Embertone - Walker 1955 Steinway Concert D Grand Demo

This video features the Main Classical preset from Embertone Walker 1955 9 foot Steinway Concert D Grand Piano library.
Amazon links:
Korg Kronos 2: amzn.to/2Iaz2En
M-Audio UNO Midi to USB cable: amzn.to/2D8rNZI
#Embertone #Walker1955ConcertD #SteinwayPianoLibrary

[@patxiplg]

This is not fair... Playing the piano the way you do would make almost any plugin sound great ;)

[@defman9414]

This is my favorite piano to play... Embertone did an amazing job once again.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Totally. This piano 🎹 has so much character

[@nightking1460]

LORD OF PIANO! Got damn!! Almost cried. This piece has a little James Bond flair into it. Great job!

[@nickguitar152]

You mean jazz

[@nightking1460]

@@nickguitar152 dude stfu. I was not talking about the style of music…just saying that it reminds me of them James Bond intro tracks.

[@Max333A]

The best to date demo of the Embertone - Walker 1955 Steinway Concert D. Thank you very much!

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you Max. Glad you enjoyed it. Waiting for the update to be released soon. I'll definitely record more...

[@RA-el6zj]

@@InTheMixReviews well.......? 😃

[@SamIsHereToStay]

R A I haven’t even got a chance to install the update. In fact i haven’t uploaded anything in months. Going through a studio remodeling project at the moment. Sorry about that!

[@RA-el6zj]

@@SamIsHereToStay Oh, ok, sounds like fun! I'm still counting on you tough! ☺️

[@petersvan7880]

This piano has a very impressive tone IMO. Well done Embertone!

[@Shawn-do5mq]

This piano has a strong vibe! Beautiful play.

[@MasonTorrey]

Such a beautiful plugin. Nothing else compares.

[@tianxing7795]

This sounds amazing! We need a piano improv lesson from you!

[@indransubramaniam763]

great playin man...superb piano sound.steinway...

[@collinthurman3465]

Man, what a piece; incredible job

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you Collin

[@okay1904]

Wow, what a good demo, Bravo....

[@tracythejazzlifer4529]

I just purchased this vst Thanks for the review and comments that helped me make up my mind. My first vst by the way.👍👌🎹

[@InTheMixReviews]

Congrats! The very first one for real?

[@tracythejazzlifer4529]

@@InTheMixReviews yes my very first vst. I'm still trying to set it up properly.😁

[@augoeides7408]

素晴らしい演奏でした！この音源のポテンシャルを最大限まで引き出していると思います！

[@davidkellymitchell4747]

A studio I engineered at for 5 years had an old Steinway Model O that sounded just like that. Mellow. Awesome for classical pieces and old Floyd Cramer country.

[@The_Penny_Seventeens]

Awesome playing!!

[@JasonWelchMusic]

This sounds better than noir... alicia's keys... the grandeur..... or any other vst ive ever heard. .... and the pianist could bring a heartless murderer to tears.

[@Metalpazallteway]

Do you know if it has half pedaling opt? Granduer has it but not sure which one is better with the dynamics and flexibility. I also know Grandeur has the room distance knob which is nice too

[@JasonWelchMusic]

@@Metalpazallteway Im not sure sir. I dont know much about computers, and it took me a long time to even install. So I havent learned to use it yet. As soon as covid is over, my recording engineer will come over to help me out.

[@Metalpazallteway]

@@JasonWelchMusic Ok thank you Jason no worries thanks for sharing

[@rhitosparsha]

@@Metalpazallteway With the latest update, Walker D now has half-pedaling. In regards to dynamic layers, this library is way deeper sampled than The Grandeur. Also, while I haven't had experience with the Walker D, it sounds like this library has some character, whereas I personally find The Grandeur quite "default"-sounding and not having too much character.

[@Metalpazallteway]

@@rhitosparsha If it is deeper sampled then that's great news. I like staccato but I also like staccatisimo to be present.

[@secretreleases]

Awesome playing

[@JavidGuliyev]

this is the best video on youtube :D

[@andrewkeys]

mesmerizing! 😌

[@BurchGeoffrey]

So far I have loved everything by Embertone.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Which Embertone instruments do you have?

[@BurchGeoffrey]

@@InTheMixReviews I have the Blakus Cello which is nice and the Friedlander Violin which I have used extensively. I had a chance to play with the Joshua Bell violin and that is a purchase I am going to make literally within the next week as it will be heavily used for the score to the upcoming movie "Smile." I purchased the Shire Flute earlier this week and I am currently using it for my current project. I love their stuff and wow is it affordable. The Mountain Dulcimer is just lovely but getting that now would just be self-indulgent.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Nice! I'm sure they all fit real nice together, as they were developed by the same company. Those rare instruments sound really good too!

[@okay1904]

Excellent musicianship, and a good demo. I think the quality of sampling and the piano from which this was sampled are not bad, for that vintage sound. Feels like there is such a diverse range of piano sounds from different acoustic piano manufacturers (steinway, yamaha, etc) and models and periods which define the manufacturing capabilities and tonal preferences of the time, and so many of these are all wonderful yet different. With a decent well speccd computer, there is quite a bit of choice in today's sampled piano world. Nice demo. With the quality of sampled piano products we have today, I think it is proven that this is now a done deal, so we can all get back and focus on the music itself, since the tools have already been provided to a pretty high and acceptable standard - good enough for most of us. Definitely more than good enough for hobbyists and professionals who do not have access to a top rate piano.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thanks a lot. You're absolutely right! Most complaints on music and music technology forums come from those who aren't even musicians. Having legit concerns and feedback is one thing of course, but sadly people get into these heated arguments (especially over piano samples in particular) on music forums...and if you happen to check out their music output, they're beginner keyboardists/composers. The question is, what would a supposedly 'better' library do for them? Like you said there's a vast collection of great libraries out there already. If we're not prepared to develop skills, jumping from one library to another won't help at all.

[@okay1904]

​@@InTheMixReviews Now that we are global, with so many different experiences, there are some parts of the world where the only piano that most keyboard players have access to is a digital one, typically a Yamaha Motif or Roland Fantom type of thing, and people like me grew up on that sound thinking this is piano sound. Modern examples would be a Roland RD2000, or a Yamaha CP88 or a Nord with weighted keys. While these sounds are excellent for pop and live music, it took over a recent decade for me to appreciate only recently that these kinds of sounds have a limited dynamic range compared to a good acoustic grand piano. On the one hand their limited dynamic range is a positive for pop music and live play, but this can become a disadvantage if one wishes to develop an authentic piano technique to cover a wider range of genres and emotions. This is where I consider, from hard lessons learnt with cheap or free piano sampled libraries, that the more advanced samples have not the 3 or 4 dynamic levels of a typical digital/workstation/stage piano, but as many as between 8 to 20+ layers of samples, which challenges ones ability to react to such an improved range of tonal and loudness possibilities, and for those without access to a real acoustic piano, the higher quality sampled libraries will lead to an improvement in how the user improves their touch. The big question with sampled libraries is, it is impossible to know how much of the dynamic range of tones from quiet to loudest, of the actual piano, was included in the samples. Because we do not know what the actual piano sounds like when played by a real pianist. So this is where different sampled library manufacturers show their mettle and where they differ. I have obviously not heard or played all of the better sampled libraries in existence, but here are some of my experiences. I bought Synthogy Ivory version 1 (Bosendorfer, Yamaha and Steinway) over a decade ago. but it sounded so different from my then expectation of a piano - which was limited to the sound of workstations like the Motif, that I immediately could not use it, and abandoned it, in spite of the expense I had incurred. What went wrong? 1. At the time I did not realise I needed to use a weighted piano for this library. I had only a 5 octave non weighted keyboard. This omission has since been corrected, and I now use an 88 note weighted keyboard from Yamaha as my controller. 2. Furthermore as I have since learned, I needed to adjust the mapping/matching of velocity between my keyboard and the sample library, to get it to sound appropriately. I discovered a little known but outstanding Midi plugin - MidiCurve, also open source and free, which is available from the bundle of midi plugins available here : code.google.com/archive/p/pizmidi/ This tool has absolutely changed everything for me, allowing me to adjust midi velocity mapping, in such an extensive way, far above any of the tools available with most sampled pianos today., eg creating curves with multiple points, a pretty complex tool, that has "improved" the sound and feel of the sampled libraries I use. 3. One more key issue has been learning to adjust the volume of the output of the sampled library, using an external plugin, very important cos different sampled libraries play back at different levels, and there is an ideal level at which one should be listening to monitor one's playing. This way I leave the volume settings in the library at the default, and only use the external monitor plugin to adjust overall volume. 4. recently I also add the use of a level monitor - Voxengo SPAN in my case, so I can check the peak levels and it gives me a fair idea about how loud I typically play, and can use my external volume plugin in 3 above to adjust this. Kind of like a reference and now I know typically how loud any piano I play should be, so as I switch from piano to piano, I have a much better way of comparing them, cos they all now play at about the same maximum loudness. 5. Ambience - using either an external reverb or a reverb that comes with the sampled library + using multiple microphones if the sampled library has these included - for room sounds. Combining these appropriately. One chief issue here is that a piano close miked is not a piano, every piano needs the sound of the room, and ambience, how much is up to personal preference. All of these steps involve a lot of trial and error, and over time, even after many years of doing this, I still discover new ways to improve the sound and the illusion of hearing what sounds like a real piano in front of me. So there is some value in the better libraries, which have the following: 1. Were sampled with greater care, and quality control, to result in a more even tone, with no obvious discontinuities, typically using more layers of sampling from quiet to loud. 2. Have sampled pianos that are in a better condition - and tuned properly. 3. Have used better microphone setups and preamps. I have one piano - Waves Grand Rhapsody, which was also sampled by another manufacturer Waves factory - the exact same piano, but they do not sound the same. The Waves version sounds a bit more woody/vintage/warm - possibly because of the recording chain that was used or microphone placement. I can imagine that the transients of the Wave version have been somewhat rounded and by the recording chain used. It definitely does not sound as percussive and in your face as the WavesFactory version sampled from the same piano. 4. Most of the better libraries have multiple microphone positions. Exceptions are the pianos from Native Instruments and Synthogy which use a pre-mixed single stereo set of samples. I like having the option of using more microphones, even though most of the time, i do not use it, cos most of the time, I can use reverb to get close to what I want. Multiple microphones have their own issues - phase and require more effort to get right, cos there is more to deal with. 5. Round Robins - there is a certain monotony about sampled pianos, and the better pianos use alternate samples so it does not sound so machine exact having said this though, I find that the more painstakingly sampled library creators like Production Voices, Vienna Symphonic Library, Garritan CFX, and VILabs, tend to focus more on the most expensive pianos like Yamaha CFX, Bosendorfer, Steinway, or other more desirable models of Yamaha, Bosendorfer and Steinway - obviously these big name pianos are the ones most desirable and out of reach to most mere mortals - pianos most people only dream of playing. I for example have never seen any of these top pianos in real life. But they tend not to cover the "character" pianos such as the one from Embertone in this video, and I would include Uprights in this category - they tend not to have done as good a job in capturing the sound of uprights, as well as they have done for grand pianos. Ultimately I think there is an art to transforming a sampled piano into a decent believable sound(which of course relies on having someone who can actually play well, and music that was well composed in the 1s t place), using the steps outlined above. Which when done well, creates a sound that is superior to the - out of the box - sound of the sampled/virtual piano, and this then encourages the player to completely forget about the piano itself, and focus on the music. Much like the work of a piano tuner/technician on acoustic pianos, a sampled piano needs a digital piano expert to transform/setup the piano into something most playable, that completes the illusion of a piano coming through the speakers/headphones, and minimises any errors in this illusion. End result - a much better piano, that you want to play for hours and hours. This art form is not about creating on ideal version of the piano sound, but allows you with the same piano to create multiple ideal versions from the same samples, for different moods/genres. How? A piano used for rock music such as Elton John, or by Coldplay is not prepared the same way a Steinway used by Lang Lang is prepared. Using the aforementioned methods. one can imitate the variation of preparation done by a piano technician, to create a more constant or more dynamic sound, and the better sampled pianos, which are no longer astronomically expensive, if you look at recent prices or purchase during a sale period. So I would encourage even a beginner to aim for a higher value sampled piano, that encourages them to play more, and the more they play the better their piano skills will improve. The incremental cost over a cheap sampled piano is typically in the region of $150, and when you consider how much has been invested in other things - speakers, cables, weighted keyboard, and a decent computer, this is a small incremental cost to accommodate, which will produce a much better quality of sound. In my case, my only current challenge is I would need to invest in a much better computer with SSD drives, before I could justify the expense of one of these more expensive libraries, cos they place a very significant demand on computing resources.

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@okay1904 Obviously you've looked into these options in great details. I have an old PC (turnkey system) which was put together by 'Rain Recording'. Sadly they went out of business years ago. Though the motherboard was one of the best at the time, and allowed me to connect a number of Samsung SSD drives. I've never had any issues with any sample libraries.

[@okay1904]

​@@InTheMixReviews My current system has only spinning 7200rpm hard drives. thinking through your experience, Before I go ahead and upgrade the main computer, I'll replace the SSD and power to the CD/DVD-Writer ROM and connect this to a new SSD, and this should resolve any performance issues for the forseable immediate future. Thankfully the price of SSD's is now much more reasonable cos this is what most new computers are endowed with, and the economies of scale have brought the price down, to just above the cost of a spinning disk. Where I think I will need to upgrade is to be able, at some time in the future, when I have the money, to use the really demanding pianos like Vienna Symphonic and Production Voices, which can stream as many as 8 stereo microphone perspective, for every single note. Thanks for the "conversation". Best wishes.

[@aaronkneile9634]

Wow you play so well!

[@garylacroix7743]

wonderful

[@MrMatthewKerr]

Wow, you're playing nearly sold this. I have to say i prefer the darker notes and imperfections on "Imperfect's Fazioli Grand", and the "NI Noire".

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thanks. No experience with Imperfect Piano library but I do use NOIRE all the time.

[@arbous65]

Thanks for the great playing with this awesome library. Which setting did you choose? Is it the Main only or you mixed other mic options? Did it work well on your Kronos? I found sometimes different keyboards work better or worse with the virtual instruments. Thanks again.

[@erwinvdakker]

I still like this improvisation alot (as well as the vst). I'm learning to improvise myself, and hope to reach this level as soon as possible, but am just starting out. Got any tips? (besides the obvious usual, like learning scales and arpeggios, etc.)

[@InTheMixReviews]

Besides the obvious, analyzing compositions helps a lot, because it makes you think about voicings and how certain chord progressions tie to each other within that particular context. It might be time consuming at first, but if you do it enough, you'll get better at it. Chopin has simple works that could be a good starting point.

[@erwinvdakker]

@@InTheMixReviews Thank you so much. 🙏

[@SHAFTERSHAFTERSHAFTER]

Nice

[@yuriebecker]

shit!!! my goosebumps !!!

[@RA-el6zj]

Me: 😶😐😑😮😳🤤🤐😢😯😲😃🥺😥😭😯😮🤨😑🤘☺️😊🥰😍🤩😃😃😃😃🥴🤤😲😬😀😃😄😃😀😌🙃😌😔😔😔😔😔😌😌😌😌 This guy: oh just an improv.

[@ultimatewick]

An improv can mean a few different things - whether this is a total off-the-cuff improv with zero preparation in any way, I don't know.

[@steverajan6974]

Great playing bro, may I know what is the mic position used in this (the default one) like their website says? also is it the factory preset or some kinda eq, post production done to the audio...

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you Steve. It has been a while so I can’t remember the mic positions but I can tell you for sure this is a factory preset with no additional post processing

[@steverajan6974]

@@InTheMixReviews bro thanks a lot for responding back, can't get over this piece it's almost 4 am and I am still working on it😁

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@steverajan6974 Thanks man! You're too nice! This was just a spontaneous improv, so I'm sure you'll play it way better.

[@RA-el6zj]

@@InTheMixReviews Lol, you probably play for so long you don't see how good you are anymore. Well, I do. ☺️👍🏻

[@earlteigrob9211]

Has some problems. I had read it had some technical issues but still got it a week ago. I thought maybe my super fast desktop would solve any issues but as I was playing yesterday, one note would not stop sounding. Never had any issue with any other library. It has a really nice sound but this is a deal breaker for live playing. They need to get a real programmer to recode it instead of the hacker that wrote it. What I really like about it is that I can get almost a Yamaha C7 sound but using just the hammer mics and a bit of brightness all the way to a much mellower and darker Steinway sound. If only they would fix the technical issues.

[@NirHason]

I know it's been 4 years since you published it but any chance you have the MIDI file for the improv? :) I really want to practice it.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Sorry, I no longer have these DAW sessions. I’m pretty bad with keeping back ups.

[@PhilsHarmony]

Great sound, great playing. May I ask, what's the name of the piece you are playing?

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you Philipp. It's not an actual piece. Just a piano improv.

[@Руслан-и8ь6к]

@@InTheMixReviews это очень круто (very cool improv!!!)

[@Shawn-do5mq]

In The Mix You are amazing.

[@RonaldBuskens]

@@InTheMixReviews I've listened to this piece many times, but only now I find out it's actually an improv. That's very impressive. I can totally see this piece being played in a movie. 🎹🎥 You're very talented.

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@RonaldBuskens Thank you very much. Glad you liked the recording. You're so kind.

[@loboestepario003]

Embertone-Walker 1955 Steinway Concert D or Pearl Concert Grand C7 diferent pianos Best all around?

[@InTheMixReviews]

I haven't tried Pearl C7 just yet, but Steinway Concert D is awesome. You can just dig your fingers into the keys, and you get that balanced expressive sound. The interface is very nice as well.

[@SergioRodriguez-bi5md]

I need the sheet music, please. Your music touch my soul.

[@frenchbrah2957]

Very cool playing ! I wanted to know which of all those piano vst would you recommend for doing solo piano gigs (the most playable + great sound). i do gigs with piano in blue cause really love the sound but the playability is not that great...

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you! Ok, so for live playing this particular piano would be too heavy for your average laptop. You could probably get better results with NI Pianos. Maybe Grandeur would be your best bet. Honestly, you can even use Arturia V2 pianos. They load in no time, and they're quiet playable.

[@frenchbrah2957]

Thanks for taking the time to answer ! I'll look into those two then and see. Peace =)

[@fermuscolo1]

@@frenchbrah2957 No its not to heavy for a modern laptop with an SSD drive. Be sure to change the Instrument buffer size to 6 or 12kB in Kontakt settings/memory. and only use one position Main or Close or the one you like.

[@RA-el6zj]

Instead of the grandeur i'd say take ivory's American D if you want something that loads fast, sounds beautiful, has great playability and is stable. It's tone is great, but it doesn't have as much character as piano in blue or Embertone walker. Or maybe the sequel to piano in blue, cinepiano? I haven't tried that one.

[@Eugen_Orlov]

what piece are you playing? very beautiful

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thanks a lot. It’s an improvisation.

[@Eugen_Orlov]

@@InTheMixReviews It's very cool👍 Good Luck 😃

[@bigbungus4869]

Great! How much is everything? Walker 1955 is around $100, how much is kontankt player? And how much did you end up paying for everything?

[@InTheMixReviews]

I can't remember the price. As far as I know Kontakt Player is the free version of Full Kontakt. I already had kontakt but that wasn't a single item purchase. I own Native Instrument's collector edition which I upgrade every couple of years. Kontakt was part of that collection. I've never used Kontakt player, so couldn't comment on that.

[@vrod2144]

Name of a player? I want to hear more from him?

[@SheldonTam]

Wow, really nice playing! The Walker Concert D has a very nice tone, but it has a sustain pedal response problem. Wondering do you know if it has been fixed it yet? Does that bother you while playing? Thanks.

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thank you. This particular version did have drop out problems with thick-er harmonies. A while ago, I did receive an e-mail from Embertone with a link to the updated version. I haven't got a chance to download/install that one. I assume they addressed the problems, but not sure.

[@SheldonTam]

@@InTheMixReviews I see. By the way, which MIDI piano pedal you are using? Do you recommend it? Thanks.

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@SheldonTam Normally I just use a sustain pedal. Any sustain pedal would do. I also have a Casio 3 pedal board but not all keyboards support it.

[@V-A]

Is this an improvisation or a piece? just wow

[@InTheMixReviews]

Thanks a lot. Just a spontaneous improv.

[@alexanderdederer8250]

@@InTheMixReviews just wow all I can say

[@MarianoPerez]

How big is your hard drive for all those piano libraries you have lol?

[@InTheMixReviews]

It does become a problem at some point. My main computer has 5 high capacity internal drives but not enough to host every piano library under the sun. I have uninstalled some to make room for other instruments I need,

[@ArgoBeats]

Amazing playing... this one or Ivory Pianos? (especially playability-wise)

[@InTheMixReviews]

Version 1 of this library had play-ability issues. There has been an update for some time now, but I haven't got a chance to check it out and compare.

[@ArgoBeats]

@@InTheMixReviews They fixed pretty much the half-pedalling... but it's still enormously heavy on CPU, I got a couple of days ago and its tone is wonderful, but for me play-ability is priority, that's why I'm interested in Ivory Pianos, heard great things about them. Thank you!

[@followyourpassion8378]

@@ArgoBeats Is the lite version if the Embertone Concert D also as resource hungry?

[@MusicianStuff]

very nice, is there any Bugs issue for Walker Steinway D? especially for pedal? what do you think?

[@InTheMixReviews]

Yes it had pedaling issues but from what I hear everything was fixed through the latest update. I haven’t tried the updated version yet.

[@MusicianStuff]

Thank u very much, i manage to buy it from the website, how about the size when you download it from the website? Is it huge? And one more thing, why dont you make a video playing around with yamaha cfx from garritan, i think thats what people waiting for from your channel

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@MusicianStuff Yes it is a big download. Sorry I do not own the Garritan library.

[@MrAcapela]

I was the like 333👍

[@InTheMixReviews]

😆 Thanks

[@jodetheflowingwater1126]

Not bad at all, surprise

[@777Witness]

Anyone knows a library that has as much character as Walker D, but with a fatter sound?

[@derliferreira]

"The Mercury" has a lot of character and is a really great virtual piano based on a Fazioli but I think is brigther.

[@davidraj2862]

How CPU heavy is this plugin?

[@InTheMixReviews]

It's pretty demanding. An update is due next month though. It's suppose to improve performance

[@sevchyk]

Still sounds like Kontakt samples, unfortunately...

[@InTheMixReviews]

Older library by now…

[@sevchyk]

@@InTheMixReviews It doesn’t matter. What has really changed in making these instruments?

[@InTheMixReviews]

@@sevchyk A lot has changed in making sample libraries over the past 5 years. For one thing the size of certain libraries have quadrupled with mic positions and additional features.

[@sevchyk]

@@InTheMixReviews Big libraries with multiple mic positions existed a long time ago. For example, Vienna libraries. So your comment is really just bla bla bla...

[@InTheMixReviews]

Do you even play piano at all? You don't really know what you're talking about.