Best Free Piano .SF2 EVER!

[jweissman]

Thanks for the link to the piano files ... now that I have them, could anyone describe how to unload/use them in Orion? Thanks very much!

[akpop]

Thanks for the link to the piano files ... now that I have them, could anyone describe how to unload/use them in Orion? Thanks very much!

I executed the downloaded file. That resulted in a file named "piano42.sf2". This one I loaded into Orion's sampler by clicking on the little folder icon right next to the FX icon in the sampler's 'display' area.
I'm afraid I don't like the piano sound, though. The hights are thin and it has a weird sustian phase after the decay.

[Marcin]

For me the best is "Yamaha Disklavier Pro piano" soundfont:

http://zenvoid.org/audio.html

[Dungeon Studio]

I hear you Akpop. At the time I was amazed such a beast could exist on a .SF2, but I have since discovered more of different natures. But for one 'starting out' and wanting a pretty darn impressive GM Soundset for the sampler - I still think this is the best thing going.

And Intro-One THANK YOU! I've been looking high and low for that mother, and couldn't find it! Indeed, Yamaha knows their pianos.

You wouldn't happen to know where this 'Natural Kit' and other like samples mentioned in Orion's help pages are located these days? The listed sites and links are dead and/or infected.

[akpop]

Steven, you're right. By around 2004's standards, it's excellent, especially in the lower mid range. And it is still the second best GM soundset I have.
I have to admit I'm getting a bit snobbery lately. Partly because I finally invested in decent speakers and partly because a German magazine had a free Boesendorfer a while back and because of the free Kore Player plus the free X-Mas compilation from Native Instruments.
The x-mas compilation had a piano that for the first time in my live gave my midi-keyboard the feel of an actual musical instrument. Ok, they put some crackle into it and called it "Hip Hop Urban Arsenal Dub Plate Piano". But anyway, I love it.
The Kore Player is a 300mb download and the Compilation vol. 1 another 80mb (still available in NI's news archive). Both have several absolutely stunning sounds.

[Willabong]

Three really quite good FREE Piano soundfonts with excellent overall sound top and bottom are the "Clavinova Piano" the "Kawaistereogrand" and the "Yamaha Grand_Adcock".
All 3 are better than the Magenda Piano in my opinion.....But sound is a very subjective thing, and it's how they sound in a mix that really matters.

[Dungeon Studio]

Exactly! The Diskclavier one isn't bad - very 'bright and stringy'. I came across one SF2, and the grand is 12 layers! It's a grand, an electric, and a clav - all pretty stellar IMHO. Can't remember where I even got it now? Then there's one called 'Grandma's Piano' (I think Jayzen Audio?) This one I LOVE! It's the worst upright out there, plonky, out of tune, and you can hear termites eating the wood almost. But this one I feel I have to work to make sound good, and I think it brings out the emotions better for me at least. Some of these grand Grands are too clinical for me. They're 'too perfect' - could probably be acheived with a Kurzweil,and a Lexicon at Abbey Road for all we know? Yet, there are songs and inspirations where they are just the ticket... Or, as much as I like 'Grandma's Piano' - it has to be replaced in a song to be taken seriously.

[akpop]

But sound is a very subjective thing, and it's how they sound in a mix that really matters.

Phrasing and sound are the two main carriers of emotion an meaning in music. So yes, sound is very subjective.
But a musician will not -- and should not -- be concerned with how his expression will "fit into the mix".

(This thread inspired me to finally take the plunge and invest in a decent sampled piano. Thanks so much!!! )

[Dungeon Studio]

True Akpop, but I think they will be concerned of the others sounds around them. It's easy for a band to 'work up a song', but when you catch a band that 'falls into a song' - that's when it really gets special IMHO. Coldplay 'works up a tune', and they do it well. Radiohead 'falls into Thom Yorke, and or he falls into the band (depending on his lager intake... :rofl: )

I like Coldplay - I listen to Radiohead.

[Wreckless Randy]

Coldplay 'works up a tune', and they do it well. Radiohead 'falls into Thom Yorke, and or he falls into the band (depending on his lager intake... :rofl: )

I like Coldplay - I listen to Radiohead.

Lol! Love the bit about the lager intake.
Incidentally, I love Radiohead. Got to see
them this past summer. It was a great
experience.

[Dungeon Studio]

It's interesting how Coldplay has polished up their sound so much. And Radiohead has gone into these strange adventures. I can spot a Coldplay song a mile away now - even if they use strings and synths and all. But I caught some stuff recently and was 'who the frig are these weirdos?' - and it was Radiohead's latest. Barely recognised them at all. Ween and Chumbawamba are the only other two I know that can change their sound so radically... No distinctive vocals, no distinctive arrangement of previous. Just a whole new sound and style either on a whole new CD, or in Ween's case - just skip to the next song.

[Kriminal]

It's interesting how Coldplay has polished up their sound so much. And Radiohead...

WOW! you got the worlds two worst bands in one post....seriously, i would like to kill them all....i dont even get angry these days, i just sit in a dark room and lick my bowie knife..waiting....