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Steinberg The Grand 3

Steinberg's one‑stop piano shop gets an overhaul from the ground up.

Steinberg The Grand 3

In the four years since Steinberg released The Grand 2, the virtual piano landscape has been quietly evolving. The primary players in the field — Synthogy's Ivory, Native Instruments' Akoustik Piano and Quantum Leap Pianos — have been leap‑frogging one another for dominance, while The Grand seemed to have fallen off the radar. I personally assumed that Steinberg might have given up the fight altogether and put their piano resources into one of their other top‑selling products, such as Cubase, HALion or Nuendo. But now, seemingly out of nowhere, Steinberg have released The Grand 3, debunking my theory. It turns out that Steinberg have in no way abandoned their flagship virtual piano suite. Rather, they've been hard at work on an overhaul that sends a clear message to the other virtual piano builders: they're still a contender, and they're making a run for the title.

New & Improved

In the stand‑alone instance, as you can see here, there are additional controls for the metronome, MIDI scratch pad and easy I/O access. In the stand‑alone instance, as you can see here, there are additional controls for the metronome, MIDI scratch pad and easy I/O access.

The improvements to The Grand 3 are apparent even at a cursory glance: there are now five piano models instead of two, and the library has swollen from 3.4GB to a hefty 32GB. That's not a face‑lift; that's a major reconstruction.

Three of the five pianos modelled in The Grand 3 are the Yamaha C7, the Bosendorfer 290 and the Steinway D. These offerings represent the very best in grand pianos and are the same models used in Ivory, QL Pianos, and two of the models in NI's Akoustik Piano. For the composer/producer who doesn't know his Steinway from a fish fillet, think of these as your Stratocaster, Les Paul and Telecaster of grands. To round out the sonic palette, The Grand 3 adds a Nordiska Pianofabriken upright and Yamaha CP80 Electric. These two aren't grand pianos, but let's not get caught up in semantics. Any upright is a welcome addition to a piano library and the CP80... well, think of it as a gift from your friends at Yamaha.

The Grand 3 runs in stand‑alone mode and also as a VST or Audio Units plug‑in. Installation was very straightforward, but be forewarned: if you're new to Steinberg products you're going to need their USB key.

The Grand 3 interface is simple, elegant and well laid out. You can choose your instrument by clicking on the picture box or by selecting a preset from the drop‑down menu. Each piano (except the CP80) is offered in both close (near the keyboard) and player (near the strings with more ambience) miking modes. Tabs along the bottom of the main window open different parameter groups: EQ, Ambience, Control and Options. Your first step may be turning down the damper pedal sound, since it defaults to '11'.

So now it's time to load some pianos and start playing. I hit a bit of a speed bump here: load times on The Grand 3 are somewhat slow. This is not unexpected, considering that it's a huge library with different pedal and release samples, and it's decompressing the files on the fly, but it's hard not to notice that your piano hasn't loaded in the time it took you to check your email twice, update your Facebook status and make a cup of coffee. Was it worth the wait though? Big time!

This Year's Models

The simpler view is a gentle reminder of the sampled instrument's elegance. Note the handy resource status info on the upper right‑hand corner.The simpler view is a gentle reminder of the sampled instrument's elegance. Note the handy resource status info on the upper right‑hand corner.

My first stop was the Yamaha C7. I've played plenty of C7s in my time and know exactly what they sound like. Steinberg have done a great job of capturing the C7's characteristic crispness and pristine top end. Perhaps too great a job. The Grand 3's C7 has the very strong attack that I love but that I know some owners of real C7s go to great lengths to soften. I found that by boosting the low‑mids on the included EQ I was able to temper the tone adequately for solo piano pieces. However, I used the C7 untreated in a pop track I was working on, and it sat nicely in the mix.

Next up is the Steinway Model D. The fact that Steinberg have sampled every key with up to 20 velocity layers is evident on the Model D. Quiet passages are intimate, while loud sections are thunderous and leave you scurrying for the volume knob. The Model D was perfect for a cartoon music cue I was writing, which had a concert piano vibe. Completely dry, it was a little thin, but the included reverb editor quickly gave it the fullness I was looking for. Speaking of reverb, as well as offering both algorithmic and convolution reverb, The Grand 3 allows you to visually edit your piano in its virtual space. Very useful.

So now let's move on to the Bosendorfer 290. Before immense piano libraries were the norm, I have to admit that I didn't know much about this piano. But in recent years the 290 has attained cult status for its extended range (97 keys), its unmatched power and its colossal tone. Like the Model D, The Grand's 290 showcases an incredible dynamic range. The sound is truly rich. I found that gospel piano sounded astonishing with this instrument. The tone was crisp and seemed brighter than the 290s in my other libraries — not better or worse, just different. Anyway, once again, the ambience feature mellowed out the tone enough to make the 290 play nicely with other instruments.

Next, we have the upright. The Nordiska Pianofabriken may not be a household name outside of Sweden (or even inside of Sweden), but it doesn't matter: the upright offering for The Grand 3 is unique and lovely. Although it's untreated with tacks, ragtime sounds right at home on it, and even though it's not the 'right' piano for every style, every style sounded right on it. This is a good 'go to' piano for when you want something a little smaller but with a lot of style. The natural ambience of the player versions gives just the right amount of space without sounding too reverberant.

Last and, indeed, least, we have the CP80. Don't get me wrong, I love this keyboard and it's a nice bonus to have it included for free in the suite. In fact, it's probably the most faithful recreation of the Yamaha stalwart that I've played. It also loads quickly. I just don't think it belongs in the library and, frankly, I think Steinberg missed an opportunity. Yes, they've included something that none of the other piano libraries have — I give them points for that — but they could have included some less traditional but useful models (tack or barroom pianos, older pianos, detuned pianos) and really set themselves apart from the pack.

Grand Jury

Judging pianos is so subjective that I don't want you to rely too heavily on what I think. You can agree with all of one reviewer's adjectives and still disagree on whether you like the sound. Overall, the pianos in the Grand are excellent. They are brighter and somewhat more brilliant than I expected, and they excelled in all the styles I play the most: classical, jazz, gospel and pop. The number of velocity layers is apparent when playing dynamic pieces, and quiet sections are particularly evocative. Some models sounded great solo but needed some tweaking to sit in the mix, and some models were the complete opposite. I love the fact that each piano comes sampled in two perspectives, but I'd like to be able to mix the two (without loading two instances). Admittedly, this would increase both load times and system resources, but I think it would be a very forward‑thinking feature.

But my favourite thing about The Grand 3 — and this is probably the highest compliment I can give a piano suite — is that it's a joy to play. As soon as it (finally) loads up, I feel like writing, my hands are going places they never go, I'm trying new things. What more can you ask for?   

Alternatives

Synthogy's Ivory, East West/Quantum Leap Pianos, and The Grand 3 are perhaps the big three when it comes to sampled piano libraries, but there are other libraries out there that the serious virtual piano player should check out: Garritan Authorised Steinway Grand, the only sampled piano authorised and endorsed by Steinway & Sons; Modartt's Pianoteq 3, which relies on modelling over sampling; VSL's Vienna Imperial; and UVI Soundbank's Italian Grand.

Additional Features

The Grand 3 allows editing with piano-specific tools, such as sustain resonance and string release. It also includes volume controls for key sound, hammer release and pedal noise. Combined with the aforementioned EQ and ambience features, Steinberg have included enough sound-sculpting options to let you produce the right sound in most situations.

The program offers two ways to save computer resources: RAM Save, which scans your project and unloads unused samples, and 'Eco' mode, which only loads seven of the 20 velocity layers. Additionally, there's a RAM/Disk slider to help balance the load if your computer is sweating from all the heavy lifting. Kudos to Steinberg for being sensitive to users with less than state‑of‑the‑art systems and offering multiple solutions to this potential problem.

Two other features in the stand‑alone version that I was elated to find were the metronome and the MIDI scratch‑pad, the latter providing the means to quickly record whatever you're playing. In my opinion, these two items (so simple and yet so rarely included) elevate the Grand 3 beyond other piano libraries, to the status of a composing and practicing program. This may not be a selling point for everyone, but if you like to play, write and practice without opening a DAW, these are very worthwhile features.

Finally, there's loads of editing and playing control, from keyboard velocity curves, through soft/sostenuto pedal support, to in‑depth tuning options. I recommend checking Steinberg's web site for the full feature list.

Pros

  • Incredibly realistic suite of pianos, suitable for any application.
  • Metronome and MIDI scratch‑pad are highly usable features.
  • Includes a wide array of tools for shaping the sound.

Cons

  • Slow load times.
  • Pianos need tweaking for many scenarios.
  • The included CP80 model is somewhat random and could have been a more useful model.

Summary

The Grand 3 is a major player on the virtual piano playing field. If you don't own a suite of virtual pianos, you have to consider getting The Grand 3. If you do own a suite of virtual pianos, you have to consider getting The Grand 3.

information

£291 including VAT.

Steinberg +49 40 4223 6115.

info@steinberg.net

www.steinberg.net

Test Spec

  • Steinberg The Grand 3 version 2.1.0.85.
  • Apple Mac Intel Xeon quad‑core 2.8GHz processor, 6GB RAM, Mac OS 10.5.7.