Native Instruments Piano Reviews (Grandeur, Gentleman, Maverick, Alicia Keyes, Una Corda, The Giant)

[@peeckle1657]

I love Una Corda. It just sounds so amazing and unique😍😍

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yep!!

[@truesearch69]

@@SamTheBeardGuy Now in 2023, corda vs the grandeur what u choice? for general purposes !

[@nataliez3431]

I know that the point of the video is to compare the sounds, and that really helped me, but I need to point out what a brilliant pianist you are. Really, you are the level that I aspire to be. I'm good...but not your level good. Thanks very much for this video, it was a pleasure to listen to you.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thank you!!

[@self4autism333]

I agree, this guy (beard guy) is a freak.

[@dwfantom5892]

Wow! I’m inspired by your playing. You’re a consummate pianist!!! Love it!!!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

thanks!!

[@nolongerinuse488]

I’m a sucker for reverb, which is probably why I loved the Alicia Keys one so much. When it first came out, that was the first I knew of VSTs.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

True. Alicia Keys was my first real piano VST.

[@johnalbanese5011]

Your playing makes these products sound so good. I'm convinced you could play a Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piano and make it sound like a Steinway.

[@EmanueleMoriero]

I know I'm a month late but I'm just binge watching your videos and I love them. One side note about muting tracks still using CPU power because they are technically still playing, on logic if you right click on a track header and scroll down to "configure track header" you can add a "on/off" button. This button will allow you to turn off any track you want and turn it back on without having to go on the mixer an turn off kontakt or whatever you are playing. This is useful because it works with midi and audio!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Totally, I don't use that feature much, but a good reminder it's there. Thanks for watching!

[@Videokeys]

Hi Sam! just bump across your channel, this is what exactly im looking for, someone who reviews Piano plugins from diff vendors; currently using free Kontakt piano plugin Gentleman, and Pianoteq, Neo Piano - still don't know how to mix; found your content amusing and informative, kudos!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Welcome aboard!

[@roycevanbeethoven]

1:24:59 A slight correction here-tonewheel organs (Hammond-style) and transistor organs (Farfisa, Vox) are electric organs. Pipe organs are not electric, but use electricity to power the blowers.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

hahaha, thanks. Sometimes I say things and then I get comments like this and I'm like "why did I say that, I know that's not true." Lol

[@roycevanbeethoven]

@@SamTheBeardGuy It happens, doesn't it? Especially on long form videos like this. But know that your viewers appreciate what you do. Cheers!

[@RH_Guitar]

You are an amazing player! I’m a guitarist/vocalist by trade but have really been getting into other instruments via MIDI plugins and my Akai MPK 3. I’ve got the Scarbee Rickenbacker and Brass instruments from native instruments. I’m thinking a good piano plugin will be next. The Mini-grand that came with my keyboard will have to do for now. You’ve got a new subscriber from me 😁🎸

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

welcome aboard!

[@kevrenshaw6177]

Beautiful playing boss. Ive been playing keys and drums for so many years but you seem to hit a lot of really lovely emotional styles.

[@StratocastRS]

The gentleman is great. Feel like it's possible to dial in an early Allen Toussaint piano sound there. I think thats the one for me. Lovely playing and thanks for the comparison vid!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

thanks!

[@MissaMelodica]

Grandeur: 1:13:57 AK: 1:20:32

[@france4me117]

Sam, I genuinely love your channel and your play and knowledge is simply admirable … I am looking to get the Yamaha AvantGrand N1x as I mostly a Classical pianist even though I do love Jazz as well. I was wondering which virtual instrument I should be getting for classical music to play Chopin, Rachmaninov, Debussy and many other. Also standard jazz numbers. God Bless and yes, your music is inspirational … Blown away with Una Corda Pure WOW!

[@marguerittetwinkle3624]

I loved Una Corda,The Giant and Gentleman...amazing sounds.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yep they're all great!

[@heisenbergwalter3363]

the grandeur is the best by far

[@jerzboybeats9555]

I’m still on the fence about pulling the trigger for Keyscape I love my Native Instruments pianos.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

They're both great! I use Gentleman and Keyscape interchangeably quite often

[@Xorrand1991]

Couldn't agree more. I was looking into Kescapes recently and still felt the same! Grandeur is beautiful

[@self4autism333]

I want the grandeur and the maverick, that's it, just those 2 pianos and nothing else ever for the rest of my life.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

you can get a lot done with those!

[@valendis]

Oh god, so many great sounding vsts... Can't choose... That una corda VST is awesome!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Yes the una corda is one of my favorites

[@amigo_official8333]

Sounds beautiful !!! One question, are your keys weighted ? I find it quite hard to play with emotion with a midi keyboard

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Yep! I would never play on a non-weighted keyboard haha

[@JoseVGavila]

Thanks for the demo and the playing!. I have all of them also but since I got several VSL Synchron pianos, I have not used them again... Of course, they are on another price range, but VSL excel on piano VSTs

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Glad you like them!

[@Rockmanxpr]

Hey Sam, thanks for this comparison video! I was looking at the Grandeur and use my 25% off from NI but sounds like I need to get the Definitive collection (Grandeur, Maverick,Gentleman) instead! 3 VSTs for $50 each, not bad all :)

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

great bang for your buck!

[@ROQSTAR]

Great playing and review! Keep it going!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks a lot!

[@thiagodalpoz]

Beautiful playing and ideias!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Glad you like it!

[@mickehog76]

They all sound amazing. But my favorite of the one you tried is The gentleman. I love the dark tone.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I actually use the Gentleman quite frequently these days

[@DarkoP9.13]

@43:17 Lonely on a crowded street or Loneliness on a crowded(or busy) street [in David Coverdale's voice] ERE'S A SONG FOR YA!!!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

hahaha, that names work too

[@theloniousmonk81]

38:47 MIREN COMO SIENTE EN EL ALMA ESE CRESCENDO...IMPRESIONANTE INSTRUMENTO Y UN GRAN TOQUE.

[@theloniousmonk81]

PARECE QUE VA A ASCENDER AL CIELO.

[@arty2917]

What a wing span! I wish I could reach from the one to the ten with one hand!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Hahaha, comes with practice

[@hudsongrant7295]

Thanks for this bro. Love your work

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

My pleasure!

[@Random.pianist]

Nice, can you review the Embertone's Walker 1955 concert D

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

it's on the list!

[@nolongerinuse488]

Una Corda reminds me a lot of the same sound from the song “Water From The Same Source” by Rachel.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

nice. Thanks for listening.

[@Beard3012]

Awesome bro! This video helped a lot.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks!

[@peterkirdan]

Great plant and great sounds. Are all these Native Instruments? Also, would you recommend using Arturia Keylab 88 mkII as a controller? Thanks!!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I've played the MKII a handful of times. It's a little adjusting to get used to, action is different than what I play on. But it's a great controller. I'm sure if I owned it I'd get the hang of it more

[@rossjlennox]

New subscriber here. Great content and really beautiful playing. Thank you!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks for the sub!

[@danielnguyen777]

I have the same idea with @Johnny Long. Which one do you prefer, Sam?

[@distantstorm3808]

I totally agree about interfaces. It seems so shallow and petty, but ugly interfaces make me think less of the product. Noire is my favorite NI piano, but overall, Keyscape is still king for me.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yep!!

[@LouieTaylorMusic]

Really cool video!! I love the uniqueness and intimacy of the Una Corda, but i really like the maverick and grandeur too. Such a hard choice!. I guess they're all great in there own ways for different purposes.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks for watching! Maverick and Grandeur are similar. I think the Maverick is a little more nuanced and unique, a little more niche, so something to keep in mind.

[@LouieTaylorMusic]

@@SamTheBeardGuy very good point actually! Looking back I think you're right. Can't wait for the next one

[@ricardofryson91]

Are these piano’s included in komplete 14

[@MrSlimfinger]

Very nice! I'm curious as to what you're doing harmonically around 27:55 with that chord sequence there, would you mind? :)

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yeah, it's one of my favorite progressions. It's basically an endless circle. It's Cmin, Bb/D, Ebmin, Db/F, Gbmin, E/G#, Amin, G/B. Every other chord minor tonic, or the 5/7 of the next tonic. It's a great exercise.

[@DiegoDourado]

Very good! I still don't know how to make the left pedal work in this software. Any tips?

[@georgefenning4844]

Why not use the reverb inside each instrument to demo it ?

[@ashrayshiva4088]

Hey Sam! Brilliant demo as usual :D I had absolutely no clue the Una Corda was that in depth in samples and features, it really really makes me look forward to using it whenever I get komplete haha :D Just a question tho, for the Wet and Dry for the Style that's missing, couldn't you automate that in your DAW and then use that as a track template?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I'm pretty sure you could, but I was just flying through it, probably didn't think about it. Thanks for watching!

[@James-cn9no]

After purchasing Keyscape I appreciate the NI keyboards even more.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

You not like Keyscape?

[@James-cn9no]

@@SamTheBeardGuy It's okay. I was underwhelmed. A couple of good acoustic piano tones. The rest are too processed for my liking.

[@James-cn9no]

@@SamTheBeardGuy Like just went up a notch after discovering a couple of nice Duo settings

[@wendyjensenmusic]

Thank you! Do you have any tutorials showing how to get a really good sound with the pianos? I'm struggling to get a full piano sound. I'm using a brand new Roland FP-10 with Cubase. I picked up the three piano vsts on sale a while ago - The Granduer, Maverick and The Gentleman.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

That's a good video idea. Out of the box those pianos could use a tiny bit of love. Trying some multicompressor stuff to bump up the low end a little bit. Some of those pianos feel a little soft and weak, but once you get them dialed in they're great

[@johnnylong2023]

great ! in therms of how you feel action hammer keys/their reliability ..what do you recommend ? m audio/roland/arturia ...digital piano?????

[@milanvangelder5706]

he uses the Studiologic sl88 studio I just bought it its a bit on the heavy side but if you want that grand feel its an amazing piano it is midi tho you also have the sl88 grand with wooden keys also midi with great touch

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yeah the studio feels a little heavy, not the biggest fan.

[@ethangarcia854]

Why do you use the waves eq rather than the logic one? I am still learning so I’d love to know what the difference is between the two

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

it's a dynamic eq, so it'll attenuates frequencies more aggressively as things are played harder. Similar to the multiband compressor in logic

[@physicalrc_yt]

Hello, I have the KK s61 mk2 and I often use it with "The Gentleman", now I would have liked to know whether you can somehow adjust the playing strength or hardness. I know that you can adjust the softness and so on, but if you start from a normal piano then you can also determine the hardness by pressing the keys with different strengths. The question is whether you can adjust it somehow and if so, where?

[@michaeldavis623]

Whenever I bounce my midi recording with this VST my wave file sounds like it was recorded in a can. Your playing sounds great, any suggestions on how to get a great sound on export?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

make sure it's not getting normalized or anything weird. If you're bouncing mp3 make sure you're using 320 bit

[@bright1180]

Love your playing! Can you play the On Golden Pond theme by Dave Grusin? Just subscribed 😊

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I'll try and throw it in to the next one!

[@bright1180]

@@SamTheBeardGuy awesome!

[@CDMESD]

This is cool bro. I subbed your channel. I wanted to get a really good piano. I like a lot of the NI Content as well.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks for the sub!

[@jeffshirkey3085]

Can the NI pianos hang with the ones in Keyscape?

[@BigSwoleMusick]

Whoa! Nice touch man!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Thanks!

[@BigSwoleMusick]

@@SamTheBeardGuy absolutely. I'm going to have to send you some beard oil to try.

[@michelleparsons9881]

Cause the vintage synths are hard to get parts for, or people don't want to part with them. Guess I'll go to VST decent sounding. I must say

[@iGamecraft]

Do you have any Processing on the Plugins? If yes, what?

[@Aetohatir]

me sitting in my home cinema just browsing youtube before bed 55:06 Subwoofer goes nuts 55:23 no I'm sure I hear that

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yuh hahaha

[@yvestoss9783]

I love pedal noise toooo😻😻

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Hahaha, you have good taste

[@Pianista2go]

You have to review the Noire, best piano VST by a mile.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

If Native Instruments will send me Noire to review, I would do it in a heartbeat

[@oemfernandes]

Hammer and Waves for me :)

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

yeah it's great

[@Videokeys]

I want to ask your advise too, whenever I play live on youtube, my sound has crackle - im using Reaper DAW, and Keyzone Classic as piano plugins; if i use Pianoteq, crackle is even more. should i upgrade my PC ram?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

What computer are you using? It could be a couple of things. Your computer might be bottlenecking trying to stream video and audio at the same time, video is very taxing on the computer

[@Videokeys]

@@SamTheBeardGuy Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz; but only 8 GB ram; it spoils my Live Sessions Performance. so embarassing; what should I do?

[@Nasib_Rahman_Singer]

Which one is close to - Keyscape c7 grand??? Please answer.....!!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

The Grandeur, since it's modeled after the C7

[@Nasib_Rahman_Singer]

@@SamTheBeardGuy thanks

[@andreslozano5339]

1:14:01 1:15:12 1:19:51

[@tahababazadeh8444]

hi sam what midi keyboard do you use ? specially in this video

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I use the Korg d1

[@DMCWorshipSaoundOficial]

The grandeur, Noire y The gentleman

[@joaobaptistabrandao]

Sam, do you have a favorite?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I use gentleman and grandeur 95% of the time

[@joaobaptistabrandao]

@@SamTheBeardGuy I bought them recently, and I love the grandeur. I have not tried the gentleman yet but definitely will put it on my radar

[@michaelkaercher]

Could you explain what you like more in keyscape?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I actually have another Keyscape video coming out Monday where I talk more through keyscape.

[@audiogeekip]

Hi, I purchased the Gentleman, Grandeur and Maverick as a package and I get "could not load plug-in" notification. I also use Logic, did you experience anything like this?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

doesn't ring any bells. Did you get this resolved?

[@audiogeekip]

@@SamTheBeardGuy thanks for your reply, it's not resolved, I guess I got a faulty download. I'll try again, thanks so much

[@nikolaosunikgiannulidis8800]

u ever tried the ravenscroft 275?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

not yet, but I keep hearing it's great.

[@Dave-lz3rm]

Love that one. Hearing great things about their Modern U. The playability is awesome with VI Labs stuff.

[@JaysonMinard]

the best piano, Noire. It looked like it flashed by your screen once but you didn't play it.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I don't own it! I might get it at some point.

[@bafenyikopong8223]

i wanna learn to play a piano .any recomendation for me books ,i want to play like you.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Jazz Theory Book. Mark Levine.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Which piano plugin do you like best?

[@Crawford0710]

I like the Gentlemen. Alecia’s Keys is also a contender.

[@ulfrohdin]

Keyscape, hands down. Ni pianos (with the exeption of Noire) are to shallow for my taste. Would like to try the Una Corda though. I use the Olafur Arnalds felt piano from the toolkit library but it sounds very different.

[@yootoob1958]

The Grandeur was my favorite. Great playing!

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

@@ulfrohdin agreed. The una corda is a different class than Keyscape, so it would be a worthwhile addition to Keyscape

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

@@yootoob1958 I prefer the grandeur over the maverick, but it's also a more traditional piano

[@frankydtg14]

Noire would be nice 👍🏼

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I want them to send it to me hahaha.

[@88keys.]

Which setup do you use. ? PC or iMac ?

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

I record audio on my Mac, but I record my video on my PC.

[@pocouturier]

una corda is fucking incredible

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

it is, I love it

[@TheReal_E.IRIZARRY]

I wonder if Sam is still mad at me for saying that his singing would garner him a lot of Black American female fans. i ponder.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

hahaha, any fan that subs and likes is welcome in my book

[@luigi95-]

21:38 right hand wrist break you can injure yourself

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

hahaha

[@raztube90]

Option + S to solo only one track Insted of mute unmute

[@jragadio]

What midi keyboard are you using?

[@adsymac1818]

Studiologic SL88 Studio

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

SL88 Studio

[@madsschmidt2853]

58:30

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

Shhhhhh

[@beatprocess]

came back here for a visit.

[@SamTheBeardGuy]

:)