Results for prepared piano

UVI has announced the release of IRCAM Prepared Piano, an experimental instrument library for UVI Workstation 2 and MachFive 3.

UVI joined forces with the world’s leading acoustic research center, IRCAM, to bring you this very special instrument. Recorded at the IRCAM labs in Paris on a Yamaha C7 Grand Piano, IRCAM Prepared Piano boasts 45 contemporary preparation techniques deeply multi-sampled with the finest equipment available by some of the world’s leading acoustic technicians.
Our powerful UVI technology gives you up to two simultaneous preparations per note and advanced parameter editing, providing nearly endless configuration possibilities. Utilize screws, erasers, coins, clothespins, sticks and more–excite the strings with a mallet, plectrum, bow or even an eBow.

Also included is the latest UVI technology, SparkVerb™, a highly advanced synthetic reverb that focuses on sound quality and musicality. Add lush atmosphere to any of your configurations instantly!
Quickly explore new sound environments with the built in randomization features and listen as this massive instrument delights your ears with previously unheard timbre and texture combinations.
If you’re a musician or sound designer who likes to explore the cutting edge of avant garde, IRCAM Prepared Piano offers an experience like no other.

IRCAM Prepared Piano features

• Deep multi-sampling of 45 preparations on the IRCAM Yamaha C7 Grand Piano.
• Over 12,000 samples in total.
• Multiple mic positions.
• Pristine recordings made with the finest mics, preamps and converters available including DPA, Schoeps and Prism.
• Advanced algorithms by the leading UVI scripter, Arnaud Sicard of AcousticSamples.
• UVI SparkVerb™; add lush atmosphere to any configuration instantly.

The IRCAM Prepared Piano library for Windows and Mac is available to purchase for $399 USD.

More information: UVI Sound Source / IRCAM Prepared Piano

Detunized has released Day Time Traffic Piano, a sound library for Ableton Live.

Day Time Traffic Piano is an unusual interpretation of a virtual piano library.

A well preserved Hoffmann & Kühne upright piano in a Berlin city apartment delivered the material for this Live Pack. The recording session took place on an ordinary Wednesday during the afternoon. The windows above the heavily travelled main road were kept open intentionally so that the noise of passing cars, trucks, mopeds and trams could be captured on the recordings. The results are 6 outstanding Ableton instruments.

Imagine to play your piano either at a city crossroad, as a prepared piano on a free jazz session or to use it as a synth-like texture generator. Be invited to explore new interpretations of the well-known piano sound.

Day Time Traffic Piano (180 MB) is available as an instant download for 4.80 EUR. Subscribers pay 1.30 EUR.

More information: Detunized / Day Time Traffic Piano

Edge Sounds has released Studio Grand, a grand piano sample library.

For this project two Blüthner grand pianos were used: a Concert Grand and a Studio Grand built in Germany in mid 1950’s. Also included is a prepared piano, where metal plates were placed on each hammer.

EdgeSounds approached the creation of this library from the point of view of a performer and a sound engineer involved in a real record production.

Studio Grand features

• 795 24 Bit 96 KHz linear samples totaling the 4.3 GB of sample data.
• 3 performance programs.
• Available for NI Kontakt 2.2 and up, GIGA Studio 3 and compatible instruments.

The Studio Grand is available to purchase for $99.95 USD.

More information: Edge Sounds / Studio Grand

Detunized has announced the release of DTS020 – Rolfing Laid Back Vol. 2, a prepared piano sound library for Ableton Live.

Rolfing Laid Back Volume 2 contains more sounds taken from a found upright piano.
This dilapidated upright, whose better days have clearly passed, consists of nothing more than the cabinet and about 50 detuned strings, no keyboard or pedals. Notably the upright´s undamped reverb produces a dense and long decaying sound with a vaque pitch center.

For the Live Pack six multisampled instruments that introduce versatile prepared piano techniques were created. Different kinds of objects like glasses, a ball of felt, printer paper, a curtains bracket or a human thumbnail were used to excite the strings and the cabinet of the upright. Rolfing Laid Back Volume 2 comes as a creative toolbox for composers and sound designers and perfectly complements to Rolfing Laid Back Volume 1 which was released earlier this year.

Rolfing Laid Back Vol. 2 features

• 6 instruments for Ableton Live 7 or higher.
• 217 samples, 24 Bit/44 kHz.
• 500 MB content.

DTS020 – Rolfing Laid Back Vol. 2 is available to Detunized subscribers for 4.98 EUR, or for 6.78 EUR as an instant buy.

More information: Detunized

About a year and a half ago Stephan Marche launched Detunized, a subscription service offering sample packs for Ableton, Reason and FL Studio on a monthly schedule.

Stephan takes the road less traveled by creating unique sample packs from synths like the Elektronika EM-5 and the handmade Junglefish, old transistor organs, found sounds, and lots more.

The 9^th release in the series is ROLFING Laid Back Vol.1, a sound pack for Ableton Live featuring a collection of instruments created from an old upright piano.

Stephan Marche writes:

A really rotten upright piano, totally out of tune, with all the keys disappeared. But the chassis was still complete and made such a fantastic reverb, it seemed to be everlasting. Slapping the lowest string it took almost three minutes until the sound had gone.

With Volume 1 you get the original piano sound picked up at two distances plus five other sound sets using different prepared piano techniques.

The sound pack includes 7 Live instruments. A total of 5 piano instruments have a chromatic key range of C-1 to G7, while the “Dockside Bar” and “Percussion” instruments have samples on the white keys only. The samples are in high quality 24bit/44.1kHz format, 386 in total.

Detunized ROLFING Laid Back Vol. 1 in Ableton Live

The instrument panels in Live have some useful macro controls like presence, filter, width, attack, sustain, etc. so it is easy to shape the sound of a particular instrument.

Below you can listen to some sounds from the ROLFING pack. The first and second clip feature most the Live instruments including some of the percussive and prepared piano sounds. The third clip was done on two piano instruments, with a recording taken from a practice session by Geoff Peters.

Some more sound clips are available on the Detunized website.

So what do I think?

Having a soft spot for unique/odd sounds this sound pack is exactly my cup of tea. There is plenty of that unique “prepared” character while retaining playability with the more traditional piano instruments.

ROLFING is not going to be any competition to upright piano libraries from the likes of Native Instruments, but it does show that even rotten, out of tune upright pianos with all keys missing are a valuable source for new musical instruments.

The sounds are quite dramatic, especially the percussion. Well suited for soundtrack work.

If you are looking for some new inspiring piano based sounds to use in Ableton Live, ROLFING Laid Back Vol.1 seems a no-brainer, and it has the price to match.

More information: Detunized / DTS009 – ROLFING Laid Back Vol.1

Andreas Busk-Jepsen has released Kontakt and EXS24 version of the Are You Prepared sample set.

Pieces of wood, strips of plastic, rubber, bamboo and cloth as well as weather stripping, bolts, screws, nuts and coins… placed between the strings of a grand piano… This instrument is one of many ingenious musical inventions thought out by sound philosopher, inventor and revolutionary composer John Cage (1912-1992).

This original arrangement of everyday objects placed between the strings of a grand piano has become known as the ‘prepared piano’. Although the instrument sounds amazing and like something out of this world, it is largely overlooked.

Are You Prepared features

• 37 prepared piano samples of unusually high quality.
• All samples are recorded in the renowned concert hall of Esbjerg Music Conservatory, Denmark.
• No streching or looping has been made in the digital sampling process; each note has its own unique sample.
• The careful choice of microphones and their placement in, over and under the piano results in an intimate feel for the instrument.

The Are You Prepared samples are now available in Live Packs for both Simpler and Sampler, Kontakt and EXS24 formats.

Visit the Are You Prepared website for more information.