Old 10-17-2021, 05:48 PM   #1
Musicianaire
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Default What is your experience with Keyscape?

Online reviews are biased. I've watched the promo vids for Keyscape, and I'm right on the cusp of buying it.

If anyone here has used it, please share your real life thoughts on it.

How do the middle octaves around middle C sound? (many piano VSTs fail here IMO)
What's the sympathetic resonance like?
While the samples sound totally awesome in the videos, how do they really sound for you?
Anything else you can think of...

I've been researching other paid piano VSTs that sound great as well, but there's always an iLok or the need for Kontack or Pianoteq or whatever. ugh.... I just want to download and plug it in baby!

Any insight is much appreciated.
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Old 10-17-2021, 07:49 PM   #2
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jmo, of course, but Pianoteq is still the best!
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Old 10-17-2021, 07:51 PM   #3
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Give fazioli a try or galaxy vintage d .

Finding that piano sound can be daunting but be ready to use something less powerful if its in a mix . Rarely does a good playing solo piano sit well with other instruments.
Keyscape has many good choices for "in a mix" but less so for that powerful concert grand sound. It also has a very good rhodes and any combinations of just about anything keyboard related.
It does occasionally crash and it is resource hungry at times .
Pianoteq is liked by many ...I still cant get past that raspy funny sound out of it but that probably just me .
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Old 10-17-2021, 08:12 PM   #4
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Hello, I do not have Keyscape, but am very taken by the quality and content of it, and found the following video quite impressive. I have limited keyboard skills, but I believe Keyscape would inspire me to put the effort into improving my keyboard playing. Sorry I cannot provide first hand commentary. Best!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3WRZKwMnsI
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Old 10-18-2021, 12:37 AM   #5
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jmo, of course, but Pianoteq is still the best!
+1.
Especially given the OPs "I just want to download".. comment.
Nothing quicker than Pianoteq, or even remotely close in that regard!
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Old 10-18-2021, 02:48 AM   #6
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The real power of keyscape really shines when used inside omnisphere
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Old 10-18-2021, 05:04 AM   #7
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2nd Galaxy Vintage D. This ended my search for a V-piano.

Also Pianoteq is great, especially in terms of touch sensitivity and response. And though I would say it's perhaps sonically weakest right around middle C (as the OP points out can be a problem), v6 was a huge improvement in this regard and v7 is only better. Pianoteq has become my go-to, especially for piano practice or just playing, though I still sometimes prefer the sound of the Vintage D.

As much as I like Omnisphere, I've never considered Keyscape, in part because such a massive collection strikes me as both expensive & excessive, like a rich person who has several acres of land devoted to a boutique car collection or something... But Spectrasonics does have a very high quality bar, so I can only imagine that the keyboards are very good.

But ultimately how a virtual piano "clicks" for you is subjective, so there won't be a definitive answer to be found on a web forum.
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Old 10-18-2021, 05:49 AM   #8
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I'm a huge Keyscape fan and have been using it for a few years now. I initially purchased it mainly for the electric pianos and other instruments but I was very pleasantly surprised by the Yamaha concert grand. It's a custom C7 and to me, it feels extremely real to play and sounds great.

My primary instrument is keyboards and piano (I've been playing piano for four decades) and I LOVE playing real concert grands when I get the chance. Keyscape to me comes very close in feel to sitting at a concert grand, especially when wearing good studio cans.

The sympathetic resonance is a big thing for me. Any sample library that gets this wrong kills the feel and Keyscape got it right.
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Old 10-18-2021, 07:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dannii View Post
...My primary instrument is keyboards and piano (I've been playing piano for four decades) and I LOVE playing real concert grands when I get the chance. Keyscape to me comes very close in feel to sitting at a concert grand, especially when wearing good studio cans.

The sympathetic resonance is a big thing for me. Any sample library that gets this wrong kills the feel and Keyscape got it right.
I've been playing since 1969 myself. I first experienced a Steinway baby grand in 1977 and that spoiled me rotten, lol. Whatever plugin I get, it's gotta be as authentic as possible. I'd love to find a Steinway plugin that's super true to the real thing, but if not, then whatever I get has to be sampled, not modeled.
My wife asked if anyone would really know the difference and I said I would, and that matters most to me if I'm going to record something that's forever.

Thanks for your input.
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Old 10-18-2021, 08:10 AM   #10
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I've been playing since 1969 myself. I first experienced a Steinway baby grand in 1977 and that spoiled me rotten, lol. Whatever plugin I get, it's gotta be as authentic as possible. I'd love to find a Steinway plugin that's super true to the real thing, but if not, then whatever I get has to be sampled, not modeled.
If you want to try some other plugin than pianoteq that is modeled, there is also Arturia Piano V2
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Old 10-18-2021, 09:09 AM   #11
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If you want to try some other plugin than pianoteq that is modeled, there is also Arturia Piano V2
Yeah, it's like a kind of 2nd or 3rd division Pianoteq. It's decent enough value as part of the Arturia complete package, when bought with the yearly half price discounts.
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Old 10-18-2021, 09:12 AM   #12
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I have no experience with Keyscape. The price looks high at first... but then I see that all 36 models are included in that price. That puts it squarely back in the "reasonable" category for me.

I went shopping for a virtual piano earlier this year. I ended up with Pianoteq for a couple of reasons. To my relatively untrained ear it sounds amazing, and even played solo I couldn't spot it for virtual - let alone buried in mix. Second... no samples. As much as they give amazing benefit, in my heart of hearts I hate samples. I hate the disk I/O, the storage, the file management... if the quality is high enough, I'll take physical modeling any time.
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Old 10-18-2021, 01:28 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Musicianaire View Post
I've been playing since 1969 myself. I first experienced a Steinway baby grand in 1977 and that spoiled me rotten, lol. Whatever plugin I get, it's gotta be as authentic as possible. I'd love to find a Steinway plugin that's super true to the real thing, but if not, then whatever I get has to be sampled, not modeled.
My wife asked if anyone would really know the difference and I said I would, and that matters most to me if I'm going to record something that's forever.

Thanks for your input.
You might have a look at Vienna Ensemble Labs' Synchron Pianos. The have a Steinway D-274, two Bosendorfers (Imperial and 280VC), a Yamaha CFX, and a Bluthner.

I have Keyscape and a few other VST grand pianos, but the VSL products are a cut above. Especially if you want to use it for solo or orchestral playing, as opposed to a rock or pop mix.

Disclaimer: they are pretty expensive.
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Old 10-18-2021, 06:38 PM   #14
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You might have a look at Vienna Ensemble Labs' Synchron Pianos. The have a Steinway D-274, two Bosendorfers (Imperial and 280VC), a Yamaha CFX, and a Bluthner.

I have Keyscape and a few other VST grand pianos, but the VSL products are a cut above. Especially if you want to use it for solo or orchestral playing, as opposed to a rock or pop mix.

Disclaimer: they are pretty expensive.
Yeah.... just out of my reach for now. They sound awesome, though! wow... Good bucket list item.
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Old 10-19-2021, 02:42 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MiddleC View Post
I have no experience with Keyscape. The price looks high at first... but then I see that all 36 models are included in that price. That puts it squarely back in the "reasonable" category for me.

I went shopping for a virtual piano earlier this year. I ended up with Pianoteq for a couple of reasons. To my relatively untrained ear it sounds amazing, and even played solo I couldn't spot it for virtual - let alone buried in mix. Second... no samples. As much as they give amazing benefit, in my heart of hearts I hate samples. I hate the disk I/O, the storage, the file management... if the quality is high enough, I'll take physical modeling any time.
I've been playing with Pianoteq's trial version ever since I read your post. I have to admit it's very well done, especially with the extensive options for customizing the sound. I do believe it beats Addictive Keys in that respect.

After looking at a couple of the other suggestions in this thread, I believe I'll be going with Pianoteq (even though it's modeled), mainly because the price isn't too big for me.
I could get Keyscape, but it would tighten my budget a little more than I'd like.
The Synchron Pianos that vanceen suggested are exactly what I'd like, but the price is a touch too high for the "Full Library" option that gives me all the mics and options I want.

I would've gotten the Walnut Concert Grand from Imperfect Samples, but they haven't replied to an email that I sent days ago, so I guess they don't need my money that badly, lol.

So until my budget allows for more, Pianoteq seems to be the winner in this round.
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Old 10-19-2021, 02:50 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MiddleC View Post
I have no experience with Keyscape. The price looks high at first... but then I see that all 36 models are included in that price. That puts it squarely back in the "reasonable" category for me.

I went shopping for a virtual piano earlier this year. I ended up with Pianoteq for a couple of reasons. To my relatively untrained ear it sounds amazing, and even played solo I couldn't spot it for virtual - let alone buried in mix. Second... no samples. As much as they give amazing benefit, in my heart of hearts I hate samples. I hate the disk I/O, the storage, the file management... if the quality is high enough, I'll take physical modeling any time.
I'm with you there however -

At a monstrous 1.2TB and with a hefty price tag to match Synchron Pianos is to me a cut above any other sample based piano libraries I've heard and mentioned here. I believe it's the one sample based piano library I would not actually delete (If I had the drive space for it - and boy does it need some!).

While Pianoteq now can often sound real (and seems to me to have a playability unavailable anywhere else) Synchron is capable of sounding like a very high fidelity real piano recording, albeit in a much more limited selection of pianos than Pianoteq.

If I was a rich man(and that level of pianist) I would add it on a 2TB SSD (and back it up on a spare multi TB drive or two) no question. It's the Rolls Royce of piano sample libraries. Although in a way the ridiculous size kind of makes the case for Pianoteq even stronger!

Synchron pianos is more money than an Kawai MP11SE, which I would assume is the level of hardware you would have anyway for Synchron Pianos!

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So until my budget allows for more, Pianoteq seems to be the winner in this round.
Excellent choice.
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Old 10-19-2021, 05:10 PM   #17
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....Excellent choice.
Yep ^^^^ This
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Old 10-21-2021, 08:45 AM   #18
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...At a monstrous 1.2TB and with a hefty price tag to match Synchron Pianos is to me a cut above any other sample based piano libraries I've heard and mentioned here. I believe it's the one sample based piano library I would not actually delete (If I had the drive space for it - and boy does it need some!).
Oh... my... good.. god.

My most productive period of music creation was back in 1998-2001, and my keyboard was an Alesis Quadrasynth Plus Piano.

24MB sample rom.
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Old 10-21-2021, 12:34 PM   #19
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Oh... my... good.. god.

My most productive period of music creation was back in 1998-2001, and my keyboard was an Alesis Quadrasynth Plus Piano.

24MB sample rom.
What's a mere 50,000 times bigger between friends?
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