Simeon Amburgey

Kinetic Strings is a very interesting shorts library paired with a very powerful rhythmic engine. Get your strings moving.

This is Sampletekk’s follow up to their 4Knob PopD. It is a very wonderful sounding upright with some wonderful possibilities.

I don’t know why Thursday July 15th is going to be buzzing so much but it seems it is going to be one of those wall to wall announcement, release, livestream kind of days. Spitfire, IK Multimedia, and a few surprises. Just sayin, stay tuned. https://www.YouTube.com/praisetracks

Very well done. I was really moved watching the young lady play with such intensity and joy, magnificent. The world outside of our four walls is waiting, filled with wondrous discoveries, that will indeed change your life.

That has also been my experience with them as well. I have worked with their Hammersmith Piano which I think is one of the best, and have been working through their new THRENODY STRINGS which is very unusual ;^) but still has excellent quality wrapped into it.

Yes, and I just discovered they released their original Bowed Piano in 2008, so it looks like they were one of the first, if not the first to get into that game. The piano they used was a Baldwin SD10 Grand and it does sound very upfront and interesting from what I have played with so far. When you are trying to cover so many libraries you have to be quick to learn all of the different developers GUIS and approaches which can be very interesting at times. The plus side is that you discover quickly the mindset and sound culture that each developer has, a DNA of sorts. Watch this space.....

I am going to check this out.

I think it stacks up surprisingly well considering. They did a nice job capturing 8 velocity layers and the sound of the close ribbon mics just had me. I was also really surprised at the "tack" layer more than I thought I would. Having the tacks on a drop down mediator gave them a strange and interesting latency as they hit a little separate from the strings, it sometimes felt like a harp or dulcimer in some instances. So a couple of fun moments came as a result of what was going on in the chat. MOON RIVER was the result of two viewers commenting on how they had the same MOON icon for their avatar to needless to say that was where I went. Another viewer probably to see what would happen mentioned Bear Necessities and off we went. The lack of Beatles in my song list is a result of not being exposed to them that much growing up. I do have some basic knowledge and probably should have done a little bit more research for this. One of the things is to approach it mainly from a different perspective and one that you would not expect. It would be interesting to go back and find some of the songs that featured this piano to get an even deeper view of it. Looking back, I regret not picking up the Cinesamples Abbey Road Uprights when they were discontinuing them, that would have been a great comparison. Thanks as always for the support, I really appreciate it!

I replaced the video link with the edited Flashback (with index), enjoy!

And here we go 4:00 PM TODAY (pressure washing not withstanding):

Was able to download this after my Piano Colors livestream. I guess you all know what is going to happen next???? Look for something Friday ?

This is another classic Abbey Road upright. Looking forward to playing it. Here is a lot more info here: https://wp.me/p6Mqqs-DP https://wp.me/p6Mqqs-DP

Paul, I am playing a game right now called Piano Library Survivor ;^) It is hard to imagine drive space filling up so fast, especially with some of the VSL Pianos (they are huge). I am getting to the point where you need to earn that space on the drive or be exiled to the Island of the external USB Spinning Disk. We are trapped in the universe of perception a lot of times. There are however certain libraries that capture our imagination and become the survivors and ones that we go too first. Stay tuned for the next episode...the tribe has spoken!

Livestream link in first post.

Galaxy Instruments took all of us on an amazing journey with NOIRE. Now with Piano Colors things have been taken to an entirely different level. The full livestream replay is below. Enjoy ? https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys/piano-colors/

Well, honestly it is a close to impossible question to answer. I am finding that the field has narrowed quite a bit to should I say a possible top 5. Confidentially you mentioning NOIRE, don't ask me what is just ahead in a few days…stay tuned. ?????

It’s funny that we are on this subject, we would be probably be having the same conversation if this was another acoustic piano library. Honestly the past few weeks I have been seeing such a shift in what my reviews have been covering (and some still to come), that it has shifted to electric pianos ? For instance right after doing the livestream on the Famous “E”, I dive into IK Multimedia’s Elektromagnetic expansion for SampleTank 4. When I first played the first few notes of the Elektromagnetik Stage 73 Mark V, I noticed a definite difference in how the attacks just did not feel as crisp as the Famous “E”. While it sounded fine, it did not provide the same experience as the “E”. It goes back to the same issues that we deal with when looking at any other virtual instrument category. Each one has its unique personality. Some of our biases are fueled possibly by the nostalgia of a particular instrument’s history, I know I am very affected more when I have that information. Above all, it is the feedback you get when your hands play the first notes, I know I am really going to love a library or love it less after just a few minutes of playing with it, first impressions are everything. Even more important than the story, is how much time the developer spent in getting things into that pocket of playability, everything has just got to translate or you are lost. Sorry for the rambling, but I thought it was so interesting to see how things seem to travel in bunches. Be on the lookout for more epianos coming soon. All the best guys, and happy 4th of July.

I just updated the original post with the edited version of the replay with chapters. Enjoy.

Journey

I never know what I am getting into, eight libraries…..yeah we got this ? Apologize in advance for some strange buffering interruptions but hopefully can smooth them out when the edit becomes available. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the kind support from everyone.

So, I found the answer on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarreau_(album) David Foster played on Save Me, Omartian was on Step by Step and Boogie Down (another favorite of mine). So the Famous “E” is just dripping all over this iconic release. it just takes me back to when I first heard the all I’m when it was released and I am still captured by the amazing arrangements and musicianship, Laboriel, Porcaro,Gadd, it just goes on and on,

So I just spent the morning going through some Jarreau and it is just the best. The problem (if you can call it that) is I am listening at the Rhodes and cannot unhear it know ???? I wonder if it was used on “Save Me”? I think Omartian was on that and the incredible riffed on that. Not Like This is pure butter. It is so heartbreaking to have lost such a vocalist and one of a kind artist in Al Jarreau and it is projects like The Famous E Piano that help preserve not only that musical legacy but allows all of us to experience it through the library.

Love this! Thanks Fleer for sharing, it inspires me even more to read these stories, as you realize each not you are playing contains this rich history inside of it.

It was so much fun discovering these libraries, especially LIVE, Johnny Cash even showed up for a little cameo ;^) No, just kidding, I think it was my black shirt and that Telecaster that pushed me over the edge.

I am looking forward to sharing some of my latest adventures with @gregjazz Orange Tree Samples, along with @AudioBrewers latest library Tangent Drum. I will also catch up on the latest update to Pianoteq 7. 4:00 PM EST