11 Amazing Piano VSTs and Libraries (Sound Comparison)

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Mikael "Mike" Baggström
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[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Thank you for your support! 😊🙏 Spotify: spfy.link/music 🎧 Music: nordstarstudio.com 🎹 Learn: mastersofmusic.net ▶ Playlists: spfy.link/playlists Music Licensing & Business: nordstarstudio.com Mikael "Mike" Baggström Composer, Musician, Artist

[@khamnung-saowa]

Please tell me the song at 1:26

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

@@khamnung-saowa This is simply me improvising, not a song, just playing what I felt in my heart! :)

[@jjjuhg]

Keyscspe & Alicia, 1 and 11 have the magic. All others...a bit cold, no love.

[@spiritsavage]

@@mikaelbaggstrom Please tell me the chord progressions. It sounds minor? Ergh... Arual Skills was not my strong suit. But I like that progression!

[@oneidagonzalez5325]

Mikael Baggstrom Cheers for the Video! Excuse me for the intrusion, I would love your initial thoughts. Have you heard the talk about - Riddleagan Possessing Piano Remedy (erm, check it on google should be there)? It is an awesome one of a kind guide for learning how to play the piano easily without the headache. Ive heard some incredible things about it and my close friend Aubrey at last got amazing results with it.

[@hazhaus]

0:45 Keyscape 2:14 Addictive Keys 3:43 Ravencroft 275 5:12 Walker 1955 Concert D 6:44 Cinematic Studio Piano 8:13 Una Corda 9:40 Emotional Piano 11:10 The Gentleman 12:38 The Giant 14:07 The Grandeur 15:35 Alicia's Keys

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Thank you Chris! =) Sincerely, Mike

[@hazhaus]

@@mikaelbaggstrom Thank you for this great video :)

[@mark12810]

i was about to request this tar mate

[@jeanetteklingler1122]

alicia keys

[@youngboybeats7382]

Where is Pianissimo that is a Goat too

[@anonymreallife6118]

*Mid Range Timestamps:* 1:26 Keyscape 2:56 Addictive Keys 4:24 Ravencroft 275 5:54 Walker 1955 Concert D 7:26 Cinematic Studio Piano 8:54 Una Corda 10:22 Emotional Piano 11:51 The Gentleman 13:20 The Giant 14:48 The Grandeur 16:17 Alicia's Keys

[@bodyswapai]

I loved Keyscape. The Grandeur and Ravencroft are also good.

[@SoundironAudio]

Thank you for featuring our Emotional Piano library!

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

It was my pleasure, such an amazing piano that truly inspires you to add dynamic emotional piano parts! =) Sincerely, Mike

[@ameyshirsat5270]

I love emotional piano

[@pedrocarvalho4999]

I have it. Great product!

[@ToZik]

It's really decent, beautiful work!

[@RudolfDiesel_III]

I have them all and I preferred Walker 1955 Concert D. But then... I bought Concert D-274 from Vienna Symphonic Library and I was overwhelmed: this is the best by far.

[@JimmyAyele]

I've played piano since 1993. Love the evolution of VST:s. Beautiful sounding pianos. My current favourites are; Garritan CFX, Ravenscroft 275 and Fazioli Ebony Concert Grand. 🙌

[@chaberus2180]

This is the best piano vst comparison ive seen on youtube, i love that you show the SAME RECORDING with different pianos and especially that you show them in different uses. Very helpful thank you.

[@keymediastudioitself]

THE GRANDEUR IS THE BEST ONE! YOU CAN SET OPENED OR CLOSED LID AND TONE THE COLOR OF TIMBRE FROM SOFT TO HARD PLUS ADJUST SIZE OF THE ROOM AND DISTANCE OF REVERB

[@nanogon7767]

k MEDIA K imma probably get this one then

[@willcliftonmusic3914]

@@nanogon7767 Can you use a sustain pedal with it?

[@nanogon7767]

Will Clifton nah I haven’t gotten it yet. I was planning on getting that when I actually have money which is like never ;-;

[@lavenderhearts]

Will Clifton Yeah sustain pedals work

[@CinematicSoundMaestro]

For me the Emotional Piano sounded best for my taste. But there is a piano that should be here also. Very detailed and truly inspiring and realistic. The Pearl Concert Grand by Impact Soundworks. Amazing software. I've been using it for the last 5 yrs and it is still perfect for my work.

[@liviscottishfoldcat]

Keyscape 1:26 Addictive Keys 2:56 Ravenscroft 4:24 Walker 5:54 Cinematic studio piano 7:26 Una Corda 8:54 Emotional piano 10:23 Gentleman 11:51 Giant 13:20 Grandeur 14:48 Alicia's Keys 16:17

[@namesurname3115]

All of these sounds great. But Walker 1955... This mix of resonances... It makes this library sound really catching and true

[@Yubin_Lee_Doramelin]

Maybe because I've listened to M.-A. Hamelin's recordings on Steinway D "too much," Walker 1955 Concert D sounds really familiar to me, and some day, I'm going to purchase this.

[@willstatmen9591]

Yubin Lee omg! Hamelin is also one of my favorite pianists of all time! And some day, if I have money, I wish to buy a Steinway d concert grand, crazy crazy dream I know lol!

[@willba2817]

for me addictive keys, keycap and specially walker 1955 wow!!! at mid range and high range his sounds is very emotional for me

[@vrod2144]

Agree Walker 1955 Concert D sounds amazing

[@gideonz74b]

Interesting video. Because I am a bit disappointed by the somewhat dull speaker sound of my Kawai CA59, I was looking for ways to improve it. When comparing these sounds on the headphones with a digital recording of the SK Concert Grand in the CA59, I realized that all of these VSTs sound great, but so does the Kawai! Just different... Each of these pianos has its own character. So for me, it is confirmed that it is really the speaker system only, and not necessarily the rendering. I might start with adding a good amp+speakers, and then look into VSTs later.

[@WHENIWAKE_JULIANFORTE]

This is fantastic. Thanks for putting in the time to do this.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Thank you Julian! =) Sincerely, Mike

[@mullerj143]

They all sound good. it's mind blowing how piano plugins sounds so good and real.

[@majormoody]

Walker! I put this on in the background, forgot about it, but paid attention when Walker came on

[@Lynkevmusic]

I was set to buy The Grandeur but after hearing this, I'm seriously considering The Walker; it's full and beautiful, Thank you for the comparison.

[@SixStringViolence]

Its more than 37 times as big. 5Gb vs 188GB of samples. ;)

[@yeahrightbear8883]

The walker 1955 sounded incredible but it did have a considerable amount of reverb on it so that might have something to do with it.

[@ToZik]

For professional usage I do think Addictive Keys could be a pretty neat choice But I think The Grandeur would practically fits my production tasks and many more music previews / demonstrations And I would like to go get The Giant and see what funny things I can have with this preset~

[@user-qo3dk3hb2k]

Walker 1955 like more than others. Very lively sound!

[@powerpopaholic876]

Thank you SO MUCH for these comparisons. I was able to listen to same passages, played with each. Some clear winners for me. Cinematic sounds most 'real' on these imperfect (muffled a bit) headphones Gentleman, Walker and Ravenscraft also seem responsive to your playing. Others have flaws, some even sound like sine waves in the sustain (yuck). THANKS !!!!

[@vishwakmusic9314]

All of them are paid ones :(

[@fabrirodriguez7227]

Beautiful sounds! The Walker 1955 catch me, it's magic for my ears.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Indeed! I also like it especially for the staccato mode option. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@lordviewer7305]

that one has something special

[@___David___Savian]

Out of all of these to me the best is the Walker 1955. It is the most balanced and most realistic without too much echo.

[@DihelsonMendonca]

We need good music for that. Perhaps playing a Chopin's nocturne, some Liszt's etudes, Debussy, some Jazz like Bill Evans would make all difference. 🎉❤

[@captaincaceres5740]

I came here looking for a solution but now I'm leaving even more confused... 😂 I have a feeling that keyscape sounds the best. Nothing better than a glass of whiskey, and a piano to play...

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Haha, well if you are anything like me, you will end up with many pianos in any case. :P Sincerely, Mike

[@keijulliantakishima1847]

actually i like addictive keys and emotional piano

[@EandVEntertainment]

The Walker really stood out to me. I kind of liked the Cinematic Studio Piano as well. Pianoteq has some great stuff. For the money Waves Grand Rhapsody Piano is really nice too.

[@GeorgeCarlin88]

Pianoteq best. Simple, fast, realistic (half damper, repedalling etc.). modelling is the future :)

[@midiot777]

Not being a kbd player I choose by how it fits in a mix. I've only tried 4 of these. Based on that experience I would pick the Grandeur.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

I also choose depending on the style and mood of the particular composition I am working on. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@dulmin_]

Hi-octave keys of "Emotional Piano" deserve many adjectives!! Crispy, silk, most beautiful, etc. Reminds lovely raindrop sounding chords in hi-octave😍. Sadly the mid-octave keys of "Emotional Piano" are blurry, and not crystal like its hi-octave keys. Most other pianos have bite sound in mid-octave keys, but "The Gentlemen" had some clarity and silk even in its mid-octave keys. Its hi-octave keys are also good. However both "Emotional Piano" & "The Gentlemen" are Kontakt libraries, and has little customization options (unlike "Addictive keys" & "Keyscape").

[@LMDAFL]

my current best are : VSL D274 , CFX and The Grandeur

[@moralboundaries1]

Addictive keys has a very full sound that works great for pop music and high energy productions. It will take up a lot of space in the mix. Una corda and emotional piano are much more suited to reflective and experimental works. I found Alicias keys quite bland, like playing a digital piano from the nineties (which is an aesthetic in itself). I found layering an una corda with the addictive keys gives a beautiful sound. Not many phasing issues and a gorgeous tone.

[@earlteigrob9211]

Totally agree on Addictive keys, In fact, I said basically the same thing on some else's comparison. Create for Pop and has the presence to stand out in a crowd.

[@archiebiswas21]

Una corda sounds really unique i think it has more depth than others, really liked it.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Indeed, Una Corda has that kind of "magical" tone. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@ONINTAYENG]

Addictive keys is now my 😍

[@randolfndamo8867]

i love how they al lsound and i would say they are different tools for different applications. i own a couple of them and use them in different ways.

[@gamerslinee313]

Thank you very useful! awaited a complete VST review for other instruments such as strings, drums, guitars, basses☺

[@Hello-ys9lc]

Keyscape and Walker D sounds the best for me

[@patch1753]

The Una Corda is BEAUTIFUL

[@quetzalmarchiori]

I think you should have put Walker in 36 velocities not just 12. Thank you for the comparison, I personally vote for embertone’s piano, unfortunately you can not upgrade from the lite version :(

[@airesnobeat]

For me, Walker 1955 Concert D wins this one, with Addictive Keys in second place...

[@mdkgr]

I bought a Roland FP-30X to finally learn the piano at 28 (not trying to produce music etc.). In your opinion, which is the best plugin to take the Roland’s sound to the next level? Just started learning about all the available plugins, but I heard about Garritan CFX, Keyscape’s C7, Ravenscroft 275, Pianoteq (to mention a few), are great. What’s your opinion? Also, trying to load Garritan CFX on a Roland FP-30X connected to a desktop PC but I can feel the latency affecting my playing. I can around 2 ms latency but it still feels “slow”. Don’t know if my brain is making this up. How do you load the plugin (VST, Standalone)? How can someone “eliminate” latency, to replicate the feel of a real piano? What is the most responsive (lowest latency) plugin in your experience? Maybe Pianoteq? Currently using Reaper as my choice of DAW (tried Ableton too), I’ve set the Sample Rate to the maximum of 384 kHz that my Chord Mojo DAC supports, which lowered the latency instantly, and now I’m experimenting with the Buffer size, around 128-256 samples, keeping in mind how my system responds, so as to avoid cracks and pops. I’ve also got a Ryzen 3600 system, which handles all this pretty fine I’d say. Still feels kinda slow.

[@SilloniusAeldarian]

I see you are so humble in the comment section. What a nice man. I was just beggining to love music especialy filmscoring. I would love to see more of your incoming vids sir!

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Thank you very much Sillonius, you are very kind for saying so. I believe being humble, kind and respectful is something we need more of in this world. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@jonathanc.r2474]

Native Instru,ents The Noire is amazing

[@supdem]

Totally agree, its got me playing in ways I never knew I could!

[@reubencase6789]

The Una Corda sounds incredible

[@breeze.3945]

Keyscape 5 Addictive Keys 3 Ravencroft 275 3 Walker 1955 Concert D 4 Cinematic Studio Piano 2 Una Corda 4 Emotional Piano 6 The Gentleman 7 The Giant 4 The Grandeur 5 Alicia's Keys 6

[@TetoArusu]

I wonder why piano sounds make us so comfortable...... beautiful

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

It is my favorite instrument. :) Might be the incredible dynamic range, per note, that is at least part of the reason. Sincerely Mike

[@johncgibson4720]

They all sound very good. Can't tell the difference.

[@wilsont1010]

Which VST best suits Richard Clayderman's performance piano sound? I don't mind paying for it.

[@jingizkan2235]

missing synthogy there..expecially the "american concert d". a beautiful piece of art. thank you for your work:)

[@user-ic2km6mn4h]

Clear to me The Grandeur is the winner. Keyscape is deep but not please my ears as much as The Grandeur does.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Grandeur is amazing! =) Sincerely, Mike

[@RA-el6zj]

Yes the grandeur is great, i use it too. Interested in that Embertone walker tough!

[@tomlewis4748]

I was looking for a piano that would sit well in a dense percussive mix as the lead instrument. To my ear, The Grandeur is an order of magnitude better than the rest. It has a soaring voice that is similar to a soprano vocalist. It sounds more human than the rest and it cuts through a mix better than the rest with zero harshness. It has an emotional resonance that the others don't have. It also seems to sustain really well. The track that is played in this video has some pretty glaring errors in it in terms of pedaling. Almost cringe-worthy. Some pianos handle that better than others. The Grandeur seems to sail through that the best. There is one single note in this track that on some of these pianos sounds like a clinker, and some sound worse than others. The Grandeur also handled that much better than the others. Of the half dozen pianos that I have, this one is by far my favorite, and it is no contest compared to the others on this list. I have a Steinway D and a Bosendorfer that were my favorites until I got The Grandeur. I often had them mixed together playing the same exact MIDI track, which cut the harshness from the Steinway, and the Bosey added a lot of body in the lower mids. It's a nice sound, but now if I blend in The Grandeur, it's even better, especially if I want it to cut through the mix. The Grandeur is also a Steinway D. It has over 2500 samples in it. My understanding is that they paid the city of London to close the streets around the recording site for a couple of weeks when they sampled this piano.

[@bonbb3923]

finally, a video without endless talking and mumbling.

[@georgereshetar9659]

The Grandeur!

[@DM-xp8pz]

Take a look at some pianos from VSL. They have the most expensive libraries, but deeply sampled with sympathetic resonance and realism like no other.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Ah, thanks Damian. You can never have too many pianos! ;) Sincerely, Mike

[@michailluuko3909]

Yes, VSL pianos can be confused with their real counterparts.)

[@artheca7887]

Today, for me, it is the ascend piano from heavyocity without any hesitation!

[@tommyschiffermusic8910]

Thank you again for your great videos. I am using The gentleman, and this was a great resources to hear other options.

[@seok84]

didnt know addictive keys was this good! I think Ill get one soon

[@MarioGrande535]

Walker 1955 Concert D Cinematic Studio Piano i like it)

[@giroliro3]

My favorites are Ravenscroft 275, The Gentleman, and The Grandeur but there were some close seconds!

[@krzysiekmargo797]

1:26 2:56 4:25 5:53 7:25 8:54 10:22 11:51 13:19 14:48 16:17

[@HenriLaroco]

Thank you so much for this video! I've been trying to look for good sounding piano VSTs for so long

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Yes, and there are so many to choose from. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@dadiysbest9513]

I like keyscape and the giant

[@clkunde]

There is another amazing piano: Studio Grand by 8DIO!!!

[@kaspartambur]

I feel a lot of them actually might have the sound I'm looking for, if tweeked or another preset is ready to go. Otherwise, only una corda was strkingly different and extreme quality, although I have the gentleman and you can get so much more out of that soundbank that I wonder how much more is lost, because a real presentation would show their presets a bit more but it would make it into an hour long video. Worth it still ;)

[@dr.sorbonne3101]

walker 1955 concert D

[@bluefire2308]

I personally liked 3rd and 10th one for me preference

[@kinzokumusic6250]

i personally use garritan and abbey road studios CFX Grand and I love it, i recommend you review it!

[@roccox9510]

The Giant sounds like the piano that Vinheteiro uses lol

[@KQPianos_music]

and the piano that was used in If I had a Chicken

[@elpanzer1]

I got synthogy Ivory American concert D and Keyscape.. Both highly recommended.. On my wishlist: pianoteq 6 and garritan CFX

[@Byronic19134]

I got Addictive Keys and I can't recommend it enough. It covers all my traditional piano bases and then some.

[@noveluswemal5986]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I want to ask where to buy a keycape piano vst. thank you sir.

[@catsven1973]

The problem with all those is to find which one cut through a mix and for any genre of music !

[@dulmin_]

Thanks for this useful comparison.

[@anuprandive5145]

I don't know why cinematic studio piano ,I like it the most

[@llice]

Thanks for video man!

[@tamezzodiac2862]

10, 2, 4, and 8

[@hjsworld3299]

Difficult but for me : (1) Keyscape, (2) Grandeur, (3) Alicia's Keys or Addictive keys

[@clkunde]

Alicia's is worst piano in the list. When you play, you realize some synthesizer notes. And the timbre is far to remeber the Yamaha C3.

[@piedpeter1]

Alicia's keys weak compared addictive.

[@ALOISC1]

You could have tested the trial version of "SONiVOX Eighty Eight Ensemble 2.5...recreation of the Steinway 9-foot CD 327 grand piano."

[@Alexedoff]

Emotional piano its Amazing!!!

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Indeed it is! =) - It all depends on the style and mood of the composition of course. Sincerely, Mike

[@danielmackie3903]

Which in your opinion is the most rich and warm in sound?

[@jensjensen4038]

My top 3: 1. The Grandeur 2. The Giant 3. Addictive Keys What’s yours?

[@kenrichard5]

Great video, thank you!

[@DTmaster]

I missed the best One of ALL... The Gartian CFX but great video :)

[@TheKhoirentakBrothers]

The Giant has great low balanced

[@jsyangyu]

Nice video. Do you mind share the music scores used for testing? Really like the mid-ranges one.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Good idea. If I find the time I might add them to my website later, on my free section: professionalcomposers.com/free/ Sincerely, Mike

[@rockletszz007]

All sounds good for me..

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Hello Jake, well I think pianos are a bit like singers...all can sound good, but someone is usually "perfect" for a particular song. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@cj7steps421]

Cinematic Studio Piano

[@JocanMaveric]

Have you tried the imperfect samples Fazioli? The best IMO

[@skrzydlatydzilen7489]

What music in 1:26?

[@khamnung-saowa]

Yeah anyone?

[@HeshO-yi3hh]

I loved the 1 2 5 6

[@olafkliemt1145]

i would have liked to see Pianoteq 6 and Arturia Piano V2 to find out how physical modelling compares.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Absolutely, if only I owned them. :) Sincerely Mike

[@universalpiano3180]

Ravenscroft is definitely the best!

[@grexaflex]

Can you do more of those video's very nice. Personally i like Keyscape but the rest are alsof powerfull cheers 👍🏿

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Hello Grexaflex, yes I might do more comparison videos in the future. Haha, yes Keyscape is a bit like Omnisphere. Meaning, kind of a powerful beast of a tool. ;) Sincerely, Mike

[@MrGabrielven]

Hello friends. Does anyone have the full keyscape working without errors? Could you pass me the download link or the solution to the errors? Thank you. Greetings from Colombia.

[@rossquaresmini5834]

PIANOTEQ 6 the One !!

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Haha, I guess I need to get another piano vst then ;) Sincerely, Mike

[@tuneunleashed]

@@mikaelbaggstrom Pianoteq 6 Pro is the best man the greatest piano of all time!!! I've been searching and seaching my friend this is the one

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

​@@tuneunleashed I actually looked more into it, haven't got it yet, but I liked that you also get even more instruments with the pro package. Sincerely, Mike

[@RoozerXC]

I wanna know what mid-range test is from... sounds calm, i wish there was a full song of it!

[@WomenWorld2025]

walker 1955, for me the best

[@wendyjensenmusic]

I have the NI piano packages. I'm using a digital piano through Um1 audio interface. I can't get a full piano sound with the vst. Any suggestions?

[@karl.weaver]

Thank you Mike.

[@mr_don_key]

I have many of the list (many come with komplete, but i also have cinematic studio piano e.g.)... they are all good in their own right. however, i recently tried the Arturia Piano V.. While i was very suspicious about arturia being able to create a convincing piano (they are more a synth company than anything else)... But i have to say: it's quite wonderful audio wise. No samples, just physical modeling. it's very authentic sounding. (even pedal noises and key noises when playing softly.

[@mikaelbaggstrom]

Oh, that is interesting indeed. I haven't tried any physical modeling pianos yet, but I am a huge fan of the technology and more importantly the control you get. I have SWAM, Sample Modeling and MODO Bass. =) Sincerely, Mike

[@uroborosfirst5637]

Thanx for video, Mikael :3