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Hybrid
Includes both a Mac and Windows version of the program.
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AKOUSTIK PIANO fuses the sampled sound, expressiveness and playability of three of the most reputable grand pianos – the Steinway D™, Bechstein D 280™ and Boesendorfer 290 Imperial™ – as well as the charismatic Steingraeber 130™ vintage upright piano into one application. AKOUSTIK PIANO covers the entire range of piano sounds and styles, transfusing the sonic characteristics and subtle tonal nuances of all four into your computer – the perfect complement for studios, rehearsal rooms, schools, stages and clubs.
UNDER THE LID
AKOUSTIK PIANO is the new benchmark in sound quality, capturing the full body and feel of the originals with unprecedented authenticity. The latest recording technology as well as a specially developed microphone setup was used for all 4 pianos. The result is a uniquely warm, transparent and flexible sound that delivers the same distinctive character of each individual piano in exacting detail and can still be adjusted to meet specific needs.
INTELLIGENT IVORY
AKOUSTIK PIANO plays and responds exactly as real pianos do. The keys were sampled at varying velocities and great care was taken to capture the entire sustain and release phases. The brand new Layer Morphing Technology generates a seamless dynamic gradient. The characteristic resonances caused by use of the pedals can be adjusted as can the subtle mechanical noises of the pedals and keys themselves. From perfect pianissimo to forceful fortissimo, this instrument delivers the same breadth and depth of tone as the originals.
ENCHANTING EBONY
AKOUSTIK PIANO has a first-class integrated convolution module, allowing highly authentic spatial characteristics to be added to the sound. Place the piano in a studio, jazz club, concert hall and a cathedral or use the dry signal as it is. The acoustic parameters of these spaces, such as the size, can also be manipulated. From the close mic setup of a jazz combo to the more ambient nature of classic solo performance, AKOUSTIK PIANO covers the whole spectrum.
TOP FEATURES
- 3 famous grand pianos and 1 vintage upright piano
- Extremely intuitive and clearly structured user interface
- Integrated convolution module for high-quality controllable room acoustics
- 4 different room types with distinctive characteristics
- Exceptionally high sample quality incl. sustain and release phases
- "Layer Morphing Technology" ensures a seamless velocity gradient
- Highly efficient sample engine based on KONTAKT 2, including Direct from Disk
- Adjustable mechanical noises of pedals and keys
- Integrated metronome, recorder and flexible 3-band EQ
- Keyboard velocity curve allowing response to be adjusted for different master keyboards
Interfaces: Stand-alone, Audio Units™, RTAS™, VST®, DXi™, Core Audio™, DirectSound™
Ease of use
AKOUSTIK PIANO is a first-class instrument conceived for making music. That's why special emphasis has been put upon simple and intuitive usability, so that users can start playing immediately - like with a real piano. Simply choose between one of four piano-icons to load an instrument. If you prefer to place your piano into a special room like a concert hall rather than playing the pure and dry piano sound, just activate the corresponding room icon on the right hand side of the user interface. It couldn’t be any easier, it couldn’t be any faster!
Take a seat, start playing and dive into the opulent beauties of AKOUSTIK PIANO!
Recorder, Player, Metronome
AKOUSTIK PIANO includes in stand-alone mode a simple two track recorder allowing you to capture your inspirational moments. This device can be thought of as a two-track tape recorder. Whilst it doesn't use tape, the principles remain the same. Record track 1, record track 2, then save the result as one Song.
Coupled with its player functionality, AKOUSTIK PIANO also doubles as a useful practice aid. Saved songs can then be loaded and used as backing tracks for practice. The Export Audio feature renders the song to an audio file.
This Metronome section helps you keep time, but that is not all: It can also be used to slow down and speed up takes in song mode.
Contained within an intuitive interface, AKOUSTIK PIANO combines pristine samples from 3 of the most prestigious and reputable grand pianos in existence – the Steinway D™, Bechstein D 280™ and Bösendorfer 290 Imperial™ – into a single, highly versatile software instrument. A particularly charismatic vintage Steingraeber™ 130 upright piano adds a further facet to the collection.
Bösendorfer™ – Viennese Classic
Model: 290 Imperial Grand
The Imperial is known for its unsurpassed power, mellow tone and a resonance that seemingly lasts forever. These tonal characteristics derive from the unique craftsmanship and design which has made the Model 290 famous. The Imperial boasts the largest sound board area of any piano currently in production and it is the only concert grand with nine sub-bass notes - down to bottom C - which give it a full, eight octave range.
The Model 290 is truly capable of delivering the most thunderous piano concerto or a whisper soft recital.
Bechstein™ – Berlin’s Vision
Model: D 280 Grand
Crafted in Berlin, Germany, the Bechstein™280‘s tone is one that is gentle in nature. Its duplex scale design provides subtle harmonic overtones which add to the tonal color and help shape the primary note. This piano is known for a clean, thin treble and strong, velvety bass, thus allowing players to produce powerful temperaments while retaining full freedom of expression.
Concert Grand D
The Concert Grand D is a unique Native Instruments creation based on high resolution samples from the most widely used concert piano in contemporary music, the Steinway™ Model D.
For the recording session we hired the finest Model D available directly from Steinway™, Hamburg. It is a three year old German Concert Grand D model in excellent condition and is regularly maintained by Steinway's best piano tuners.
The Concert Grand's intonation and regulation were optimized for the lightest playing style. Thus, even with very light strokes, an impressive sound spectrum and controllable tonal nuances are generated, resulting in wonderfully smooth and perfectly sounding pianissimo notes. This piano has an incredibly versatile sound and is particularly suited to solo piano work, jazz, classical, new age as well as other styles of music.
Steingraeber und Söhne™ – Tried, Trusted and Tempere
Model: Vintage Upright 130
The Steingraeber™ 130 is a vintage upright piano with a warm, charismatic, and compact sound which ideally suits productions that attain their charm through small quirks as opposed to clinically correct precision. When the „perfect“ concert grand sound isn‘t called for; the Steingraeber™ 130 with its characteristically charming tone is the ideal choice and is typically at home playing the blues, jazz, blue grass, and other individual forms.
High definition sound and powerful sampler technology
AKOUSTIK PIANO is based on the award-winning and extremely powerful Native Instruments sampling engine, guaranteeing a completely realistic and reliable reproduction of the originals.
The keys, including the full sustain and release phases, were sampled at ten different velocities. A specially designed recording technique ensured that the different velocities remained uniform throughout the recording process, delivering exceptionally linear results. High-end microphones and audio equipment delivered the best possible quality of recorded material – a total of around 3 GB of sample data for each of the four pianos was accumulated.
The brand new Layer Morphing Technology generates a seamless dynamic gradient across the different velocity layers.
Highly advanced programming makes intelligent use of the samples and effects. These sophisticated techniques dynamically toggle effects on and off and trigger additional samples as needed – all in real-time. The result is that AKOUSTIK PIANO behaves and plays in exactly the same way as the real-life models it is based on.
The Direct-From-Disk technology minimizes the use of RAM storage space. When using a large amount of sample data simultaneously the "DFD" technology ensures that your RAM doesn't overload. Piano samples are read directly from the hard drive allowing you to play instruments in a much higher resolution than would otherwise be possible. For example, a 3 GB sampled-piano could then be played on a sufficiently powerful computer with as little as 512 MB RAM, so long as the hard drive is fast enough.
AKOUSTIK Piano's selection of venues combines the realism of real acoustic spaces with the flexibility and control possibilities of convolution-based signal processing.
By merging the impulse response of an actual, existing acoustic environment over the signal itself, the sound acquires an incredibly authentic spatial character.
Choose to use the dry signal as it is or blend in the characteristics of one of four different locations.
Place the piano in the immediate, heady surroundings of a jazz club, within the grandeur of a concert hall, in the spacious ambience of a cathedral or the in the precise, pristine acoustics of a studio.
The acoustic parameters of these spaces, such as their size, can be manipulated allowing highly individual results to be achieved.
Sound adjustments
Every piano can be customized to suit individual needs. Options to edit the positioning of the lid, the characteristic resonances caused by use of the pedals as well as the subtle mechanical noises of the pedals and keys themselves contribute to your individual piano sound.
AKOUSTIK Piano's Sustain Resonance feature controls the amount of sustain that can be heard when you using the sustain pedal, allowing you to adjust the tonal nuances caused by the strings and body after the dampers are lifted.
A piano's highest notes do not have dampers. As a result, when a key is pressed and subsequently released, the strings of these notes resonate slightly. The Release Resonance adjusts the intensity of this resonance.
The Key Noise and Pedal Noise settings adjust the volume of the piano action as a key is released and the noise of a piano's pedal mechanism respectively. These parameters not only deliver a far more realistic sound but also allow for greater variations in the sound.
The position of a grand piano's lid has a profound effect on the character of the sound produced. AKOUSTIK PIANO offers three alternative settings - open, half-open and closed - for the lid's position.
The Dynamic Range parameter allows the total dB range of the piano, from the quietest to the loudest note possible, to be determined. This function can also be used to modify the dynamics of the whole instrument track without compression or adjusting the sequencer’s note velocities.
Equalizer
AKOUSTIK Piano's 3-band EQ relies on high-quality algorithms to deliver exceptional results. Fine tune the piano until you have the exact sound you are looking for.
Tunings
AKOUSTIK PIANO can be played in a wide variety of tunings:
Equal temperament
Pure tuning
Overtones 16-32 (Harmonic)
Pythagorean Tunings
Meantone temperaments
Well-temperaments: Werckmeister III, Kirnberger III, Vallotti, Young
Quarter Tone (1/4 Tone)
The Fine Tuning parameter allows you to manually re-tune the piano between 430Hz and 460Hz while the Transpose function automatically transposes incoming MIDI data in semitone steps.
Velocity-Kurven
Not all MIDI keyboards transmit MIDI velocity data absolutely accurately. This is especially true of older and less expensive controllers. To overcome this, AKOUSTIK PIANO offers a selection of seven different velocity curve presets thus optimizing the interaction between individual keyboards, the software and your playing style.
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PC
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Mac
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Minimum
Windows XP, Pentium IV / Athlon XP 1.4 GHz, 512 MB RAM
DVD Drive, 17 GB free hard disk space
Recommended
Windows XP, Pentium IV/ Athlon XP 3 GHz, 1 GB RAM
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Minimum
Mac OS 10.3, G4 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM
Recommended
Mac OS 10.4, G5 1.8 GHz, 1 GB RAM
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