Synchron Pianos Bundle | Yamaha CFX - Steinway Model D - Blüthner - Bosendorfer Upright | First Look

[@PaulieDC]

4:37 Vince Guaraldi plays Girl from Ipanema" then closes with awesome chords. Love it. 👍👍

[@mrketts]

I really enjoyed this demo and the Ten Commandments theme was fun. Really cool to hear you explain the Niagara Falls with the fam/barrier analogy for the creativity that we all have. It was great to see that just flow. This may be one of your favorite libraries I’m thinking. Thanks again for doing this.

[@PraiseTracks]

My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed watching. Yes, the Synchron pianos are really amazing as there is just so much depth you can achieve with all of the microphone settings. The fact it was recorded in the same scoring studio as their other libraries makes it very special as far as consistency when introducing other Synchron libraries into the mix. Thanks again for all of the kind words and support!

[@ChokDK-bryllupsmusik-duo]

Thanks. The live session yesterday was a keeper for my mind :) I really hope I am one of the winners on their youtube channel

[@tperry5839]

This has become my fav channel ! Praise Jesus

[@PraiseTracks]

Yes, I give Him the glory for all that He has done for me, and allowing me the opportunity to share with all of you. Thanks so much for watching and your kind encouragement. All the best.

[@alexreitz1117]

Thanks you so much for all your videos : you're the only one to do an accurate demo of the close mics soloed, with a modern playing, it is very useful, and i don't understand Vsl didn't provide it in the first place ! And truly, bravo for your musicality and soul :)

[@PraiseTracks]

I am so happy you enjoyed watching. I am amazed at all of the VSL pianos. Stay tuned as it is possible they are up to something for the holidays 😎 Thanks so much for watching. All the best.

[@edrock26]

"A dam in front of Niagara Falls.." "...Opens the floodgates of the creativity within each musician." "VSTs are not instruments; they are destinations." Mr. Simeon, again, I am totally blown away, inspired and sold on another product because of your genuine passion! May our God continue to bless you. Amen.

[@PraiseTracks]

I receive those words of blessing, they mean so much. I have adopted the “destinations” term as it really does describe what happens to me when I am experiencing these libraries. I remember when I first played the Con Sordino Strings from BBCSO, the emotion and tears were very real. I am so full of gratitude for being able to share and the greatest desire is to be genuine and authentic in everything I do and present. Thanks again for your words of encouragement and support. Inspiration is the gift we give to others, only to receive it back, so we can give it again,

[@HenryNewbury]

Always such a joy to watch and listen, thanks 😊♥️

[@PraiseTracks]

My pleasure. I am so glad to see you enjoying the channel. I really appreciate the kind support. All the best.

[@TheA90plyr]

I was never really a fan of upright sampled pianos until now this is a must have library.

[@PraiseTracks]

I agree, it defies the typical stereotype of what an upright piano is supposed to sound like. In fact the description refers to it as more of an upright grand due to the height. So glad you enjoyed watching. Have a wonderful holiday season.

[@j-demos2506]

Nice demonstration of these great pianos from VSL! Also nice playing with the variety of playing styles for these demos. Among other things, the key differences between VSL and most others appears to be that it’s a company made up of true experts of recording technique and equipment. They have complete knowledge of real instruments, articulations, and acoustics. They produce the most realistic instrument sounds, then give you the tools the tweak them to sound like most anything else. Thank you for sharing this Simeon!

[@PraiseTracks]

It is my pleasure, I am so glad you enjoyed taking the journey with me, VSL is in a category all of its own, All the best.

[@dkijc]

I can imagine God closing his eyes and enjoying the gift he has poured on you, thinking "I'm glad I gave him that extra talent to Simeon.. My good and faithful servant" :D God bless you and thank you!. I'd love to learn from you! haha

[@PraiseTracks]

😭 , thank you so much. That is my greatest desire above anything else, is to be found pleasing to my Heavenly Father. Thanks so much for your kind words of encouragement, they mean so much. His very best to you.

[@jermainereece1881]

Instablaster...

[@winterheat]

if it is Intimate or Player I usually like to use Room, Close 1, 2 and Mid 1, 2 and Main, Main Center... because just the condenser mic may be too little and I wonder how a condenser mic may change the tone... so if there is Close 1, 2, 3 I may turn some lower to turn it off and see how it sounds... oh boy, some of those mics are like US$5000 each...

[@sawry1]

Simeon, I could tell you were blown away by the CFX, it was way better than even the Steinway. Your playing of Gershwin was incredible. As it's request time I have one for the CFX. I would love to here you play 'The Great Gates of Kiev.' That song is made for this piano. I understand it's a tricky piece to play but even a snippet of it would be fantastic. Great demo, Simeon.

[@PraiseTracks]

Listened to a little bit of that today, Wow, what a powerful piece of music. You never know 😎

[@sawry1]

@@PraiseTracks Did you listen to the piano version of 'Gates?'

[@PraiseTracks]

No, just the orchestral but I will try and check it out. I’m sure it is amazing, will really out my ear to work. 🤓

[@sawry1]

@@PraiseTracks It really is, Simeon.

[@mangodsky2809]

The CFX is the best one of the bunch, definitely.

[@MEOWNIST]

19:20 may i know the title of the song/piece, its sooo epiiccc!!!!

[@PraiseTracks]

Oh yes! I never know what will rise to the surface sometimes, it really amazes me. The song is the theme from the movie Exodus, very powerful. Thanks so much for watching.

[@PraiseTracks]

Here is the version I really enjoy, in fact I did an arrangement of this for a friend many years ago, enjoy, kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHrOeIuLf7hliK8

[@thedeepmeditationcenter9257]

excellent review, great playing mate

[@PraiseTracks]

You cannot help but get inspired when playing beautiful instruments like these. Thanks so much for watching.

[@StudioMike]

I was hoping you would do a comparison of all the great Synchon Pianos. This will help in selecting the right one! BTW....including the Bosendorfer Imperial, what would be the best piano for warm soundtrack scores? Thanks

[@PraiseTracks]

I really like the Bösendorfer as it tends to be a little warm and round out of the box. Timbre shift was something I found very useful in giving the pianos a really nice soft tone, almost “felt” like. The Synchron Pianos Player gives you so much in terms of on board effects and EQ that you are able to really shape the sound even further once you dialed in the mic positions.

[@hodor1978]

Thank you for a nice video, Simeon. How are these grands comparing to Abbey Road Garritan CFX? What is the #1 - the top of the TOP for classical performance so far? Do they have possibility to touch a key without any sound (double repetition) like Garritan can? Have you tried Spitfire Audio - Hans Zimmer Piano by the way? If yes what is your impression?

[@PraiseTracks]

Well, I am having what you might say piano library overload 🤪 as each library I have reviewed is so amazing in its own way. They each have a voice, a tone, an environment. The challenge for me is to be able to classify them in a meaningful way according to how each one fits best. The SYNCHRON pianos are simply huge and detailed. having the flexibility to put them in different mix positions, especially with the full version, the mics are stunning. I am working on a way to present other libraries (i.e. Garritan) together with these to help discover them even further. Thanks so much for watching, and stay tuned for much, much more!

[@PraiseTracks]

BTW I have not tried the HZ Piano but I have Signature Grand which is an amazing piano library that was recorded with the same piano as well as in the same hall (AIR Lyndhurst Studios).

[@hodor1978]

@@PraiseTracks It would be great if you could record Garritan CFX vs VSL CFX / Steinway / Bosendorfer video comparasing focusing on a playability aspect (as this is very important for a classical pianists), sound realism and dynamic range..... Unfortunately I didn't try VSL pianos yet but as I 've heard Garritan CFX and VSL's are the best.... Thanks to you, Simeon, I knew a lot about different VST products. Thank you and all the best!

[@PraiseTracks]

Dmitry Khodorovsky , it is my pleasure. I am planning on doing a VSL CFX and Garritan CFX soon. I have received the three pedal controller which I am very excited about, this will let me experience the soft, sostenuto, Una Corda pedals.

[@jonathanarnold2225]

Comparison video already made?

[@fuga_k]

It's wonderful piano! What do you use for DAW?

[@PraiseTracks]

Yes, the Synchron Pianos are really such wonderful instruments. I am currently using Cakewalk by BandLab, which is a FREE full featured DAW. I have been a Cakewalk user from the late 90's. Cakewalk has been a great tool over the years and is continuing to improve with each update. Thanks so much for watching.

[@spiritsavage]

When compared to the Garritan it just sounds like there's so much space in these recordings, even in the personal perspective. Is there any option to make the Steinway and Yamaha sound like they're coming from a smaller room?

[@PraiseTracks]

Well, the Synchron stage is definitely a big room and the way the pianos are mic’ed it is very hard to get them to sound much drier as the room is baked into the samples. I think one way the Garritan gets around it is there are controls for the actual room decay volume so you can approximate a drier sound. The new Bösendorfer 280vc does have a more direct sound as it was recorded in Synchron Stage B which is a smaller soundstage. Thanks so much for watching and I will let you know if I discover anything further. All the best.

[@spiritsavage]

@@PraiseTracks Yeah, I heard you say that in your vid! But more importantly is how much you can hear the difference with the Bösendorfer upright and all of the others. I don't think it's just volume decay either. There's just a different resonance when the sound is bouncing off the walls of a smaller room. I'm pretty sure Garritan did two different studio rooms for this if I remember correctly.

[@PraiseTracks]

Yes, I agree, Studio B is a much different experience. As for the Garritan CFX it was all recorded in the same room.

[@spiritsavage]

@@PraiseTracks Hmmm... That makes me wonder if you couldn't get a similar if not better sound by tweaking the Synchrons. It just has such a strong concert hall sound every time I hear it played. I think I'd love it if I could get it to sound more like an at-home small-medium sized room grand at times.

[@PraiseTracks]

OK, So I just tried some things with the Synchron Imperial and I was very pleased with what I was able to hear. So turning off the ROOM mics and just enabling the Condenser, Ribbon, or Tube mics produced a much tighter sound that just had a little bit of a decay but not nearly as big as when any of the room or ambient mics were enabled. This gives me more hope of the Synchron pianos versatility I might try putting together some sort of short close mic demos just for comparison..

[@willjosef8087]

It sounds really nice. Do you need a dongle for this one?

[@PraiseTracks]

Yes, you need an e-Licenser Key. It is the same one that Steinberg uses, that is what I use here. Glad you enjoyed watching. The Bosendorfer was an incredible experience to play. These libraries are really something.

[@craigfowler]

Simeon, for the last look you took at the upright here (52mins on), were these standard or full mics? I like what I'm getting from the standard version, but the clarity and fullness I'm hearing through my (good) cans doesn't hold a candle to what you're getting here! The ambience is also much smoother and natural in your demo, so I'm curious what's going on under the hood.

[@PraiseTracks]

I will have to take a look but I am sure this was the full version with the surrounds on. The mic positions are amazing.

[@PraiseTracks]

Craig, I was able to get another demo license for the Upright and will check what my settings were. Just a heads up, I cannot confirm or deny that something special will be announced Friday regarding the Bösendorfers ;^)

[@PraiseTracks]

OK, Sorry for all of the replies, so here is what I found. I noticed I was just playing the PLAYER preset. Even though I have the FULL version installed the Player Preset is only using the Mic positions from the Standard library. As I do with all of my playthrough videos, I try never to use any additional effects or EQ, the one thing I constantly go back to is suggesting to make sure your velocity scaling is giving you all you need. So maybe try adjusting the response curves and see if that makes a difference.

[@craigfowler]

@@PraiseTracks Thanks so much for the suggestion and info Simeon - I'll keep fiddling around! And thanks for the lack of confirmation and denial - will keep my eyes open (though I *had* been hoping for some announcement re the CFX!)

[@PianOnline1]

Which keyboard are you using? :)

[@PraiseTracks]

In this video, I was using my Studiologic SL-880. I have had this keyboard for over 15 years, and it has served me very well, but unfortunately has been showing signs of wear and tear. In my most recent videos I am using the Studiologic SL88 Grand which is an amazing controller. The touch and feel are really something and I have really enjoyed playing it, it is like butter. Thanks so much for watching and hope you enjoy the content. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or need help with anything and I will se what I can do. All the best.

[@PianOnline1]

@@PraiseTracks wow 15 years! Amazing! It's sad when we have to say goodbye to a piano we had for many years. I have 5 years with my Yamaha Clavinova clp-535 but I always get low sound while using VST, then I use plugin waves to increase volume and when I export to wav , the audio sounds bad quality. Maybe is the dynamics velocity on my piano? It's set "Default", did you change that value on your keyboard? Mine has 5 options: light 2, light 1, default, hard 1 and hard 2, it's always on default. And i use garritan but I really love your sounds with VSL CFX and I'm planning to buy it. But this problem with my low audio quality makes me doubt. Thanks for you last answer

[@PraiseTracks]

@@PianOnline1, So what does your audio setup look like? If you are having to resort to using an additional plugin then there is something else going on. I would definitely try adjusting the velocity curves on the plugin side. I have also heard many complaints about the Yamaha keyboards velocity scaling, your comments sound very familiar in that regard. Please let me know any additional information about your setup and I can see if there are any additional suggestions or things you might be able to try.

[@PianOnline1]

@@PraiseTracks ok, I have my piano clp-535 connected to my laptop with cable usb midi (the one that prints use) and I have an audio interface (Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd gen), I open my DAW Ableton live and my plugin Garritan CFX and my playing sounds so low that I have to increase my audio interface volume (called monitor) to listen the appropriate volume on my headphones (sony v6). And when I export the volume is low so like I told before before export I use a plugin like Waves L1 ultra maximizer to increase the volume (I always down the "Threshold" to increase volume) I don't now if I am the things well or wrong...I'm not a professional but I want to learn more. I always export at 48000hz, and 32 bits. Is there a plugin on the DAW to change velocity curve? I will take a look. Thank you so much!!

[@PraiseTracks]

@@PianOnline1, so I just pulled up the Garritan CFX in Ableton LIVE 10 Standard here. So as far as the levels, have you played around with the Garritan CFX Mixer Faders? You have CLOSE, AMBIENT, and MASTER. You get a relative blend of the Close and Ambient the way you like it and the Master sets the overall output level. The Master channel also has a LIMIT button at the top that will kick in a limiter if the signal is pushed a little too hard. I found right out of the box in Ableton that the touch felt really strange, not like I am used to in my other DAW (Cakewalk by BandLab, and Cubase). I would suggest going into the ADVANCED settings page in Garritan CFX and select a few of the Velocity presets to get a feel for what responds best. If at all possible I would set a LINEAR curve on your controller and then fine-tune things in the Garritan CFX plugin itself. I think boosting the MASTER fader in the Garritan CFX plugin will improve things for you right away, just watch the output meters in Ableton so you are not overdriving things. Also, you should be good at doing 24bit at 48000, as you are really not gaining anything sonically as the original samples were not recorded at that high of a bit rate, but your mileage may vary as far as performance. Hope that is helpful?

[@ArgoBeats]

What an emotional walkthrough, Simeon.... Are you using the Standard or the Full library here?

[@PraiseTracks]

I thought I had installed the Full libraries but realized for the Steinway and CFX, I had only installed the Standard, but even at that, AMAZING! One thing I missed by not installing the Full was the Tube and Ribbon mics, which I am finding I love that smooth and transparent sound on not only these libraries but ones recently reviewed. Thanks as always for watching, and for the support.

[@ArgoBeats]

@@PraiseTracks Agre with you about those mics, I'm sure they would add something to it. Amazing performances, love your reviews!