The Hammersmith Pro Soniccouture Steinway D is the essence of what a grand piano should be. Guys this is currently at a reasonable sale price, but better yet there is a free Kontakt V6 Player lite version for download. This to me is the essential Grand piano, so bright you have to wear shades. Extremely playable and expressive instrument. My current go to bright Grand.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Thanks Dan for the review, so seems you prefer it compared to the Ezkeys Studio Grand?
Looks like you are definitely enjoying your retirement, all this extra time to spend with your music.
Thanks Musiclover, you are exactly correct.
I audition a lot of different piano sounds. But I only download a small fraction of them and then only keep a fraction of those and then only recommend a small fraction of those. This is one of them I recommend. A free Kontakt V6 player instrument, which weighs in at just over 4.5 GB and is serialised through Native Access. It is currently the first thing I load in the morning. I know these sounds can be personal, but this has some kind of magic mojo in it that makes it very playable. Huge dynamics from soft to loud. So bright you have to wear shades (but I said that already ). There are a couple of demos on Youtube.
I don't know for how long this deal lasts or if it's forever, so grab it while you can. Link below:
Guys, this freebee is back for a very short time. This continues to be a big favorite of mine. Ya, the free version is a bit limited in mics, but it is not limited in sound! It is absolutely one of the most beautiful grand pianos available and it is FREE.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Musiclover, So glad to see you are enjoying this product. That now makes three of us. You, me and Peter (who by the way went for the full version) have all taken advantage of this wonderful product from the folks at Soniccouture. Seems every piano has it own voice and speaks to each of us in a different manners. On top of that it is certainly true that different music requires different pianos.
The Hammersmith is my "player" piano. I use a number of piano VSTs in my music, but when I am actually playing the piano this is the piano I want to play. Could be the 21 Velocity Layers. This is extremely expressive on my SL88iStudio.
I would have thought this tread would have gotten more attention here with the BIAB Folks. I suspect several reasons. 1) Folks already have there go-to piano sounds which fit the music they make and are just not generally looking for something new. 2) Many are not familiar or comfortable with the hoops one has to jump through to use a Kontakt instrument. For this final point I can only add, if any one is waiting for a reason to install the Free Kontakt Player-V6 and jump into the deeper end of the pool to advance their music libraries, this is the time and this is the piano.
Oh, and despite prior claims, I can run this in BIAB 2021 v822! But unfortunately, not without an issue! It seems that when this VST is used with the MST's the player has his foot down hard on the Sustain Pedal the entire performance. Ya, that is a problem. I started another thread to see if we can find a fix for that.
Dan, I DLed this right after your first post. I do like this piano and it does sit well in mixes. It is also an excellent solo piano. So yes I am in the "I like it" camp.
For others, if you haven't DLed this yet then do it. If you don't have the free Kontakt player needed to use this then DL it also. This is one of, if not the best, free DL out there today, it will make your BiaB MIDI piano tracks come to life.
Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer. It's called the Heineken Maneuver.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
The free version has not been available for a long time now. However....
If you previously grabbed the free version of the Hammersmith when it was available, log in to your Soniccouture account and you should see an upgrade offer to Pro for $79. Without the prior free version the current sale price is $99. This is still my favorite go to piano to jam out.
Same version. It comes and goes for free. I know, there are a lot of wonderful piano VSTs. And a lot of them are free. But if you have the disk space this is worth the download.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
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We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
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). There are a couple of demos on Youtube. 
It seems that when this VST is used with the MST's the player has his foot down hard on the Sustain Pedal the entire performance. Ya, that is a problem. I started another thread to see if we can find a fix for that. 
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