Comparing the VSL CFX and Garritan CFX 

福音😄love it, it's exactly always happy to listen to your playing! happy lunar new year sam

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I love your review style - all the "extras" are incidental to me, I was a professional pianist myself for while, and to me your focus on the sound is really GREAT, as when it comes down to it, that is what counts, all the other factors are just in service to the SOUND, so I like how many examples of playing you put into these reviews - for me, some of differences between the pianos only really show themselves after hearing them played at length like you do. I think perhaps some of the criticism of your review style might be hidden sour grapes for the fact you can actually play the piano, I've noticed many people here in the US especially seem to regard all skilled music performances as somehow a personal attack on their own worth as human beings on a purely material personal competitive level, like you are driving a more expensive car than they do, instead of enjoying the music for what it is, something beautiful to appreciate and enjoy.

Hi Sam. thank you for this wonderful video. The player's position remains for me the best listening for a pianist and the Garritan CFX gives me this feeling of proximity, I feel the body, the frame of the instrument. The VSL CFX that I was able to try at a friend's house gives me the impression of a sound that has already been mixed and processed. of course the sound is magnificent but the number of microphones and the possibilities of parameter takes you away from the essential. The VSL CFX is certainly the best choice among the VSL Synchron pianos and it seems to me intended for a repertoire rather classic and less intimate, of course this is just my opinion.

This was an incredibly helpful video. Thank you so much for taking the time to make it! I've always felt like Garritan CFX was one of the best feeling pianos to play I've ever had. I have the VSL Steinway, which isn't a slouch with feel either. They are both very inspiring to play, for sure. Did you notice a huge difference in system performance between the two? I'd imagine the VSL was a touch heavier because it had more mics, but that is a guess. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and helping so many of us continue to grow in our craft. I've learned a ton from you and hope to continue to improve.

Bro that cascade like 15.5 minutes in... what the heck?! Amazing.

If we could have the Garritan with all the editing options of the VSL, that would be a winner 100%.

love the run at around the 15 minute mark! How do you play that fast, do you have any lessons?

Awesome video Sam! Is this the VSL full version or "just" the standard? Thanks!

Thanks for the comparison. I have lots of piano VSTs, including Garritan CFX, but am missing the one from VSL (have all the Bossendorfers and love them)... Perhaps on next offer 😅!

Hi Sam. Thank you so much for awesome videos. As wonderful VSL is, the concert hall reverb is causing discomfort to my hearing (due to sound sensitivity issue). So Garritan cfx is my pick. However, I also saw your video on Noire, which i love. So i have a question. A little background about my situation first. i have presonus studio one v5 artist, a sound engineer had made me a recording template to use, i don't know anything (yet) about gain staging, noise gate and all that. I also love felt piano sound. I play mostly slow ballads during livestream on a meditation app. Question: As a beginner. How easy (user friendly) is it to adjust reverb and other settings on Noire and garritan for absolute beginner of audio. In fact, after installation, how to use these on any DAW? Can you please do a video on how to install and use please. My choice of the 2 is not so much the price. It's how easy it is to adjust sound (lid, mic positions plus many more). Comparing noire and Garritan, Which is more user friendly? Which has less reverb?

Nice comparison. I have both of these, and you really can’t go wrong with either one, in my opinion - they are both among the very best piano VSTs on the market. I tend to prefer the VSL more simply because I feel the recording is a bit cleaner and more present, and you can get a closer, less roomy sound by adjusting the mic positions and balances. Garritan CFX recording is a touch softer grained with a bit more of the room ambiance baked in. But it still sounds great and plays like butter.

Great video as always! What do you think about Embertone's Walker D?

I've been playing with a demo license of the VSL CFX (available on request) the last few nights, and man, it is absolutely addicting. I wanted to give the Garritan a shot, but they have just made my choice easier by refusing to provide a demo license.

You can change the pitch and other parameters of the individual notes on the VSL

Well now I'm about 2 weeks into the VSL CFX demo and I simply can't describe the joy it gives me to play. I know I said something similar about Pianoteq a while back but now it's hard to go back to even the Pianoteq after experiencing this. It makes me play all night, every night into the wee hours...I can't stop Lol. So, the dilemma is, I've also been looking at Keyscape (mainly for the variety and electrics) for a long time and am wondering whether the grand piano experience would be anything close to this. My main genre is CCM with varying amounts of gospel/jazz flavor, similar to a lot of the stuff you do (though not in the same league of execution by any means Lol). Sadly, of course, Spectra has no try before you buy...

Bought full cfx from vsl and never looked back. Im sure garritan is competitive vst but now that I have vsl that yammiy is covered. Just got a hold of full version of d-274 and getting accustomed to it, bravo vsl.

Nice comparison, but the glitching caused most likely by limits imposed by the hardware on which the plugins were run, was distracting. I am listening on some really revealing headphones and converters, so apologies for nitpicking. Your musicianship surpasses these minor technical issues. It's not easy in today's world to be expert at everything, from playing the notes, to speccing and configuring the gear. I sympathise with musicians today, so much for them to grapple with. Both of them, in your higly accomplished improvisation, sounded great. The Garritan more intimate than the VSL

Oh man, that Garritan CFX recorded at Abbey Road. Still the one to beat and I own SEVEN VSL PIanos (what am I doing?) 😁 The Synchron room just doesn't sound as good. TBH I can't stand the harsh brightness at Synchron. It's not the mics, it's the room. You have SSL EQs on board if you need more brightness. Thanks for the review!

Can we have a comparison with Noire?

Hi BeardedGuy. In some sense, it's unfair any comparison. It´s not only the differences in price and micing. Garritan CFX is a 2014 VST (in that time it was the REAL monster library above the others). VSL CFX exists since, 2021? A seven years gap!

Just an FYI for future comparing - your Garritan recording lasted 1:20. It's difficult to retain a "phrase" that long in order to compare to VSL. In future, might be better off playing a few short (20-30 second) phrases which would be easier to remember/compare. Just a suggestion.

Sam I don't know why you don't know... 😂 I mean siriously! Why don't you do more lessons where you explain your principles of playing? Even if thats paid and not on youtube I'll still take part in it. Then both pianos are great. There's not much to say on that regard. People here digital pianos and they say it's a matter of choice, this and that dp sounds good. In fact it's here where it is a matter of choice. Here you can't go wrong. Thanks for the music!

You forgot Garritan reverb send and return to 0. I prefer a lot the Classical mic perspective

Garritan absolutely smoother. Mics used for recording the whole thing not good, though. So many distortions when there's demanding playing.

"Some of my favorite pianos have awful... I mean AWFUL UIs" you said Could you please mention some names of your favorite pianos which are having awful UIs?

I have them both. I quickly uninstalled Garritan. It sucks.

Garritan CFX is better