Pack Summary

The Early Pianoforte library offers the unique sound of a historical pianoforte by Johann Andreas Stein built in Augsburg in 1793. Clearly showing influences of harpsichords of that time, the instrument sports an uncommon piano sound: Svelte, present and with courtly elegance. Sporting a sound and feel far from any other pianoforte, the Stein instruments were a personal favorite of Mozart. Remaining in excellent condition in the collection of Andreas Beurmann, it is now available for the first time for your sampler, presented in its original tuning at 417 Hz. To deliver the ultimate pianoforte experience in your studio, we captured the sound with 32 velocity layers of each note for great dynamics, feel and pure sound. Far beyond the status quo of piano sampling - offering mostly just 4-5 velocity layers - this addresses a common problems often associated with digital sample pianos: The playing feel of only a few layers is nothing like the real deal. It is also not satisfying for both discriminating pianists and producers who strive for true acoustic sound. Furthermore, we recorded the release sounds of each key in 8 varitions to complete the experience of this rare instrument. Presets are available for all common sample formats including HAlion, Kontakt2 and EXS24. For the challenging task of recording this pianoforte, we employed vintage Neumann TLM-170 microphones in conjunction with Crane Song Flamingo preamps and Universal Audio 2192 digital converters to do the instrument justice. In addition to the samples, the Early Pianoforte library contains an essay in German from Professor Andreas E. Beurmann himself, explaining both the historical and musical background of the instrument.