Paint Your Music with the Tonal Colors of This Historic Piano
Vienna Symphonic Library's Studio Blüthner 1895 graces your virtual instrument library with an exceptional grand piano built by the famous Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik of Leipzig. This magnificent specimen was acquired by Synchron Stage Vienna after having been meticulously restored by Viennese master piano builder Bernhard Balas. You will instantly hear that this Blüthner is like no other grand piano. It's equipped with Blüthner’s proprietary Aliquot system that employs additional dampened strings positioned above the conventional treble register strings. These extra strings are not struck by the hammers but resonate sympathetically, adding a velvety, organic shimmer to the sound and giving the instrument a lyrical, singing quality. Additionally, the strings are unusually long and thin and stretched to an extreme tension of 20 tons, which helps define the Blüthner’s inimitable sound. In combination with its soft hammers, the Blüthner grand produces a clear yet warm and soft timbre that is superior to many modern instruments in its variety of unique tonal colors.
Related Videos: Studio Bluthner 1895 - Full Library
You're in good company
You'll be in good company with VSL Studio Blüthner 1895 in your sonic palette. Composers such as Debussy, Mahler, Bartók, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikowsky, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninov created works on a Blüthner grand, and Paul McCartney famously played a Blüthner when recording "Let It Be" for the film of the same title in 1969.
Idiosyncratic charm
While lovingly restored, this Blüthner 1895 was recorded with all the idiosyncratic charm that gives a well-seasoned piano its distinctive character. VSL Studio Blüthner 1895 gives you an extremely versatile virtual re-creation of this magnificent instrument that's ideally suited for soloists seeking a unique "personal" piano sound. The Blüthner also lends itself extremely well to song accompaniment and chamber music settings, as well as pop songs and ballads where other concert grands sound too intrusive. Presets like "Intimate" or "Vintage" bring out this particular quality even more.
Mix eight mic positions to taste
Vienna Symphonic Library’s Blüthner 1895 grand piano was recorded on Stage B at Synchron Stage Vienna. This great-sounding 739-square-foot live room's height varies from 11.5 to 14.75 feet, providing a controlled acoustic environment with less ambience than Stage A, the large Synchron main hall. VSL recording engineers used eight high-end stereo microphone arrays to capture the piano and the room. With the Studio Blüthner 1895 full library, you get all eight mic positions, which you can mix to taste.
Customize your sound in Vienna Synchron Pianos
In addition to the sonic versatility of mixing multiple mic signals, Studio Blüthner 1895 includes the Vienna Synchron Pianos software (free download), which offers bountiful options for shaping your sound and customizing your playing experience. Boasting a high-performance playback engine, Synchron Pianos provides a pro-grade mixer and a broad range of effects, including equalization, compression, saturation, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, a rotary simulator, and more. You can change the volume of piano body resonances, sympathetic strings, and pedal noises right from the main Play window. In the Edit view, you can adjust EQ, volume, tuning, dynamic range, and more for each individual key.
VSL sample precision
To capture the Blüthner 1895 with all its nuances, VSL engineers developed an ultra-precise motion-control system based on a solenoid that controls a noise-free robotic "finger." The microcontroller advances the finger with superhuman precision and provides flexible curvatures for downstrokes and release motions. The MIDI-controlled system delivers more than 100 velocities and various release samples, depending on the preceding note length and various release speeds. This innovation represents the pinnacle of VSL's long-term sampling robotics initiative.
First-call musicians, first-class samples
At Sweetwater, we hold the Vienna Symphonic Library in high regard; that's because we're picky about our orchestral samples. It all starts with the musicians. Since VSL's inception, first-call musicians have been providing the sound and character of these instruments as soloists and ensemble leaders. This approach is largely responsible for the impressive sonic authority and authenticity we have come to expect from VSL virtual instruments.
VSL Studio Blüthner 1895 Features:
- Refurbished grand piano with proprietary Aliquot stringing
- Glorious example of Blüthner’s legendary "golden tone"
- Recorded on Stage B of Synchron Stage Vienna
- Advanced Release Sample Technology
- Multiple microphone positions for a variety of timbral variations
- Pre-configured Main Presets: Concert, Intimate, Player, Pop, Ambience, Vintage
- FX Presets for enhanced, warped, or mysterious piano sounds
- Soft (una corda), sostenuto, sustain pedals
- Half-pedaling and re-pedaling supported
- Sympathetic strings and Body resonance
- Includes Vienna Synchron Pianos software
