Though, let’s take a whistle-stop tour of the music production world’s most unmissable freebies. As impressive as all the plugins included here are, they do often lack some of the bells-and-whistles of paid-for plugins - niceties like expansive preset libraries, expanded feature sets or regular, substantial updates. XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2 VST plugin one of the best drum machine VST plugins for rock and blues genre. If you are searching for a plugin that could deliver the original drum machine feel then Addictive drums 2 is can be the first choice for you. With the sleek drum style GUI, it will sound just like an original drum machine.
Having the right Chiptune VST plugins can be of huge help when you're making chiptune!However, finding the Chiptune VST best suited for you and your needs can sometimes be a tough task..
The internet is full of information, and, while that’s a good thing, it can also be a little overwhelming when you try to find an amazing chiptune VST.
What you’ll soon realize in this search is that there are many factors to consider.
What starts off as a simple task can turn into one that stretches for days or even weeks.
So, to save you from sorting through them all, we’ve crafted a list of the top 10 Chiptune VST plugins to help you find the perfect one for you.
But before we get into it, what exactly makes a VST ‘the right’ one?
Features To Consider
In this modern day and age, computers are much faster than ever before, but processing power continues to be an issue.
One important thing to consider before purchasing or committing to any VST is what the processing power needs are. Can your computer handle the software that you’re using?
If yes, great! But if it can’t, no worries! You may instead want to look for a more lightweight VST that can do as good of a job as a heavier one.
Aside from processing power requirements, simplicity is another important factor when choosing a great VST to suit your needs.
Do you want to hit the ground running and make chiptune music right away? Or do you prefer to get neck deep in the settings and customize each and every last detail of your sound design process?
Some VSTs will be simple enough to allow you to ‘plug n play,’ whereas others will require a lot more education on your part in order to master chiptune sound design.When factoring in simplicity, it’s also important to consider the user interface (known as UI). Simple VSTs often have an easy-to-use interface, while the more complex VSTs might be a lot harder to grasp.
This is crucial to keep in mind, because UI can affect creativity, which is extremely important to music production. This is because creativity is influenced by everything you hear, feel, do, or see (UI). So, if you don’t like how your VST looks, it could slow down your efficiency when producing chiptune music.
Lastly, emulation specificity is another big feature to consider. Chiptune music originally was created from gaming systems, such as the NES or Gameboy, with each of those systems producing different types of sounds.
With that in mind, chiptune VST plugins have been created with the capacity to emulate sounds created by certain systems. Knowing what type of sound you want to create will greatly speed up the VST selection process and ensure you use something that you’re happy with.
With these features in mind, let’s get started.
Option 01: Magical 8Bit Chiptune VST
Main Features:
- 5 waveforms - square, 2x pulse, pseudo-triangle, low-res noise
- ASDR envelope settings
- Pitch bend
- Velocity control
- Frequency sweeping
- 32 Voices
Note: For full specifications and download, visit YMCK.
Are you a fan of old, primitive 8 bit game consoles?
If you are, then the Magical 8bit Plug may be the perfect VST for you to make some old school electronic music!
This is because this VST allows for use of the pseudo-triangle or low-resolution noise, which are key when creating 8 bit or chiptune music.
Another important feature about the Magical 8bit Plug is that it focuses on simplicity, which makes creating great chiptune sounds quick and easy.To top it off, the Magical 8bit Plug is lightweight and will work on both macOS as an audio unit and on Windows as a VSTi.
If you want to see what this VST can do for yourself, check out this awesome animated Youtube video featuring music made by Magical 8bit Plug. It’s set to what appears to be an old school video game.
Option 02: Chipsounds
Main features:
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- Hybrid synth/sampling synthesizer
- Control/Modulation/Effects/Mixer tabs
- Arpeggiator
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- Wave Sequencer
- Pitch and Amplitude Modulation
- Emulates 15 vintage 8-bit era sound chips
Note: For full specifications and download, visit Plogue.
Looking for something a little more robust than Magical 8bit Plug? Then Chipsounds may be the VST for you.
Chipsounds is one of the more popular chiptune VST plugins this year, and we can definitely see why.
The first reason is because it gives you a lot of control over your sound design process, which is huge when trying to set yourself apart from other producers.
Another cool feature is that Chipsounds can run on both Windows and macOS as a standalone application.
Additionally, it can also run as a VST, AU, RTAS, or AAX plug-in allowing for flexible usage with different systems.
To see this VST in action, check out Plogue’s introductory Chipsounds video.
Option 03: ymVST
Main features:
- Polyphony support
- 3 step arpeggiated chords
Best Whistle Vst Plugin
- Knobless UI
- Angel sync-buzzer effects
- SID effect
Note: For full specifications and download, visit preromanbritain.
Free Vst Plugins
If you’re a fan of the authentic Atari sound, then ymVST is a blast to the past…almost.
To the casual observer, the UI may look complicated. But it was actually made to replicate a traditional non-software music production setting with a more ‘authentic interface.’
This means there’s no knobs or sliders. Yet it also comes with all of the great chiptune quality sounds that can be made by the other more complex VSTs available on the internet today.
So, if you’re used to a more traditional method of chiptune production, ymVST may be right up your alley.
Unfortunately for Mac owners, ymVST is only available for PC users.
Option 04: basic 65
Main features:
- Monophonic synth
- Double arpeggiator
- Mod envelope
- (2) LFOs
- (3) Oscillators
Note: For full specifications and download, visit vst4free.
Inspired by the Commodore 64, basic 65 is a monophonic synth which takes the legendary SID chip from its hardware predecessor and adds more features to ‘take a step further’.
With a clean interface, this VST should be relatively quick to pick up and allow you to get started programming in your favorite chiptune sounds with ease.
Making it even simpler, there are over 128 presets available for you to choose from.
And with the basic 65 being an update to the already popular basic 64, you’ll know that you’re using a VST that has had a lot of prior problems solved.
However, similar to ymVST, the basic 65 is only available for use on Windows which makes that one key detraction in a production world heavily Mac reliant.
Option 05: Super Audio Cart
Main features:
- 5,500+ samples
- 1,200+ factory snapshots
- ‘Hold’ arp steps
- Modulate cutoff & pan with each step
- Use arp steps to modulate other parameters
- Free SNESVerb plugin
Note: For full specifications and download, visit impactsoundworks.
Super Audio Cart provides a revitalized take on an old-school chiptune production scene.
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The interface looks modern which makes it similar to other software on the market today such as Omnisphere or iZotope Ozone. In other words, it’s easy to plug n play!
When purchasing, you’ll be capable of replicating sounds from the NES, FC, SNES, GB, 2600, C64, SMS, and GEN console systems. Add in the fact that you’ll receive over 6,000 samples and 630 unique sound sources and that makes purchasing the Super Audio Cart even more appealing.
However, it’s currently priced at $149 through impactsoundworksand also requires Kontakt to run, which can be a problem if you’re on a budget.
Not sure if this is right for you? Take a listen to some chiptune created by Super Audio Cart here to get an understanding of its capabilities.
Option 06: Retro Boy
Main features:
- Subtractive emulator
- Single oscillator
- Vibrato & decimation effects
- Polyphony: 1-4
Note: For full specifications and download, visit sbaud.
As you may be able to tell from the specs, Retro Boy brings you back to the past. For example, it’s extremely lightweight on the processor with only a single oscillator.
It’s a classic, subtractive chiptune VST synth with seven waveforms - 12.5% pulse, 25% pulse, square, saw, triangle, sine, and noise.
Because of its simplicity, most computers should be able to run Retro Boy easily enough making that one of the key highlights of this VST.
And although you could probably figure out Retro Boy’s capabilities quickly enough yourself…
You can also check out a demo before downloading by clicking here!
Option 07: ICECREAM
Main features:
- Dual oscillators
- 4 Octaves per oscillator
- Amp/Filter ASDR
- Harmonics switch
- Glide and glide rate
Note: For full specifications and download, visit vstplanet.
Are you thinking what we’re thinking? If you are, you’ll understand how cool (pun intended) this VST looks.
It comes with a pretty standard set of features: two oscillators with volume and octave controls, filters, a sequencer, and EQ.
However, what makes this VST stand out is the colorful interface.The playfulness of this interface and color scheme will definitely take you back to the days of playing Super Nintendo as a child.
And even if you haven’t touched a Super Nintendo, you’ll still feel like a kid playing the newest gaming system.
This might jumpstart your creativity and bring your chiptune music to the next level.
To take a listen to all of the creative possibilities that can come about from using the ICECREAM VST, check out this Youtube video.
Option 08: Nintendo VST
Main features:
- Simple UI
- Nintendo emulation
- Portamento
- Pitch bend
Note: For full specifications and download, visit mattmontag
If you want to create chiptune music in the vein of Nintendo using something simple, Nintendo VST may be what’s right for you.
Created by Matthew Montag, the Nintendo VST is lightweight and can quickly be picked up by anyone.
That’s because the volume, duty cycle, pitch, and fine pitch adjustments are easily made with a max of three knobs for each setting (LFO steps, loop point, step time, and tempo sync).
And if you want to understand how the Nintendo VST works, Matthew has you covered! He’s meticulously detailed much of his VST development process on his website.
To see how the Nintendo VST was created, click here.
Option 09: AdLibXRom
Main features:
- Replicates Adlib Music Synthesizer Card
- Two oscillators
- 40 Multi-sampled sounds
Have you ever heard of the AdLib soundcard? If you have, you may find yourself in love with this VST.
The AdLibXRom replicates the sound of the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card which was famous in the early nineties.
Featured within the soundcard was the YM3812 synthesizer chip which utilized FM and additive synthesis.
Today, the AdLibXRom brings things back with the option of using the main or noise oscillator.
Additionally, it features over 40 multi-sampled sounds making usage even more interesting.
Note: For full specifications and download, visit samplescience.
Option 10: 38911 Bytes
Main features:
- Single oscillator
- 4 Waveforms
- 3 LFOs
- 4x16 Step sequencers
To any producer not familiar with Chiptune production, this VST may look a little confusing.
However, if you’ve been around the Chiptune production scene, this may just make you feel at home.
The interface was designed to provide an old-school feel.
There is only a single oscillator, but it does come with multiple waveforms such as Saw, Triangle, Pulse, and Pitched Noise.
Another highlight is the 4x16 step sequencers which also come with 11 different BPM rates.
Has the visual design of 38911 Bytes caught your attention? If so, we’d recommend that you learn more here!
Conclusion
Finding the best chiptune VST to suit your needs depends on your situation and what you’re looking for.
We’ve highlighted some of the best chiptune VST plugins that we think you’ll find particularly useful, each with its own unique characteristics and features.
To reiterate, here are some of the most important features to be aware of when choosing the best chiptune VST for your music production needs:
- Processing power requirements
- Simplicity
- UI (User Interface)
- Emulation specificity
We’ve compiled some amazing VSTs for you to try out and now we want to hear your thoughts!
Have you had any experience using any of these chiptune VST plugins?
Are there any others that we should have mentioned or replaced?
Let us know in the comment section below!Virtual instruments are now more popular than ever, so we are checking out the best piano VST plugins available in 2020.
Many piano VST’s are thought to sound more realistic than the piano engines found in keyboard workstations, etc. When you consider the processing power of high-quality PC’s and Mac’s, it’s no surprise that some plugins can push the boundaries further than a physical instrument. In this article, we will list and review our top piano plugins.
Here are the best piano VST plugins 2020:
1. Spectrasonics Keyscape
Human Whistle Vst
The ultimate piano VST plugin
Spectrasonics are giants of the virtual instrument world; their Omnisphere synth changed the way people think about VST’s. Now, they Keyscape Collector Keyboards VST is the benchmark for virtual pianos.
Keyscape is a collection of 36 stunning keyboard instruments, ranging from a beautiful grand piano to a more obscure harmochord. In between the conventional and the obscure, there are gorgeous Rhodes, Wurlitzer’s, Clavinet’s, and much more. Even more impressive than the instrument lineup is the meticulous attention to detail in finding, restoring, and recording these rare instruments.
Each instrument has lots of variations, for example, the flagship Yamaha C7 Grand Piano has rock, classical, cinematic, amongst others. Each variation suits different styles of playing or musical genres.
The user interface is well laid out and easy to use. There are two windows on the left; the upper window is where you choose your instrument, and the lower window is where you select your style variation. Once you have selected a keyboard, the main window will show a nice image of it, underneath which you will find a range of relative controls, like reverb, performance noise, EQ, etc.
To get the most out of your performance, Keyscape has a broad range of velocity curve settings that are optimized for the most popular controller keyboards.
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In our book, Keyscape Collector Keyboards is the best piano VST plugin; it’s that simple. The fact that it was around 10 years in the making show the monumental amount of work that went into putting it together.
As a virtual grand piano, Keyscape’s LA Custom C7 is king. The beautiful C7 is incredibly articulate and crisp, with a low-end that almost makes you feel the weight under the keys. No other virtual piano has so much depth of character; no other VST is so responsive to your playing.
Give fresh recordings and instrument tracks the dirty, dusty feel of an earlier decade. Izotope free vst. Get the perfect amount of scratchy, noisy, grit to dirty up even the cleanest tracks.Back just in time for its 15th anniversary, Vinyl is a plug-in that lets you simulate the dust, scratches, and warp of a worn record and the electrical and mechanical noise of the turntable it’s on. Well, almost 😀 Izotope, perhaps known best for their Ozone plugins have provided this free treat to download.Add a touch of vintage flair to your tracks with a plug-in that’s part time machine. iZotope’s Vinyl uses advanced filtering, modeling and resampling to create an authentic “vinyl” simulation, as if the audio was a record being played on a record player.
At this level, sounding nice isn’t enough; it’s about small details, and Spectrasonics do that better than anyone. All 36 keyboard instruments are of the same impeccable quality; that’s why Keyscape is our highest-rated piano VST plugin. Try it with a top-quality keyboard controller, and it will blow you away.
2. Garritan CFX Concert Grand
The sound of Abbey Road Studios
When you think about Yamaha grand pianos, the 9-foot CFX concert grand is as good as it gets. Now, place that CFX concert grand in Abbey Road Studio One, and you have a match made in heaven. That is precisely what Garritan did.
The Yamaha CFX concert grand piano is world-renowned for its broad palette of tonal color. The acoustics of Abbey Road Studio One was the perfect place to capture all of that detail. It was done by using the very best microphones in the world in various positions to create lots of presets.
The presets are split into three categories, which are Classic, Contemporary, and Player, each with its unique microphone position. Within each category, there are numerous sub-presets to suit all styles. If we take a closer look, the Classic category is full of presets that range from Bach inspired classical settings to a Bill Evens themed jazz tone. So, it crosses different genres but remains in the classic era of each.
Contemporary provides amore modern mix of presets. It covers everything from dark and edgy soundtracksto Randy Newman style movie magic warmth. Both Classic and Contemporary are allabout the output and how the audience hears the CFX.
The Player category, onthe other hand, is all about the CFX itself. It’s full of presets that captureevery single noise and nuance of the CFX from right there on the bench. Thereare also a few alternate tuning presets that offer something a littledifferent.
Garritan put together an attractive user interface with just the right amount of content. It has enough tweaking options, whether it’s mic positions or mechanical noise, but not so much that it becomes tedious. It’s very playable right from the start.
| Image credit: GarritanCheck Sweetwater |
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Deciding where to place this one on our list was quite tricky. It was always going to be near the top, but splitting this VST and Ivory II by Synthogy was difficult. In the end, we placed Garritan slightly ahead; the sound quality was close, but the lovely user interface won us over.
The Yamaha CFX concert grand is a genuine performers piano; it’s not tied to one genre. Garritan has delightfully captured all of that versatility through the extensive microphone positions. This piano is beautiful from top to bottom, but it’s the midrange that excels most. Play a simple major 7th root voicing anywhere in the mids, and you’ll be hooked.
3. Synthogy Ivory II Studio Grands
The most realistic grand piano emulator
Synthogy has been a leader in virtual piano software for many years, and some people still consider them to be the best. Their Ivory series has never failed to impress with its outstanding realism. This time, we are looking at the Ivory II Studio Grands plugin.
The plugin features two iconic grand pianos that were recorded in iconic studios. The first of the pianos is the Steinway Model B grand piano, one of the most recorded grand pianos in history. It was recorded at the legendary Power Station in New England with absolute precision.
It comes with 64-bit support. There are 2 sample banks and 3 ADSR envelopes for full modulation control.Zampler has a step sequencer as well as sample oscillators for you to further tweak your sound. Although this may feel limiting, for seasoned producers looking for a specific sound that doesn’t need a whole lot of extra fluff, Sforzando can be extremely helpful.If anything else, the plugin works as a great ear-training tool and can train musicians to rely on their skillset rather than software. Guitar to midi vst. Zampler by Plugin BoutiqueZampler by Plugin Boutique is an excellent add-on for electronic musicians as you can download drum & bass, hip hop, even dubstep expansion packs.The sampler has 3 LFOs and a large effects library including chorus, phaser, tube saturation, and many more. Unfortunately, Mac users only have 32-bit support.
The second instrument is the Bösendorfer 225 grand piano, which was recorded at the famed Firehouse Recording Studios in California. This specific VST has been used on multiple Grammy Award winning songs.
The thing that stands out most when you get the specs of Ivory II is that it boasts a 112 GB library. To think of the time involved in sampling those pianos to that extent is nothing short of spectacular. Each piano has up to 24 velocity layers and more release and soft pedal samples.
Ivory II was also the launch of an entirely new sound engine from Synthogy, the Ivory 2.5 Piano Engine. Apart from the improved sound, it comes with some new features like Shimmer, which gives more precise control over reverb and decay.
| Image credit: SynthogyCheck Sweetwater |
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Synthogy are experts in this field; they have been doing it for a very long time and keep getting better. Ivory II takes two iconic pianos, and they have replicated them digitally with incredible accuracy. When you think about the sheer size of the library and the 24 velocity layers, you can imagine nothing is lost, every nuance of these instruments is at your fingertips.
The Steinway Model B is a stunning classical grand piano, it’s beautifully percussive, too. The Bösenndorfer 225 is the more versatile of the two, great for classical, but exceptional for jazz. Especially that bottom range that Oscar Peterson made famous with his ostinato bass lines.
The interface lets it down slightly, while it offers a lot of tweaking possibilities, it looks very dated and isn’t as intuitive as it should be. When it comes to sound alone, Ivory II might be the most realistic piano VST available.
4. Native Instruments The Gentleman
The best upright piano VST plugin
The Gentleman is one ofthe best-rated upright piano VST’s available. It comes from Native Instruments,and it was released at a time when they got into their groove with onefantastic VST after another.
The most significant selling point of The Gentleman (over other upright pianos) is that it was sampled from a vintage 1908 piano. That might not sound overly interesting, but this 1908 is fully intact with all original parts. So, you’d have a hard time finding an upright piano with more character and charm.
The charm of that upright piano was captured in 2300 individual samples and 16 velocity zones. To give an idea of how extensive the sampling process was, even the key release noises were sampled in nine velocity layers.
The Gentleman shines when it comes to it’s tweaking options. The main screen of the interface is nice and clean, with a few reverb, tone, and dynamic options. It’s once you enter the full editing screen that you can control every tiny performance aspect. Everything from key release, hammer noise, to the velocity curve can be adjusted with fantastic precision.
| Image credit: Native InstrumentsCheck Native Instruments |
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The Gentleman is one that might get a mixed response from players who want a more modern upright sound. However, we love the character that this instrument brings with it. The piano has been sampled with incredible detail, as we have come to expect with Native Instruments.
The overall sound is warmer than it is bright, but the low-end has that growl that you get from an old upright when it’s pushed hard. If you tweak the sound with the lovely 3-band EQ and abundance of adjustable parameters, you can head towards a brighter, livelier sound.
The downside is that a couple of notes have a slight click when played in a specific velocity range. It’s something you might not notice, but it’s a shame, considering the depth of the recording process. Despite that, The Gentleman is still the best upright piano VST, in our opinion.
5. Native Instruments Noire
One for the sountrack composers
Noire is the latest grand piano VST from Native Instruments. It was developed in collaboration with the German composer Nils Frahm, famous for his contemporary approach to recording piano. Frahm’s handpicked 9-foot grand piano was sampled in Berlins Funkhaus recording complex.
There are two sound settings to choose from, which are pure and felt. Pure is the clean, untouched, grand piano tone. The felt setting, comes from the same grand piano, but it was sampled with a felt moderator between the hammers and the strings. The result is a much more gentle tone with a reduced attack.
Both of the main sound settings can be further tweaked by adjusting the various parameter knobs found at the bottom of the main screen. These include color, dynamic, reverb, tonal shift, and delay. The entire user interface is elegant and represents the instrument very well.
The thing that makes Noire different is the Particles engine, which is very much from the mind of Nils Frahm. What the Particles engine does is generate pulsating harmonic elements based on your playing. These elements can be mechanical sounds, percussive sounds, or pitch-based, and it adds momentum to your playing. It brings together the worlds of classical piano, industrial soundtracks, and modern EDM.
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Noire might be a new piano plugin, but it’s already proving to be a hit with composers and producers. It’s another one that is going to work better for producers rather than performers. The reason we say that is because the Noire’s pure piano tone isn’t as good as Keyscape, Ivory II, etc. However, it is terrific, and the added elements of the felt version and Particles engine give it something different.
The pure piano tone is fantastic for jazz and reflective classical music, not so much percussive playing. It’s when the Particles engine is used that the percussive qualities come out. To sum it up, as a performer piano, it’s very good, for composition and soundtracks, it’s absolute magic.
6. Native Instruments Alicia’s Keys
The singer songwriter’s virtual piano
Alicia’s Keys was one of the first majorly popular piano plugins from Native Instruments. Many people were dubious about the success, wondering if it was down to quality or having a famous name attached to it. Forget that it’s named after Alicia Keys and focus on the fact that it’s modeled on her unique Yamaha C3 Neo grand piano.
Apart from the ridiculously rare grand piano, the other thing Alicia’s Keys has going for it is the fantastic team who worked on it. Led by Thomas Skarbye (Scarbee), the development/recording team is full of Grammy winners and industry leaders. Even Alicia Keys herself was in the studio to record samples, so it’s not one of those products a celebrity puts their name on after the fact.
When it was complete, it had a massive 17 GB of samples with 12 velocity layers per key. In terms of unique samples, it works out at over 3000 samples across the 12 velocity layers – that’s insane!
The detailed sampling process paid off with possibly the cleanest quality virtual piano available at the time. The attention to detail didn’t stop at the playing, Alicia’s Keys still has one of the most natural sustain and release phases of any VST. Even the smallest performance details were captured meticulously, like fingers touching the keys, mechanical noises of key and pedals, string harmonics. The amount of that noise you want in your performance is entirely up to you, and easily tweaked from the interface.
The user interface is straightforward, clearly defined tabs have simple controls for everything from reverb type/amount, to mechanical noise, and mic position. You can even edit the stereo image of the output and hear the piano from the artist’s or audience’s point of view.
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When Alicia’s Keys was released, there was a time when it was the best-selling grand piano VST around. Those days have gone, but it’s still one of the best VSTs, especially for pop or R&B music.
The overall sound is remarkable, although it’s quite a warm sound, and maybe not as articulate in the high-range as it could be. The lows are thick but well defined, not muddy, and the mids are perfect for those lush minor 7/9 chords that Alicia Keys loves so much. If you are looking for a classical piano, this probably isn’t the one, if you are a pop performer, it could be right up your street.
7. Native Instruments The Giant
The most unique piano plugin
The Giant is somethingutterly different from Native Instruments. They sampled it from the KlavinsPiano Model 370i, and if you didn’t already know, it’s the biggest uprightpiano in the world.
Wherever the presence of that old vinyl sound is needed you can count on Ole Vinyl to do the job, it is also velocity sensitive for even further expression. We like to simply make a 4 bar loop and viola, you have an infinite old school vinyl loop. We highly recommend you pick up your copy today. https://omgdenver.netlify.app/opcode-vinyl-vst-free.html.
The extreme height ofthe piano provides intense dynamics that you won’t hear anywhere else. NativeInstruments wanted to capture those dynamics as naturally as possible, so theysampled it completely untreated.
The Giant comes with two distinct personalities, day and night. Each personality is reflected in the user interface showing a city skyline (day or night) seen from the top of a building.
The day interface hasthree primary control sections, tone, space, and anatomy. The tone section hasa simple soft/hard dial to adjust color and an XXL button that boosts alldynamics when activated. Space deals with reverb, and anatomy controls thedynamic range and mechanical noise. Both the tone and anatomy sections expand,giving you far deeper control of their parameters.
Now for the sinister alter ego, the night interface. The night interface has two distinct control sections, sources, and convolution. Sources deal with more extreme piano sounds, any resonant noise that this monster upright produces when pushed to its limits can be adjusted here. By that logic, the night interface is far darker and over the top than the day model. The convolution section provides a detailed EQ, limiter, and filter. The EQ has a swept middle, meaning it has two mid bands, so it’s very accurate.
The Giant is big, bold, and beautiful.
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The Giant is one of our favorite VST’s period. It’s not in the same league as some of the others when it comes to library size or velocity layers, but it’s so different that we don’t care. Despite being quite an extreme instrument, The Giant is an excellent pop piano when in its day personality. It has a very bright sound, but because the dynamics are so severe, it also has a deep and full low end.
When you switch to the night personality, it doesn’t just get darker, everything becomes more extreme. Night mode is perfect for creating eerie atmospheres and haunting textures for any soundtrack. That is what we would suggest The Giant is best at, it’s less about being a mainstream piano emulator, and more about creating textures as a sound designer.
Conclusion
If you haven’t worked with piano VST plugins before, don’t be put off by stories of MIDI problems and glitches. As long as you are running a system that exceeds the requirements of the plugin, you’ll be fine.
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When it comes to sound quality, we can confidently say that many VST’s outperform physical keyboards. But, like choosing any instrument, each VST excels in different areas, so always consider where and how you will be playing it most. Our list includes some of the best-selling and most realistic piano VST’s available, check them out and enjoy!
James is a writer and musician with a passion for audio production. He is a lover of all things tech, especially the latest keyboards, synths, DAW’s, virtual instruments, and effects plugins. Musical interests include jazz, funk, hip hop, blues, and rock.