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That shouldn't be happening. How much RAM do you have? Samples on internal SSD? Something else running at same time?

BTW. I didn't mention but the piano on the video is the same Bechstein 228 sampled for ViLabs - True Keys German.

Are you sure? I've read that VI Labs is C 234.

I am very often underwhelmed by the demo recordings from the different VSTs, but right now I'm listening to the demos of True Keys: German Grand and am loving the sound of it. I've seen very little about it mentioned here. Most relates to between 2010 and 2013. I've no idea if it has been updated since or not. There was comment about a limited dynamic range.

Anybody here have it recently, what are there thoughts and feelings, any issues with playability. I have Garritan CFX lite and Ivory II American Concert D.

I have it directly from company representatives that it was an A228. Although it's a few years old now, I reviewed it here:
https://www.pianobuyer.com/article/six-software-pianos-under-150/

I'm trying to recall where I read it.
But there is Lance's comment below the video. It speaks for itself.



As we know Acoustisamples don't have 3 piano bundle and there is no Bechstein among their VSTIs.

That "3 piano collection" was released as ViLabs' - "True Keys Pianos" in 2012.

It's one of the best sounding instruments on the market even now!

And it's not abandoned: Can't tell what I was told by their team member without their permission but there will be an update. You will not regret buying it. Definitely worth every cent spent.

I would recommend buying the whole "True Keys Pianos" bundle.

I really like VI Labs but only have the ”Modern U” from them
And I love it. It’s different from Garritan CFX so would not consider it a replacement. But I can just recommend them as a company and I’m thinking about getting Ravencroft but not sure yet since I actually like Garritan CFX lite also.

Maybe the true keys is good but have not even listened to the demos since I thought they where old now?

Hey, Owen, really enjoyed reading your review! Was really enjoyable and enlightening. Thanks for posting.

Thank you, Grandman, for reading. It seems like that review was forever ago (have since updated my laptop). Did I miss you in Anaheim this year, again?

Thanks it was resovled by going from 8GB or ram to 16GB of ram in my mac mini. Garritan sure is RAM heavy

I will get just the True Keys german grand I think. I already have ACD which if the demos of the american grand are anything to go by then ACD is similar to the american grand but better and I just don't like the sound of the Fazioli in the True Keys demos.

I don't get the Fazioli at all, when I listening to recordings of concerts that use the Fazioli I love it. But the Fazioli VSTs do not remind me of an acoustic piano. Interesting though ACD is not 100% my taste I think it is the VST that sounds most like an acoustic of all of them I've heard. ACD is my most often used VST.

A brief test and so far underwhelmed. Initially I thought it had far too much reverb, then I realised ACD was still running and the two were mixing. Once I quit the ACD standalone player it doesn't feel much superior than the internal sound of my MP11SE. Both ACD and Garritan CFX lite are a serious step up.

Obviously this evening there will be tweaking of settings to see if I can achieve anything like the demo recordings.

Doesn't surprise me you're not impressed with the TK German Grand. Always felt it sounded a bit muffled, and the same can be said about the TK American Grand.

The Fazioli, the third piano in their bundle, might be good, sounds like it has more bite. The Modern U is also appealing, not sure about the Ravenscroft.

terminaldegree
Thank you for this review. After I realized that your description of all pianos in this review (I own all of them except Garritan CFX) is the same as my thoughts on them I decided to buy Garritan CFX Lite. No one but you could make me do that.

Now I can say that what I got wasn't what I heard on demos. In fact, it has a very beautiful tone! And without any doubt, it is one of the best piano VSTIs on the market. It's a pity I missed so long time and bought it only today. For 79USD - it's a bargain

100% recommended!

Nice! I like it to and i think i Will upgrade to the full version but first I need to buy a external SSD since it’s quite large

Most people here seem to just use default mics from the Garritan CFX full. That means you can uninstall most of the wav files and the VI is not too big (and you won't need a new external SSD so can benefit from fast internal SSD speeds).

I can't remember how to do that but am pretty sure there are threads here.

Wow, thanks for that kind comment. It's really hard to describe these things, but it's nice to know when it's effective. I liked CFX lite because it was stable and reliable on my pretty low-end computer, but it wasn't my very favorite piano of the group. Maybe we'll see about doing another review of a different price point for the next Piano Buyer issue.

How would you rank these Today?

I really like the review but if I could only pick one it’s still hard to choose 😄

Right, so TrueKeys German grand. Still mostly underwhelmed. But I went with it for my practise today, and noticed one piece in particular where it shines and I totally love it. This is clearly a VST for a certain style of classical music. It is just lucky Mozart is so prolific.

Please ignore the very bad playing in this recording. I think the piece however brings off the German grand at its best. This is the side position mikes which is what I enjoyed the most when listening to the demo recordings for this piano.

Mozart Sonata in C K545 played using TrueKey German Grand

There is no decent manual for it, or at least one that I can understand what they are saying, but I did finally work out how to save and load my settings.