The Grand 2 - Play the perfect piano anywhere! (Steinberg The Grand 2)

Member Name: McBeer

Product:	Steinberg The Grand 2
Date:	18/05/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic quality, easy to use, great editable features

Disadvantages: Big in size

Steinberg has written many great peices of audio software. The main being the sequencers Cubase and Nuendo. However now they have produced many great VST instruments which can be used with the majority of softwares out there.

The Grand 2 is a VST instrument, replicating 2 different choosable grand pianos. I set up this software to be played through Cubase as that is the sequencer I use, however it can be used on its own. As I have a 88 key hammer action MIDI keyboard, I do tend to practice piano often, and wanted a realistic piano sounding VST. This was for both recording and for practicing. After trying out several different and free VSTs I thought it was best to go for a one better known for its quality.

The Grand 2 is a very good sounding, high quality VST. It comes with great editable features, such as reverb time, room size in which the piano is placed and even where the piano is situated in the room. All of these vital to a pianos sound if you are aware of how they work.

The piano itself was recorded at different velocity, so with my hammer action keyboard I am able to get a good understanding and realistic sound of how hard the keys are being pressed. The tone of the piano is also outstanding. From the lows not being too 'boomy' to the high keys not sounding too dead.

I have used this software on many recordings and it is rare to find someone asking if the piano was recorded live or MIDI. Most people assume its live straight away due to its high quality.

The one downside to this software however is that it is 2gb in size. This is a big peice of software for only 2 pianos, which may put some users off. However the size is due to the quality and therefore shouldnt turn too many heads.

Summary: A very high quality piano sounding VST. Great for recordings, performance and practice!

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