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Any keyboard with a midi out connector will do. You connect it to your PC and the midi data (pitch, velocity etc.) will then play the software piano. The sound per se will come from the software and will be heard from the soundcard of the PC.

Are you sure that this is still true, with the new versions?
(I have read that several improvements were made recently.)

Thank you:

Kristof

I haven't tested the new version, maybe they've fixed it indeed. I don't own it, I have only demoed the first version.

If you have Galaxy 2, you can test it easily: hold a loud bass note with the damper pedal, then quickly release and depress the pedal again. You should be able to do that many times with the sound slightly decaying each time, however if you're quick enough, you may be able to do it for 5-10 times before it looses its velocity. Note that this is working on each digital piano I've tried so far without an exception. Probably because they're looped. However software pianos aren't looped and that makes them difficult to implement for repedaling.

What Galaxy supports in version 1 is: press loud bass key, release it and immediately after that press the damper pedal. However it works only this way. If you "pump up-down" with the damper, it doesn't work.

It's a pain. I'm at the Galaxy site listening to the Vienna sample demos: all pretty convincing from a LISTENER'S standpoint, EXCEPT the little bit of Bach they put up at the end which, I'm afraid, sounds totally artificial. Now take the Wet pmi Bos... very old now cheap sample... or even the Black Grand... you can pump some of the poorest midi versions of solo classical piano through the wet pmi and the result from a LISTENER's standpoint is impossible to distinguish from a live 70-80s vintage classical piano recording... plenty of nasty verb, but totally beautiful and convincing sound. Listeners who hate verby recordings won't like the sound... but realistic? Yes, completely and totally. From a player's standpoint? NO NO NO... the pmi wet Bos is NOT a player's sample. Not by a long shot. The Black Grand? A sort of half-way house. Kinda playable and pretty convincing as a "recorded" piano sound. You can't tell it from the real thing, if carefully recorded.

Galaxy II? Still checking it out. I own all the others, or most of them... none are really good "convincing" from the listener's standpoint.

Let me add that Vintage d, ewql, and Garritan are all quite playable with enough power, but NONE of them is like a professionally recorded piano from a LISTENER'S standpoint... which is why I'm revisiting Galaxy 2. Looking for more good, slow, revealing classical solo piano demos from this company. Can't really tell based on what's at their site.

Maybe someone could post something here!



JG

Hi all,

I am really close to pull the trigger on Galaxy Pianos.

Could someone please confirm that from here, one can buy each of the four pianos individually?

(I am asking this, because most places only list the Vintage D as a separate package, and the other pianos in a bundle.)

If I buy from SoundsOnDemand, do I get the latest and greatest version? (Or can I update it to the latest version, free of charge?)

What exactly is the meaning of the Download Edition? And there is also an option called "Upgrade from DE" - what would that mean?

Thank you for your help:

Kristof

Originally I believe Galaxy had a download version that was cheaper and watered down relative to the boxed version. As i understand it they later changed their mind and let the downloadable version be equal to the boxed set. Purchasing the upgrade would upgrade those people who bought before they change their mind about what the downloadable version is. Someone else can hopefully verify this for me (I think I heard it in the Galaxy forum).

With Vintage D the download and boxed version have always been the same.

In either case, you will download the update to the latest version for free through Native Instruments Content Manager.