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right now I am using my Korg Triton Extreme for my piano sounds...and i was wondering if the are better software sounds that are available...the tritons sounds seem a little dull and lifeless compared to a real piano. Any tips or advice...?? Thanks, Mark

Ivory.

+1

also look at artvista VGP and Imperfect Samples WBG

Ivory
Ivory Italian Grand
EWQL Pianos
Garritan Steinway
Alicia's Keys
Native Instruments Pianos

Each are different and one must consider their desired end result. I find Ivory and Italian Grand and quite versatile. EWQL Pianos are quite "bright" at higher velocities, but nicely expressive at lower velocities. Garritan is probably most effective with tracks requiring a more "classical" touch. Alicia's Keys are clearly designed for the pop ballade effect-- warm and expressive, but not necessarily your "rock out" piano.

I haven't tried Native Instruments Pianos yet, but considering that the Classic Piano collection is only $189, it stands as a rather irresistible add-on.

Your options are essentially endless at this point in time.

Just a matter of what your budget is and how much disk space you want to give up if you purchase a sample based product like Ivory.

Here are a few to consider:

Modeled pianos:

True Pianos, $180, [think there's still a discount for Motunation forum members] A few emulations to choose from. I tried the demo and liked it a lot.

PianoTeq, $280 and up. Also a modeled piano. A tweaker's paradise, limited only by your time and imagination.

Ivory,[3 piano collection]= $320 or Ivory Italian Grand Piano, $160.
One of the best regarded 'all purpose' sampled piano libraries available.

Eastwest/PLAY Pianos, multiple versions, starts at $380. Requires 230 GB disk space [that's NOT a typo!]

Native Instrument Pianos [Berlin, New York, etc] approximately $100-$120 and 4-6GB each. These are Kontakt instruments only available from Native Instruments online shop.

But wait, there's more!

-ArtVista Grand Piano and Galaxy Pianos [both Steinway libraries]
-AcousticSamples.net Kawai Pro [one of my best purchases of the past 2 years! Love this piano.]

-Sampletekk pianos like PMI Old Lady and PMI Bosendorfer [VERY affordable ($50 each!!!) and excellent quality. Each library has a disctinctive sound.]

and the list goes on.

It all depends what kind of sound you're looking for.

It's hard to go wrong with an 'all purpose' kind of library including more than 1 piano, such as Ivory and PLAY Pianos provide.

Good luck!

I go with Ivory, and the Ivory Italian Grand.
Without having owned it, I'm also suggesting Garritan's Steinway.

Why do I so brazenly endorse those two at the expense of the myriad choices available? Because the people at Synthogy, who make Ivory, "get it." They made the pianos in the old Kurzweil 2500/2600 series, learned from their experience, then they created Ivory. The first version had some problems with a buildup of noise in loud sustained passages. They fixed it. Then they created the Italian Grand -- a luxury item, but with the attention to detail that you'd expect from a luxury piano library. It outclasses their own regular library. As OSX advances, Synthogy is right there with updates. They have been very helpful to me when I had a bad disk or installation problems. Instant results. This is a company of people who get it, and Ivory sounds great.

Garritan is another company that gets it. Gary is extremely helpful, and he's been at this a long time. The fact that Steinway went with Garritan for their official Steinway sampled piano library is a pretty good endorsement, too. While many companies can offer you a sampled Steinway piano, they cannot legally call it that. Most of them will call it something like a "German D" piano, referring to Steinway's branch franchise in Hamburg. (Steinway is and always was a New York company, and one which contributed enormously to the growth of classical music in the USA) But Garritan's library is the ONLY one developed in collaboration with Steinway. I think that's important. Plus, Garritan is very responsive to problems. And finally, Garritan's is the only piano library I know of that you can buy into at a lower initial fee, then add features for more money as you're ready. I think the basic level starts at $99. NO OTHER COMPANY has beat that price/quality ratio.

Also, if you go with a modeled piano, PianoTeq is fabulous. Excellent features. I haven't used it for anything beyond a demo, but I was impressed with what I could get out of it. Much more flexible than sampled pianos.

Shooshie

Alicia's Keys is right now hands-down my favorite 'clean' grand piano sample.

For a piano with major attitude, I highly recommend Imperfect Samples' "Hohner Grand" and "Braunschweig Upright".

Of course everyone's right in that every project will have somewhat different needs, so every library will have its glory moment. i.e. just finished a track using Omnisphere's washed-out Dream Piano (whatever it's actually called).

Kubi wrote:...every project will have somewhat different need...

Yeah, that's the thing. I did a project last year and didn't use the more expensive piano libraries. The project seemed to work best with the "tucked-away" Steinway in Miroslav Philharmonik.

Dunno-- go fig. You just never know, but one size doesn't fit any one person any more than it does one project.

+1
Ivory
Ivory Italian Grand

Did someone say Ivory???

I wanna put in a plug (no pun intended!) for one that our fearless leader James, put many of us on to a couple of years back. It's TruePianos - http://www.truepianos.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; -. It comes with one particular "module" (Diamond), that has the *very* best "ppp" piano sound I've ever heard in a sampled piano.

Thanks a lot for all the helpfull responses..there is a lot of food for thought there......I had been looking closely at the Garritan but it seems like Ivory is also well liked.....I'm not concerned about the price or the size...quality and customer service top my list of requirements. Update: I went and listened to both the Garritan and the Ivory and they are both nothing short of amazing...the Ivory seems to be slightly smoother sounding where as the garritan is a little harder and more point to the sound..that, of course, could just be the difference between arrangements that where played. Ivory is better bang for the buck.....decisions...decisions..

williemyers wrote:...It comes with one particular "module" (Diamond), that has the *very* best "ppp" piano sound I've ever heard in a sampled piano.

And the best part of it is that it's not even a sampled piano.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Dwetmaster wrote:

williemyers wrote:...It comes with one particular "module" (Diamond), that has the *very* best "ppp" piano sound I've ever heard in a sampled piano.

And the best part of it is that it's not even a sampled piano.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

well, sort of...
here's from True Piano's support page;
"What technology does TruePianos use to produce it's piano sound ?
We combine different technologies at different places, following the 'common sense' rule. Things, that generally work better with sampling - we use samples for, and for the features, where samples make the product less versatile - we use other techniques."