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Thanks very much for this. I like the Stage B sound and purchased the F212 as soon as it was released, but had some initial issues with dullness in the 2nd octave. Adding harmonics via the note editor seems to have solved that. Haven't ever played the F308 and have always been curious to hear a direct comparison.

Thank you. I'm trying to decided which to purchase. This was very helpful. I leaning toward the f212. I like the full intimate sound for my project.

Thank you very much for sharing. Fazioli has such a beautiful voice☺

Brilliant. This is the only I can come close to evaluating differences in the samples. Thank you. I need Steinway vs. Boesendorfer Imperial.

I bought the D-274 I don’t regret the choice it’s all up to the players personal taste and preferences they both sound great I play classical and play higher intensity music far more often than soft and subtle so for me I prefer a brighter sharp tone the steinway still handles softer passages but it’s undeniable how smooth and articulate the CFX is for lower and medium velocity playing when compared to the 274 which is a lot brighter in tone at the same velocity so you have to play gentle or at least be mindful on the 274 so the notes don’t sound uneven with a bright note in the middle of a soft passage VSL is quite playable so it’s not too difficult to achieve I had to adjust the velocity curve on the bottom end for my preset my midi controllers just a FP-30x so you’ll end up with ghost notes at default otherwise it’s feel great to play both are an excellent option especially if you practice on a real grand or upright the sound of any market digital piano leaves a lot to be desired

Thanks for this great comparison, you make them all sound very convincing. I always find myself coming back to the CFX for its clarity and overall balance. By the way, what's the piece the last example? I just can't figure it out, though it sounds very interesting…

Which one is your favorite?

i have a lovely Garritan Steinway (NY) from 2012 and wish someone could compare it...but it doesn't run on newer Max OS 😔...i use it in my electronic music tracks

What do you use a controller for this software please?

Thank you for this comparison. I greatly appreciate the effort that went into this presentation. I own all of these VSL products, and for some reason, they each sound different on on my sound system (nothing super special MOTU audio interface, JBL monitors with a matching JBL sub, and I am playing on a Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk II). I only have the basic product microphones. When I play any one of these software products on my home studio system, the sound is much fuller (less tinny) that what I am hearing on this demo. I don't pretend to be able to understand why, and there is no criticism whatsoever implied in this comment. Just wanted other listeners to know that apparently "Your mileage may vary." Or at least mine did. If I were deciding whether to purchase based on the sound I am hearing here, I would not do so. However, I am glad that i made the purchases, and would do so again based on the sound I am getting from my system.

Звук быстро затухает, это плохо!

i tried the VSL Bosendorfer Imperial and it has a lot of pedal voice when the song uses pedal (moonlight sonata)

For now, I prefer the sound of the Yamaha, the Steinway is too bright for my taste. What I love the most about VSL is the customization features. After some days of tweaking the 30-day trial, I have made a velocity curve adjustment (I use a Yamaha U3SH2 piano) and you can almost achieve the same tone and feel of the acoustic piano itself. And I haven't even started 'balancing' the volume for the different parts of the keyboard under "edit" option (which is awesome)...I feel there is no limit for customization. This is phenomenal.

I have to say, this piece chosen was no help to decide anything between these 2 although I appreciate the person trying to help out to make a comparison.

I prefer the CFX. A bit more character. I go for articulation and it's crisp in the CFX. Both are very good for what they are.

Nice work! There's one very important distinction between piano vsts: Realism vs Playability. Pianoteq (mentioned below) is 200% playability, but if you listen to a recording made with Pianoteq, you'll notice that it's not very "high end". It just doesn't compare AT ALL to a professional recording of a Steinway, or Yamaha, or Bos. The VSL Synchron Steinway and Yamaha put a premium on REALISM. Unless you have a very, very fast computer, you'll notice that these samples aren't as easy to play as Pianoteq. The tradeoff is that you can make solo recordings with the Synchron VSTs that sound pretty close to many professional piano recordings. But even Synchron VSTS are a bit of a compromise. You don't get the highest realism possible, because (unlike chess software) computing power is still not quite there yet. The best example of what I mean is the somewhat controversial "Hans Zimmer" Steinway. Only 4 layers, I think. And poor pedaling. So almost useless as a practice piano, or for live playing: the samples for each note are so huge that many computers will struggle with a live performance employing only ONE microphone! So HZP may not work well in most live applications. But the realism is so impressive that the quality or "realism" of the vst meets or exceeds the quality of high-end solo piano recordings. Once personal computing power advances over the next few years, we'll get the best of both worlds: realism AND playability. No question about that.

steinway d

In my opinion the best choise is Pianoteq. It's the most customizable piano library and "sampler" out. You can your own piano sound out of Steinway D and B, Grotrian Concert Royal, Ant. Petrof 275, Steingraeber E-272, C. Bechtstein Digital Grand D-282, Blüthner Grand Model One and some more (also historical ones, harpsichords and a lot more). It is possible because it is by physical modeling technology instead of heavy samples. It is just a few megabytes big. You should no just look at the piano libraries of one brand. There are so much more out there. My favorit is Pianoteq because of the named reasons. I know VSL pianos sound very nice (other libraries by them too), but after working professionally with libraries for some years, I can tell you take a look at as many as possible different libraries before buying one. It's worth it! An example: Once I bought CineBrass Complete and it is a nice sounding library but it needs a lot of time to get it sound perfect. I simply bought it because of some demos and reviews about but I did not really look at other factories' products. Half a year later I have bought another brass library after I look at a lot of different brass libraries.

They both sound similar. I own the VSL CFX and have just started testing and using it and like it. It is an vast improvement over the last generation smaller sampled piano libraries. Having more layers allows for more expressiveness in bringing out melodies. It also makes it easier to play. I use a Kawaii VPC1 88 note controller which imo feel most like a piano with its grand piano action in the VPC1. My only critical comments of both the CFX and Steinway are based upon the tuning problem and lack of sustain in the upper two octaves. I also hear the tuning issue with the Steinway especially in the lyrical sustained melodic playing of the first example played in this video (The Steinway seems to have a slightly better sustain in the upper register). The shorter notes are not as noticeable as to out of tune samples in the upper two octaves. I would say the tuning is a little better, but still not right, with the Steinway over the Yamaha CFX which I own. I would still recommend purchasing either as they are useable and most piano recordings are slightly out of tune so you could argue that the samples sound more real being slightly out of tune, However, I would prefer an in tune sample but I will take the best I can get and right now it seems to be from VSL.

Hi Sample Line, I can render your midi file but I don’t want to post my email adress here. If you post yours, I will contact you.

Hi Carl, there was no tweaking of the sound at all. What you hear is “out of the box”.

Hello Friend! If I send you a MIDI file, could you render it using Steinway D?

These two samples are really so close it's hard to choose between them. How much tweaking has been done to achieve this result? Usually sampled pianos have more unique characteristics... However both are absolutely fantastic! Was thinking of buying the Steinway..

The decca tree with no body or sympathetic resonance really makes the CFX sound like a tin-box compared to what I hear with my own copy with a fuller mix and body plus resonance.

Indeed very hard to choose Peter. I think the Steinway has a bit more depth and complexity of sound and the responsiveness seems a fraction better. But I enjoy the clarity of sound of the cfx, maybe in a way a more modern sound that sits well in a mix of popular music. I will probably use the cfx the most.

Hard to choose. I think I prefer the CFX. Which do you prefer, Rik?