One of my favorite libraries... easy. Probably the closest I feel to playing a real grand piano. Patreon Link - patreon.com/samthebeardguy?ut... #garritan #yamahacfx #yamahapiano #piano #music #worshipmusic #grandpiano
To anyone curious, sympathetic resonance is what occurs in an acoustic piano when the damper is lifted. In an acoustic piano, all of the strings are connected to the same soundboard. When one vibrates, not only will the soundboard vibrate, but this will pass through to all of the other strings too. Ergo, they vibrate sympathetically. The vibrating frequency of the sympathetic strings is always some fraction of the initially struck string, and obviously due to losses with transfer of energy, etc it won't be a 1:1 translation of energy. The nearby strings will vibrate more strongly than the ones further away. Striking C3 very hard with a lifted damper will cause surrounding notes to come through as well, and may even resonate all the way to the upper registers where there is no damper. The effect is also more noticeable on strings of similar resonance. E.g. striking a low C note very hard with no damper will make _ALL_ C notes resonate sympathetically with that. This is why, at least on an acoustic, it's better to learn how to do things like half-pedal, quarter-pedal, etc than to simply be to the floor or off completely. A fully open damper on an acoustic can get out of hand VERY quickly because it allows all of this resonance to run together. On an acoustic, the amount you depress the pedal controls how hard/soft the damper is hitting the strings, and this makes the resonance easier to control. This is also why you might see even professional musicians never touch the sostenuto pedal even if the notation requires it, because half-pedaling with the damper can pretty much cause the same effect and it's easier to control. Sympathetic resonance is what gives acoustic pianos their characteristic charm --- you are basically controlling an infinite realm of possibilities with how the strings vibrate and this is one of the reasons VSTs can only ever come _very close_ to replicating an acoustic performance, not match it 1:1. I've yet to stumble into one that is a 1:1 replication. I've tried lots of VSTs and Garritan CFX plus a few others (I am particularly fond of Keyscape just for the fleet of awesome electrics it has) are some that get very close, but if you close your eyes and listen you can of course still tell it's not an acoustic, lol.
@amineouicestmoi Interestingly, no VST all by itself. Most of the time, I get the ones I play to "sound as realistic as possible" by passing them through my own convolver plug-ins and disabling all of the reverbs built into the VST. With the right plug-ins you can make mostly any VST sound like you're listening to a piano in a real space. Honestly I've even been tricked by this once. Someone sent me an audio recording and it deadass sounded like they popped a mic in the room and played. And then they told me it was digital! It was a short performance but this absolutely surprised me. Lots of convolver plug-ins are out there. I'm a huge fan of LiquidSonics Reverberate as it has a very excellent replication of the Bricasti M7 (relies on impulse samples taken directly from the hardware). But you can use whatever impulse signals you want with Reverberate. I ripped the ones used in Quantum Spaces by EastWest, and use those from time to time in Reverberate. The interface and DRM of Quantum Space is absurd and I prefer to load up the samples it uses in my own plug-ins, lol. The thing is though, there's a difference between LISTENING and PLAYING. The kinds of mic positions (built into the VST) and convolver settings you'd want will vary based on the experience you want. Do you want it to BE COMFORTABLE to play? Or do you want it to sound like you're listening to the piano from the back of an auditorium? It can take a lot of experimenting to dial in the settings right, based on the kind of listening experience you're trying to emulate.
Yay! Just managed to snatch this off Flea Bay for like 80 Bucks!! Awaiting it's arrival. Got Keyscape & Pianoteq 8 now, amongst others, but great to hear this up in your top 3 ole bearded one 😌🙏. So can't wait to load it up in a few days time!!! 🎉😎🤘🎹🎵🇬🇧🍻💥
Dear Sam, your playing is always magnificent and I could listen to this for hours. Garritan's CFX Grand is one of my favorite libraries and I use it regularly especially the Mad Hatter preset. Its design is definitely a success, this does not mean that it is perfect, the sympathetic resonance is too short and no hammer feedback but its timbre and brilliance inspire me and I often think of Chick Coréa who was a fan of CFX. In 2024 it's worth the detour, Cool !
You play really well. Thanks for doing all the videos. I want to ask, however, if it would help us listeners to hear more 'less interesting/entertaining' playing so we could listen to the sample differently. Like maybe some octaves, letting them decay for several beats, and played at multiple velocities. It seems like there are aspects of a piano to really appreciate/evaluate that can only be heard with a simpler demo...but not at the cost of the beautiful playing, because it's truly fun to listen to. Maybe others have said something like this. Thanks again.
One thing I always found with Garritan even with the Personal Orchestra there reverbs and impulses were always really good. It is a shame that they never put the same level of quality into the Personal Orchestra because it always had great potential.
First of all: I love the quality of the samples. I am impressed how good the two highest octaves sounds. Great Sound! Dumb question: how can I use valhalla with Garritan? I downloaded free version valhalla supermassive and obviously i am not able to run in it. Any advice?
It's just my taste and maybe because of what I'm used to, but to me it sounded too bright and a little tiring, especially the Classic setting. But it's a great sounding library for sure.
Hi Sam, i just purchased the garritan cfx grand it is really lovely, i just want to ask you how do you connect your camera to the garritan so that you can record a live performance like this?
i really wish i could afford it, it sounds so beautiful and im tired of the same piano sound my keyboard has, it doesnt even sound realistic, ive dreamed of garritan cfx for so long, if i had it, it could even inspire me to start playing and learning new songs again...
When playing standalone, Native Instruments Noire is my favourite, but Garritan CFX is a very close second. In both cases, I appreciate the tweakability to be able to dial in the sound to my liking. I really don't like any of the VST's sampled from the Steinway pianos. Maybe I just prefer the sound of the Yamaha CFX Grand Is Garritan CFX still worth buying today? Maybe not, as some people are reporting problems, and the vendor does not seem to actively supporting it. It works in my M1 Apple Silicon Macbook, natively in my DAW (Studio One) via the ARIA player or thru Rosetta for the stand alone player, but who knows when a MacOS update will break it, or if the Garritan vendor will be willing to fix it. PC users may have similar concerns with Windows upgrades. In any case, there are many great alternatives these days. Still, I am glad Garritan CFX still works on my Mac.
Sam, did you use any noise reduction technique or did you basically do any changes to the sound before uploading to youtube? I own this CFX and it drives me crazy because I can’t get rid of the buzzing noise when I listen the recording on my smartphone, whereas listening to you playing here sounds perfectly clean on my phone. I am using default settings and I am adding literally no changes to it, yet it’s hissing.
Good choice Sam. I use the Compact version all the time. It’s my favorite vi, for sure. I’ve never actually installed the Full. I didn’t want to take up more space on my HD, but…can you tell me if it’s gonna be a significant difference between them? I’d use the space, if so. Thanks
there is a big difference to me. but it also depends how serious of a player you are. if you are just making movie music its not necesary. but for a classical pianist, it will change a lot. if disk space is so important, you can consider changing to pianoteq. it is a more configurable library too. and i switch daily between the 2 because they are both excellent in tonality and dynamics, (the only 2 good ones tbh), but the cfx is more rich, unless you use the lite version, the lite version sounds very simple, maybe even more so than pianoteq.
Hi Sam you are such an amazing pianist so happy to find you, sorry to ask you I am looking for good midi piano 88 keys weighted what can you suggest me and what midi keyboard do you use if you don’t mind to answer thank you.
I haven't had the experience of trying it yet. But according to the video, I love its sound. What do you think about the "Piano V3" (by Arturia) and Addictive Keys (XLN) pianos VSTs?
I love the Piano V3 and Addictive Keys except for when I'm playing it right after a better library like Garritan or Pianoteq. Piano V3 gives you a lot of options though.
i think the gerritan is the best library ever. i own all libraries. pianoteq is equally playable and equally dynamic as the gerritan, but more fake. still pianoteq is the only alternative i would consider if the gerritan sound truly doesnt fit the project. everything else is junk to me, especcialy when the quality of the library really feeds my improvisation, and the junk ones just produce nothing. all libraries, except for pianoterq and gerritan have so many limitations in tonality and have big ceilings that make everything monochromos.
Does anyone have volume issues? Raising the mic sliders or sensitivity of midi is not the solution(High sensitivity makes you lose soft touches/Mic sliders remain default in other people's settings). Is garritan just that quiet by default?
Sam..love your channel . Garritan does not work on MY M1 silicon chip..... they have not updated their website and have left owners in the dust. It is (was) a great sounding piano. The good news is.... I found the piano the wrecks them all, and I own them all. Keyscape...Native instruments...Ravenscroft 275...etc.... SYNCRON from Vienna library. Take your pick Stein D ....CSX.... Bosey.......Fazoli (Monster).......Yes they are expensive.......But IMHO .....Unbelievable!!!!!!!
Tried tech support ..... last update ( M1 rosetta)was in 2022.. did not work for me. I am too busy to to pine after a company that does not stay current in our climate of tech updates. Did not mean to rant... i'm over it, had to move on.......peace😀
I have an M1 Macbook Pro. Garritan CFX works well. They did not leave us in the dust. There is a page on Apple Silicon compatibility that can be accessed from the "System Requirements" page. It says, "All current Garritan libraries can be used natively on Apple silicon Macs with ARIA Player v2.001" I have confirmed that it works natively (not thru Rosetta) within my DAW (Studio One) by using it from the ARIA player. The stand alone version also works, albeit in Rosetta mode, which is not a problem.
One of my favorites piano libraries the downside is that it seems they did not denoise the samples and the noise builds up and in some cases it becomes apparent. Denoising samples destroys the purity of the sample so I get why they choose to do so.
I like CFX, I bought it because your other video convinced me. However, I can’t use the VST3 version plugin (I’m using Ableton Live), only the VST(2) version. I am using windows (previously 10, now 11), and the CFX installs both a vst3 and vst version, but both are .dll files, it has no .vst3, therefore Ableton is unable to use the vst3. Does anyone have this issue? Other that that, I really like this vst, one of my favourites.
Probably not, they're too expensive given what I need out of keyboard. They are definitely not better than Keyscape. Next piano I buy will probably be something like one of the upper end Rolands
@@SamTheBeardGuycheck out the Yamaha YC 88 or CP, pro level board for half the price of a Nord. Obviously your money and your choice 😂😂. I never connected with Roland keyboard lol. Always preferred Yamaha. Great video.
@@SamTheBeardGuy you should check into getting associate links with the companies you review. You could provide a link in the description section of your video and when someone buys through that link you get 5 or 10%. I sure as HELL bought NOIRE 100% because of your review
@@SamTheBeardGuy What modes do you usually use in vintageverb? I usually use the default concert hall or I'll use chamber if I want something less dense and over the top (as concert hall can be too dense sometimes). I also am always using 70's but I've not experimented much with 80's or NOW
@SamTheBeardGuy genuinely what's your thoughts man on metronome.. because I'm a guy who doesn't play without it.. and while m not... im feeling lotta a emotions in any music.. but when I play with metronome all beauty emotions fades man. What's your point of view... Can u share brother
Metronome is a great practice tool. It's like strength training, you lift heavy weights to build a solid core and muscle foundation so it makes the day to day tasks of life easier. Even in a piece of music that ebbs and flows, the little intricacies in how you stretch the timing in certain phrases benefits from having practiced with a metronome. Orchestras don't use a click when they perform, but they spend hours in the practice room playing to a click
I have a Mac M2 with the more advanced chip and the Garrison software from years back. The old software will not load with the New Mac. Have you heard when Garriton will put out new software the CFX to work with the new chip? Iv'e looked it up with Google and they say it's in the works. I believe when they do finally get it to work it will be a better software.
I have an M1 Macbook Pro. Garritan CFX works well. There is a page on Apple Silicon compatibility that can be accessed from the "System Requirements" page. It says, "All current Garritan libraries can be used natively on Apple silicon Macs with ARIA Player v2.001" I have confirmed that it works natively (not thru Rosetta) within my DAW (Studio One) by using it from the ARIA player. The stand alone version also works, albeit in Rosetta mode, which is not a problem.
Is it possible to use this VST on a Laptop and do I need a specific software or Programm? I have an Intel Core i5-9300H processor with 16gb RAM, don’t know if that’s good enough. I’m completely new to VSTs so I’m afraid I won’t be able to use it.
For a man of your talent...I am surprised you love this piano so much. I can't stand this piano myself. ...for me it was a waste of money. I am not trying to be insulting...asking out of curiosity....Do you not hear the "thumping" on every note as you depress the keys? It's a known problem that Garititan has been told about by many musicians dating back 6 years. but their attitude seems to be "Oh really? ...yep it will do that". I don't hear this at all on the "Native Instruments" plugins. I agree the samples sound great...but the key noise ruins it for me. Perhaps I am just weird and have unusually low hearing and only some people hear that low.......but for me, as I play the notes up the scale i hear "note-thump-note-thump" I adjusted everything down as much as their software would allow , but just like everyone else who noticed this...I find there was no way to eliminate it. Garritans' solution was to raise the velocity...which of course changes the piano to a more percussive sound...but that's not the sound I want. On the plus side..I appreciate your talent...I am a jazz/classical oriented player so I relate to your improvisational approach....fine artistry!
I don't like to say I have a "better" ear I just maybe hear lower or something and I have seen on the net quite a few others hear this too...but that in no way makes me a better musician (or a worse one haha) if I happen to hear something lower than you do...obviously you do quite well with what God has given you :)
