Besides the big three...???

[pianojoe]

There are so many fantastic & unique pianos out there. I have spent the last few months playing as many different brands of pianos as possible, going store to store, theatre to theatre, venue to venue. Steinway, Bos & Yamaha are wonderful pianos in their own right, but seem to be being sampled over & over. I wanna hear something new!!! Howabout a Mason & Hamlin, maybe a Bluthner or August Foerster, Shiguru or Estonia... Baldwin (Kip?) Let\'s tell those talented sound developers what we would like to have next! Throw me a bone!!!

[DevonB]

I\'m very much enjoying Kevin Moreland\'s Kawai piano for Giga. Nice and cheap too at $35. Very nice for that slow and pretty piano piece.

http://www.themusicdifference.com/order/giga/kawai.html (\"http://www.themusicdifference.com/order/giga/kawai.html\")

Devon

[Nick Batzdorf]

Of course there\'s also Faziolo - huge and powerful sounding, although the two I\'ve heard sound a little metallic to me.

Anyway, Lee\'s right, although I think you can probably make general comments. Yamahas are smooth and even, while Steinways are less so but have more character.

I once read that they used the best registers from different pianos to come up with the Kurzweil K250 one.

[mschiff]

I\'ve got a 90 year old Mason and Hamlin, but I don\'t really have the time to create a piano sample. I could probably record the samples if someone else would program it.

-- Martin

[pianojoe]

My point is that there are so many amazing and different sounding instruments. I am not categorizing them by brands, just questioning why Yamaha, Bos & Steinway are being repeatedly sampled, & so many other fantastic makes left aside (I unintentionally left many out!). Is it all about name recognition? I played an August Foerster 275 this week that was so crystal clear & full, a tone I have yet to hear matched (yes, it was brand new & beautifully prepped). I would now like to see a broadening of the horizons when it comes to the instruments chosen for sampling! yes, this coming from the guy who begged not yet a year ago for a quality Yamaha C7 library to replace the infamous Gigapiano. (Thanks Franky!)

[franz]

Piano brand names mean nothing.
What we should look for is the best piano technicians. They are the ones making these things sound the way they do. A Bösendorfer in Vienna will sound totally different from one in New York.
The piano sample should use the name of the technician not the brand.