In our last post, we looked at four of the best sounding virtual pianos on the market. In this post, we'll complete our list with four more.
Here are four more of the top piano samples available:
Logic Steinway Grand
Logic Pro X may be the best deal in recording software. Along with a professional-grade DAW with an excellent MIDI programming feature, you get an entire library of instruments and loops. One of those instruments is the excellent Steinway Grand. It’s balanced, warm and was recorded with just enough compression to make easily fit into nearly any mix we’ve thrown at it. For all around versatility and great sound, this is a solid piano sample.
Galaxy Instruments The Giant
The Giant is unlike any other piano sample out there. Sampled from the largest upright piano in the world (twice the soundboard size of a traditional 9’ grand), it’s actually two instruments in one. The ‘Day’ version is the normal piano, which delivers deep bass and rich, detailed highs. The ‘Night’ version features an entire spectrum of special fx sounds–overtones, resonances, plucks, scratches, etc…–that are great for dramatic cinematic compositions and sound design. Along with both versions is a range of controls that let you shape the sound into precisely what you want. It’s one of a kind and well worth it.
8Dio 1928 Steinway
For an absolutely beautiful sound, 8Dio’s 1928 Steinway delivers the classic and timeless sample of a Steinway from the golden era 1920’s. It’s also probably one of the most realistic sounding samples out there, with just enough color and character to suggest you’re playing the real deal. There are plenty of settings to tweak, also, allowing for a lot of control over the sound within the player. Simply put, we’ve yet to hear a piano sample that sounds better than this one.
UVI Seiler Upright
Sampled from an upright by pristine German manufacturer Seiler, UVI’s Seiler Upright sample offers a rich, professional sound with the muddy bass and bright highs of an upright. It’s an excellent choice for a piano sample with a bit of extra character.
If you're able to have a real piano in your studio, that's a great setup if you can record it well. But if your studio space or budget won't accommodate a real piano, a virtual instrument is also an excellent option for you. Any of the samples in this post or the one before would bring a great sound to your mix and add considerable production value to your compositions.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
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2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
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3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
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4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
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5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
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7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
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