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The Studio Grand features a classic Steinway Model D concert grand piano. The first choice of many pianists, Steinways are famous for their character and unrivaled sound.
The included ExploreMaps offer production presets in a variety of styles, painting a sonic landscape well beyond what you would expect - from natural to strange, the variety of sounds makes this instrument perfect for both production and stage duties.
The response, dynamics and character of this wonderful instrument will tickle your creativity and portray the very essence of a Steinway grand piano.
Add the Studio Grand Free Version to your account now - the Addictive Keys engine is included. Use it for as long as you like and when you feel the need, simply upgrade to the full Studio Grand version, currently at a very affordable introductory price.
Limitations in Free Version:
The Studio Grand features a Steinway Model D Concert Grand piano in perfect condition; at 8' 11 3/4" (274cm) in length, this majestic instrument is the overwhelming choice of the world's greatest pianists. More than ten Steinway Grand Pianos was auditioned before finding the one with the most desirable character; a crystal clear and open sound with a perfectly balanced resonance. The approach for the Studio Grand is with production in mind. Fitting a grand piano in a mix can be hard and often results in a compromise of the sound quality of the piano to make it fit with the other instruments and vocals. By offering the exact recording setup in Addictive Keys and the option of mixing and matching microphones, the Studio Grand will fit in any production in any genre.
The Studio Grand was recorded in a large recording studio at the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. The studio is famous for being extremely quiet and for having a controlled subtle ambience; for such a large room the reverberation still sounds tight and airy which is a rare combination and the perfect condition for recording a grand piano. The recordings were done using rare vintage tube and ribbon microphones capturing the instrument at several different perspectives. From close up perspective with microphones next to the soundboard to far away perspective with natural room ambience. The result is a warm and vibrant sound that goes from intimate to larger-than-life.
The vintage microphones used for the recordings were hand picked from a huge microphone collection. After auditioning a large number of different perspectives, six perspectives were chosen:
Close Ribb / Close Stereo Wide - Coles 4038
Amb Tube / Amb Stereo Wide - Neumann M269
Close Tube / Close Stereo XY - Neumann M269
Mid Tube / Mid Stereo Wide - Neumann M250
Body Tube / Body Mono - Sela T25
Side Ribb / Close Mono - RCA 6203
The Gallery view shows general information about the installed instruments and those available in the online shop. The bottom of the Gallery page shows thumbnails of the available ExploreMaps for the currently selections instrument. They contain a selection of presets with preview function. The Studio Grand comes with three ExploreMaps: 'Producer', 'As Recorded' and 'Selections'. Click an ExploreMap thumbnail load the full ExploreMap in the Explore View.
Producer: A great selection of producer presets with macro controllers for different effects. For fast and easy editing without having to go to the Edit page.
As Recorded: Presets with preselected combinations of microphone perspectives as they were recorded with no processing. A great starting point to find the right sound.
Selections: Presets ranging from all natural to downright weird. Creative sounds with inspirational musical previews to guide you through the sounds and textures.
Softness: Adjusts the instrument softness when the soft pedal (Una Corda) is pressed. Pedal Noise: Adjusts the volume of the pedal noise. Sustain Body: Adjusts the amount of body resonance in the instrument while the sustain pedal is pressed. The more you add, the “richer” the sustain tone will sound. Sustain Noise: Adjusts the amount of string resonance for all strings in the instrument while the sustain pedal is pressed, adding a natural noise within the instrument. The ‘Velocity to Sample’ slider allows you to filter out the lowest and/or highest velocity layers of the current instrument, while keeping the dynamic range intact.
The virtual room shows all available microphones and their placement, as they were when the recording took place. This serves as a visual reference for the available and currently used microphone perspectives, but also as a microphone selector. The Studio Grand was recorded from six perspectives and being able to see their placement makes it easier to build the right sound for your production. From mono to stereo and from close to far.
The Addictive Keys engine is free and included in all offers. The installation and authorization of the Studio Grand requires an internet connection on your audio computer, and is handled by the XLN Online Installer application – available for download at: www.xlnaudio.com/install
Download, unzip, run it and follow the steps to install and authorize Addictive Keys. For detailed information about how to use the Online Installer - visit the install page above.
Download size: 1.2 gb - Full Version / 0.5 gb - Free Version
| Microphone list |
|---|
| Close Stereo Wide: Coles 4038 |
| Close Stereo XY: Neumann M269 |
| Ambience Stereo Wide: Neumann M269 |
| Mid Stereo Wide: Neumann M250 |
| Body Mono: Sela T25 |
| Close Mono: RCA 6203 |
Content Concept & Design Lead: Andreas Mood
Graphic Design: Staffan Gustafsson and Peder Bergstrand
Photographs and Additional Graphic Design: Mattias “Dirren” Förnell
3D Graphics: Upper First
Programming: Martin Eklund, Mattias Karlgren, Markus Dimdal & Magnus Lidström
Recording: Per Larsson and Niklas Flyckt at SampleTekk
Sound Design: Kim Lindberger
Piano Tuning: Mats Ferner
Copywriter: Fredrick Norén
Web Design: Staffan Gustafsson and Andreas Mood
Web Design: Mattias “Dirren” Förnell
Presets: The XLN Team, Plan8 and Current Value
Audio Demos: Marching Band, Stephen Simmonds, Opolopo
MIDI Previews: Arvid Svenungsson
Video Credits “Tears Never Dry“: Performance: Stephen Simmonds, Director & Post Production: Peder Bergstrand, Production: Velour Film, Staffan Gustafsson & Kristin Sjöstrand
