Pro-Music-News Computer & Music

Pianissimo, Virtual Grand Piano VSTi plug-in or stand-alone for Windows

At Winter NAMM show 2009, Acoustica released Pianissimo, a Virtual Grand Piano, delivering the rich, warm sound and expressivenes of a classic grand piano in an affordable software package. It operates as a VSTi plug-in, or runs as a stand-alone application for Windows PCs.
Pianissimo uses a combination of sample playbackand advanced physical modeling to create a stunning acoustic grand piano sound. Starting with over 250 MB of high quality samples of a Steinway Model D grandpiano, Pianissimo uses complex signal processing and programming to recreate the warmth, response, and playability of a real grand piano. This warm, natural sound is then paired with a professional studio-quality reverb algorithm to add the depth and ambiance of a real acoustic space. Features include modeled sympathetic resonance, incidental mechanical hammer sounds, control over tone and velocity response, 256 voices of polyphony, and low CPU usage.
The VSTi will operate in any DAW with support for virtual instruments in the VSTi format. The Stand-Alone version supports any MIDI device, and any Wave, ASIO, or WaveRT device. It allows for two track recording, loading and saving of standard MIDI Type 1 files, and supports mixing down to WAV, MP3, WMA, and OGG Vorbis files.
According to Dan Goldstein, Senior Vice President of Development for Acoustica, “Competing virtual grand pianos are often large, bulky, and CPU intensive. They hog memory and are simply not practical to work with. Pianissimo changes all that. Combining the best of sampling with acoustic modeling technology and detailed sound programming, we’ve created a virtual piano that is lightweight, highly detailed, extremely responsive, and sounds great. And Pianissimo shatters all expectations of what a high quality sampled grand piano should cost.”
256 voices of polyphony and low CPU usage make Pianissimo suitable for solo piano performance, studio compositions, and live performance. Adjustable piano lid, velocity curve, tone controls, sympathetic resonance, reverb, and chorus effect allow you to tailor the piano’s tone and response to fit your playing style.
The stand-alone version features metronome, two-track sequencer, and ability to mix down recordings to WAV, MP3, WMA, or OGG Vorbis audio files. Pianissimo requires Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, or Vista with 1GB RAM (2 GB RAM recommended), a sound card or sound device. USB or MIDI controller keyboard are recommended. Display resolution should be 1024 x 768 or above.
02/2009 pro-music-news
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