
So all in all, another great piano, which has the blessing of many very discerning players. The Steinway character is immediately recognizable, as is the unique character of the individual instrument. A bold choice, and that is what GigaSampler pianos are really all about. Not only can you have a good sounding instrument, you can have a specific good-sounding instrument. Good stuff.
Conclusions
There are my impressions, hopefully balanced ones, from my perspective as a piano-playing composer. The bottom line is that each of these libraries is well produced, and each has strengths and weaknesses. If you can afford all three, you'll probably end up using different ones for different projects. If you can only choose one, then hopefully my comments about their strengths will guide you to the instrument most suited to your work.
I personally would love to see release triggers on every piano. How many times can I say this. Not enough. I think they add an important aspect of realism, and as mapped in the GigaPiano, they can be balanced into the sound at whatever level is appropriate. They shouldn't be blamed for issues that are not related to them, a common mistake.
And I think that there is a key area that's weak in all three instruments. There's a lot of color in the pianissimo to mezzo piano range that is notably absent. These pianos all favor the mezzo forte and louder ranges. Not much to do about that right now. The only way to get stereo imaging and four up, four down note sampling is to give up the release trigger layer. Only the Bosendorfer has four up, four down sampling. The Steinway and GigaPiano are three up, three down. It will be up to Nemesys to provide instrument designers with more dimensions or we won't see increased timbral capabilities much beyond what's already been accomplished. Some part of the range will always be underrepresented.
And instrument builders take note: Let's see these pianos sampled string for string. The Steinway B is proof that the difference is appreciated. If you want to give us the sweetened versions, we'll take them. In some situations they're perfect. But concentrate on giving us the instrument as it exists, warts and all.
The holy grail is still out there, folks.
But how nice to be in a place where this discussion even exists! That's the thing to remember. Any one of the pianos we've discussed beats about anything else you can find. So check them out, pick the one that's right for you. If you need variety in your life, grab them all and use the one that best fits the mood of the moment. You can own the whole lot for less than the price of a single piano payment, and that's good news for everyone that needs quality piano sounds in their arsenal.
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