Piano producer | THE PIANOS

There is no single ‘perfect’ piano sound. Your choices depend greatly on personal preference and musical context. The pianos below offer a wide range of character and tone to suit your music production needs.

Real Hamburg Steinway D Concert Grand Piano

An immaculate Steinway Concert Grand Piano fitted with a high resolution MIDI system, this is the ultimate in realism for your MIDI piano tracks. Suitable for a wide range of styles and productions. Recorded with a close position, spaced pair of premium quality Schoeps MK-4 microphones (additional room mics are available as an option) in an acoustically neutral room of a professional recording studio.

1. 1969 Hamburg Steinway Model D Concert Grand (274cm) – spaced pair mics – recorded in a studio Demo A – Dry

Demo A – Reverb

Concert Sampled Pianos

Suited to classical & contemporary solo piano, piano trio, film scoring, etc.

2. New York Steinway Model D Concert Grand (274cm) – close & mid mics – clear, sharp tone

3. Hamburg Steinway Model D Concert Grand (274cm) – mixed mics – concert hall stage sound

4. Bösendorfer 290 Imperial Concert Grand (290cm) – clear & resonant tone with huge dynamic range

Studio Sampled Pianos

Suited to contemporary solo piano, pop & vocal accompaniment, acoustic trio & jazz

5. Yamaha C7 Studio Grand (228cm) A – warm, tight & focussed tone

6. Yamaha C7 Studio Grand (228cm) B – bright & airy, loose & resonant tone

7. Hamburg Steinway Model B (211cm) – versatile studio piano – suits a wide range of styles

8. Kawai Studio Grand – bright attack, dynamic & wiry tone – great for cutting through a mix

Character Sampled Pianos

Suited to intimate solo, vocal accompaniment, film scoring, acoustic trio, blues etc.

9. Antique Grand – Early 1900’s German grand piano – charming, vintage tone with bell-like treble

10. Vintage New York Steinway Model D Concert Grand – warm, intimate tone, focussed stereo image

11. Upright European Piano – aged & warm tone, full of character – great for sitting in a mix

Demo A audio samples have been created using the same MIDI file for a direct comparison of how the real Hamburg Steinway Model D Concert Grand and each Sampled Piano responds to identical MIDI velocities and data. Demo A is a series of musical phrases including chords, sustains, single notes, arpeggios, and staccato playing, intended to showcase each piano’s tone, characteristics and dynamics across the keyboard range. Demo B is a short excerpt in a style suited to each piano, and is a suggestion of the type of use for that piano. These are grouped as a suggestion for the various genres & uses. Personal taste and context will be the deciding factor as to which is the best choice for your music. All sampled piano demos have their customised reverb settings applied. Demo A & B tracks composed and ©2016 Craig Gerard Richards, except the Hamburg Steinway Model D Concert Grand Demo B (Prelude in G, Op. 23, No. 5 Rachmaninoff) and Yamaha C7 Studio Grand A – Demo B (Trad. Arr. Craig Gerard Richards). Hamburg Steinway Model D video demo: Hymn to Freedom ©1962 Oscar Peterson and How Deep is the Ocean ©1932 Irving Berlin – MIDI excerpts kindly provided by Doug McKenzie – ©2010 & ©2008. No unauthorised use, copying, lending or distribution allowed.