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New piano library - Yamaha CFX from Production Voices

The renewed talk and demos make me really interested in this one (VSL CFX is a top 3 for me) and I’m not shy of the tweaking needed, but the last thing I want to do is encourage abandonware (if it is in fact abandoned).
 
Mindbullets said:
Oh yes, it’s also a quiet piano by default, but I meant it has extremely low background noise and undetectable (to me) noise buildup, compared to any of the pianos I showed in that post, especially the stock 300 Grand which has more noise buildup even than Keyscape with no noise reduction enabled.

I do like the denoised 300 Grand very much, and am looking forward to playing with it more once I get a chance to denoise the remaining mics. It’s a bummer the library seems to have been abandoned, the samples have so much potential.

I do find the VSL CFX more responsive than anything I’ve been able to get out of the 300 Grand or Noire so far, staccatos seem more alive on the VSL in particular, but I need to spend some more time with it and I’m sure it’ll be a useful library. The sound quality (denoised) is phenomenal, and it really is a wonderful library if you have the time and resources to denoise it.
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When you read around here: "There is no perfect piano library", believe that statement because it's the truth.

While NOIRE seems to be making the final cut into my recently released music for example, it doesn't mean it's my favorite to play.

There are many amazing piano libraries out there. The key is to use them to your advantage and your goal and not get sucked into the loop hole of "I wish it sounded like that Grand I play in real life".

For me personally, I find the Ravenscroft hard to beat when I want to just sit down, play and be inspired to come out with new solo material. But that's not a Yamaha so...off topic.
 
dickiefunk said:
How do you find Noire compares to 300 Grand and the Garritan CFX?
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On a purely technical level (playability, pedaling, etc) I think Garritan is probably superior, but I prefer the way the Noire is voiced as well as its overall tone and recording. It just has a lot more character than the Garritan, which, for all its excellence, can feel a bit sterile.

300 Grand is really quite good once you apply Mike McCarthy’s edited settings, and I would love to see what it’s like to play the de-noised version, but between the two of them I would still probably choose Noire. Just feels a bit more expressive to me, but it’s a very personal preference.
 
keepitsimple said:
When you read around here: "There is no perfect piano library", believe that statement because it's the truth.

While NOIRE seems to be making the final cut into my recently released music for example, it doesn't mean it's my favorite to play.

There are many amazing piano libraries out there. The key is to use them to your advantage and your goal and not get sucked into the loop hole of "I wish it sounded like that Grand I play in real life".

For me personally, I find the Ravenscroft hard to beat when I want to just sit down, play and be inspired to come out with new solo material. But that's not a Yamaha so...off topic.
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Sorry, perhaps I came across the wrong way. I don’t think there’s a perfect piano (acoustic, sampled, or modeled), and I think the pianos I’ve mentioned here all complement each other nicely (although the 300 Grand isn’t what I would call a finished product in its current state).

My comment about Noire being quiet was specifically around the de-noising discussion. I was trying to compliment Noire in that regard. :)
 
Mindbullets said:
Sorry, perhaps I came across the wrong way. I don’t think there’s a perfect piano (acoustic, sampled, or modeled), and I think the pianos I’ve mentioned here all complement each other nicely (although the 300 Grand isn’t what I would call a finished product in its current state).

My comment about Noire being quiet was specifically around the de-noising discussion. I was trying to compliment Noire in that regard. :)
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No idea why you're apologizing. Your comment didn't come across as offensive, nor was i defending Noire myself (sorry if it seemed that way). I was just rambling i guess and i ended up quoting you. My bad :)
 
Yes Noire has the least amount of noise out of all the libraries I’ve used. I also find it very expressive but the tone is a little static for want of a better word. I wish there was a demo of Ivory 3 as I would love to compare that to Noire.
 
Jett Hitt said:
As I’ve reported, I corresponded with Jason and invited him to join the discussion, but he did not. @Simeon also reached out to him, but we’ve not heard anything about that exchange. Barring some miracle on this front, I think I’m done pursuing this piano. Such a shame because it’s really a lovely instrument.
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I did hear from Jason after reaching out and what I can say is that he is definitely aware of the conversations and is working on getting things back on track, but no timetable was inferred.
I know Jason is very passionate about his work as you can see from watching the interview on my channel when 300 Grand was released.

I think if we look at the past year or so, especially where it relates to individual developers and content creators, there has been a rise of issues regarding health (physical and mental), juggling life, trying to manage a company; concerns with business, employment, taking care of family and just searching to have an overall sense of well-being in the world we live in today. We have seen some individuals come through successfully while others we have tragically lost.

I guess what I am saying is that Jason is most certainly dealing with something that is preventing him from doing what he obviously enjoys and that is creating these instruments for us. As we have seen in the past, he is very good at this but also, he seems to be doing most if not all of the heavy lifting himself.

I have been blessed to be able to interact with various companies and developers and one of my desires is to feature more interviews from developers. We always have to remember that there is a person behind the code and that life happens to all of us, good or bad that's just the way it is.

I pray that we will hear some good news from Jason soon and pray that he and his family and loved ones will be found doing well.

If there is a chance, I hear anything further I will keep everyone posted.

Wishing everyone here the very best.
Joyfully yours,
Simeon
 
Simeon said:
I did hear from Jason after reaching out and what I can say is that he is definitely aware of the conversations and is working on getting things back on track, but no timetable was inferred.
I know Jason is very passionate about his work as you can see from watching the interview on my channel when 300 Grand was released.

I think if we look at the past year or so, especially where it relates to individual developers and content creators, there has been a rise of issues regarding health (physical and mental), juggling life, trying to manage a company; concerns with business, employment, taking care of family and just searching to have an overall sense of well-being in the world we live in today. We have seen some individuals come through successfully while others we have tragically lost.

I guess what I am saying is that Jason is most certainly dealing with something that is preventing him from doing what he obviously enjoys and that is creating these instruments for us. As we have seen in the past, he is very good at this but also, he seems to be doing most if not all of the heavy lifting himself.

I have been blessed to be able to interact with various companies and developers and one of my desires is to feature more interviews from developers. We always have to remember that there is a person behind the code and that life happens to all of us, good or bad that's just the way it is.

I pray that we will hear some good news from Jason soon and pray that he and his family and loved ones will be found doing well.

If there is a chance, I hear anything further I will keep everyone posted.

Wishing everyone here the very best.
Joyfully yours,
Simeon
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Thanks for the context and perspective Simeon, and appreciate your contributions to the community of composers as well as developers. Prayers that Jason is able to return swiftly to what he loves doing.
 
Simeon said:
I did hear from Jason after reaching out and what I can say is that he is definitely aware of the conversations and is working on getting things back on track, but no timetable was inferred.
I know Jason is very passionate about his work as you can see from watching the interview on my channel when 300 Grand was released.

I think if we look at the past year or so, especially where it relates to individual developers and content creators, there has been a rise of issues regarding health (physical and mental), juggling life, trying to manage a company; concerns with business, employment, taking care of family and just searching to have an overall sense of well-being in the world we live in today. We have seen some individuals come through successfully while others we have tragically lost.

I guess what I am saying is that Jason is most certainly dealing with something that is preventing him from doing what he obviously enjoys and that is creating these instruments for us. As we have seen in the past, he is very good at this but also, he seems to be doing most if not all of the heavy lifting himself.

I have been blessed to be able to interact with various companies and developers and one of my desires is to feature more interviews from developers. We always have to remember that there is a person behind the code and that life happens to all of us, good or bad that's just the way it is.

I pray that we will hear some good news from Jason soon and pray that he and his family and loved ones will be found doing well.

If there is a chance, I hear anything further I will keep everyone posted.

Wishing everyone here the very best.
Joyfully yours,
Simeon
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That’s great! Thanks for the update. The thing is that I think the heavy lifting has already been done by several individuals here, and I’m pretty sure they would share their efforts with Jason.
 
Jett Hitt said:
That’s great! Thanks for the update. The thing is that I think the heavy lifting has already been done by several individuals here, and I’m pretty sure they would share their efforts with Jason.
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That was some of my thoughts as well and also shows the power of this community.
The efforts to figure this out have been extraordinary.

I wish I were more fluent on doing some of this myself as I have RX 10 advanced. It would be interesting to learn more about how to automate some of the conversion processes.
These are the exact situations where creativity and ingenuity meet to create solutions, we come away from learning something new.

Thanks Jett!
Joyfully!
Simeon
 
Simeon said:
That was some of my thoughts as well and also shows the power of this community.
The efforts to figure this out have been extraordinary.
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I wonder if Jason would consider making the denoised samples available for download to registered customers?

Even if it were a temporary measure until he is well enough to finish the project?

I'd gladly send him mine - the Close + Ribbon Mics (the only ones I use) are approx. 20GB.

But it may not be practical (I don't know the ins-and-outs of how this is done) - and ultimately it is Jason's call, of course - we cannot share these denoised samples without his permission.

Just a thought - and best wishes to Jason for a speedy recovery.
 
Mike McCarthy said:
I wonder if Jason would consider making the denoised samples available for download to registered customers?

Even if it were a temporary measure until he is well enough to finish the project?

I'd gladly send him mine - the Close + Ribbon Mics (the only ones I use) are approx. 20GB.

But it may not be practical (I don't know the ins-and-outs of how this is done) - and ultimately it is Jason's call, of course - we cannot share these denoised samples without his permission.

Just a thought - and best wishes to Jason for a speedy recovery.
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That’s such a great idea! I would happily work on denoising all of the remaining samples if this was an option. I was planning to denoise the player in addition to this anyway, and if we could share this with everyone I’m happy to do the whole set.

Praying for Jason and family.
 
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I heard from Jason a couple of weeks ago. He's still trying to sort out my licensing for PV Grand and PV Gold but generously sent me a serial number for the 300 Grand which I downloaded and installed this evening. Haven't spent much time with it, but am using the standard NKI with several microphones without any tweaking. I'm not hearing the noise everyone's referring to. I don't use headphones, just the speakers on my NV10S and sometimes my Neumann KH 310a monitors. Sounds comparably clean to my other plugins (I have more than 100 installed so enough to compare to!)
 
Been playing the 300 Grand quite a bit the last few days. I really like the tone on this. It's more beautiful to my ears than the original Production Grand (in my case version 1) and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite piano VSTs.

One troubling issue with the 300 Grand I've noticed though is that the damper pedal gets 'stuck' (as if I'm continously depressing the pedal) and I have to go to another plugin and back again (I use Cantabile Performer so this is easy). It's happened three times. Something I've never experienced with any other VST. Any thoughts on what could be causing this?
 
JonL said:
Been playing the 300 Grand quite a bit the last few days. I really like the tone on this. It's more beautiful to my ears than the original Production Grand (in my case version 1) and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite piano VSTs.

One troubling issue with the 300 Grand I've noticed though is that the damper pedal gets 'stuck' (as if I'm continously depressing the pedal) and I have to go to another plugin and back again (I use Cantabile Performer so this is easy). It's happened three times. Something I've never experienced with any other VST. Any thoughts on what could be causing this?
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Still having this 'stuck sustain' issue, but not every time I play the 300 Grand. For instance, last night I played it for quite a while without any sustain problems, though it's happened enough that I am convinced it's a real thing. That said, I've also started noticing a volume problem in the top two octaves. In particular the very top 5 notes emit a very dull and quiet tone even when I slam them. Unlike VSL, there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust the velocity curve for single, or a range of notes. I do have VelPro, and may try that to boost the upper note range. BTW- I have communicated with the VelPro developer and he is considering a VST3 version of VelPro in the future. The current application isn't very versatile for use with individual VSTs in that you have to manuslly select a specific preset which can't be automated in the same way you can with a VST host (i.e. Cantabile Performer). A VST version would solve a lot of problems for plugins that don't have note level adjustments. Cantabile also has a velocity filter which I find a bit cumbersome but will try in this case as the upper notes on the 300 Grand need to be fixed.
 
JonL said:
Still having this 'stuck sustain' issue, but not every time I play the 300 Grand. For instance, last night I played it for quite a while without any sustain problems, though it's happened enough that I am convinced it's a real thing. That said, I've also started noticing a volume problem in the top two octaves. In particular the very top 5 notes emit a very dull and quiet tone even when I slam them. Unlike VSL, there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust the velocity curve for single, or a range of notes. I do have VelPro, and may try that to boost the upper note range. BTW- I have communicated with the VelPro developer and he is considering a VST3 version of VelPro in the future. The current application isn't very versatile for use with individual VSTs in that you have to manuslly select a specific preset which can't be automated in the same way you can with a VST host (i.e. Cantabile Performer). A VST version would solve a lot of problems for plugins that don't have note level adjustments. Cantabile also has a velocity filter which I find a bit cumbersome but will try in this case as the upper notes on the 300 Grand need to be fixed.
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Hi JonL - 300 Grand v.2.3.1 .nki on page 15 of this thread addresses the volume issue in the top two octaves and top five notes (and various other issues as well) - give it a try.

I've never encountered the stuck sustain issue you describe (using 300 Grand with Kontakt full in Cubase) - all working flawlessly here.

Hope this helps.
 
Mike McCarthy said:
Hi JonL - 300 Grand v.2.3.1 .nki on page 15 of this thread addresses the volume issue in the top two octaves and top five notes (and various other issues as well) - give it a try.

I've never encountered the stuck sustain issue you describe (using 300 Grand with Kontakt full in Cubase) - all working flawlessly here.

Hope this helps.
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Hi Mike. I downloaded the NKI on page 16 and tried bringing it up under Kontakt 7 (full version) and getting about 30K files not found. I manually pointed it to the location where I have the samples (which play with the NKIs that came with the original download I got from Jason last December. Not sure if he's changed something but this NKI doesn't seem to work with the current version. Too bad, was really hoping this would improve things!

BTW- The 'stock' NKI I'm using, which loads without problems, is 300 Grand 32V.nki, dated 4/28/2022 3.46MB -Jon
 
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JonL said:
Hi Mike. I downloaded the NKI on page 16 and tried bringing it up under Kontakt 7 (full version) and getting about 30K files not found. I manually pointed it to the location where I have the samples (which play with the NKIs that came with the original download I got from Jason last December. Not sure if he's changed something but this NKI doesn't seem to work with the current version. Too bad, was really hoping this would improve things!

BTW- The 'stock' NKI I'm using, which loads without problems, is 300 Grand 32V.nki, dated 4/28/2022 3.46MB -Jon
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hmmmm....I made this .nki with Kontakt 5.8 - so it may not be compatible with Kontakt 7 (which seems odd to me though).

It's been widely used with no reported issues of samples not found - maybe some other K7 users can jump in?
 
Mike McCarthy said:
hmmmm....I made this .nki with Kontakt 5.8 - so it may not be compatible with Kontakt 7 (which seems odd to me though).

It's been widely used with no reported issues of samples not found - maybe some other K7 users can jump in?
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I use Mike's custom NKI with Kontakt 7 full version and have never had problems loading. I just manually direct it to the master folder holding all the 300 Grand files (not just the samples) and it finds what it needs to pretty quickly.

IMO, this NKI is vastly superior to the stock version, which I consider pretty much unusable due to the imbalance in the upper octaves.
 
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