Friday, September 03 2010 @ 06:21 AM CDT
Ivory: Impressive New Grand Piano Module
Ivory: 3 Grand Pianos Virtual Instrument by Synthogy
Great sounds inspire. If a pallate of sounds is truly amazing, it makes you want to play and create with it. This is exactly what happened when I began using Ivory.
I can say this with all honesty: If you are looking for the perfect acoustic grand piano module, look no further. Synthogy has created an amazing product with incredible flexibility and control: Ivory, distributed by Ilio. It works flawlessly as an AU or VST plugin inside GarageBand and other MIDI software. And it has an amazingly realistic sound.
UPDATE: For the next two days, ZZounds.com has Ivory for only 329.95 with free shipping.
Ivory includes three grands in one multi-platform sample-based Virtual Instrument: Bosendorfer 290 Imperial (with an extended lower octave), German Steinway D 9' Concert Grand, and a Studio Yamaha 7'. Each piano has up to 8 stereo dynamic levels with real release and soft pedal samples. Over 3,500 samples (30 GB) are combined with a sample-playback engine built from the ground up to bring out the resonance, response and character of these pianos. Plus, there is a synth pad generator that enables you to play or layer warm pads along with the incredible sounding piano sounds. A very flexible reverb and chorus effects page enables you to choose just the right efefcts as well. Whether you are recording classical, pop, jazz or New Age, there is a perfect piano sound for you.
Ivory is not a stand-alone module, but meant to work inside other software, including GarageBand, Digital Performer, Cubase, ProTools and others. It is also not easy on CPU. I have a dual processor 1 GHz G4 1 with 1.75 GB RAM, and Ivory uses nearly 20% of my CPU. Its 31 GB of data also took 90 minutes to load into my computer, so you may need an extra hard drive (at least Firewire 400, or, as the manual says, 7200 RPM; I was using a Firewire 800 Superdrive) to store the sounds. If you layer Ivory sounds (and use more than one module at once), slight audio "ticks" might become noticeable if the drive speed is too slow and sounds cut out (which can be mitigated by decreasing the amount of samples and buffer size used), so make sure your system can handle the module's needs.
Here is a snapshot of the Main Ivory Module page:
Note how you have control over the Release time (how fast the keys fade out upon release), Key Noise (the "thucking" sound of hammers hitting the strings), Timbre (EQ), Dynamic Range (how soft or loud each key hit is allowed to sound) and Stereo Width (how much left-right differences there are in the low-high keys in the stereo field). What is also cool is the idea of Sustain Resonance, a setting that controls a layer of sound added to the main sample which adds an ambient sound to help emmulate realistic sustain pedal and harmonics sounds. There are also additional samples you can use that emmulate the Release sound of the hammer leaving the strings, Soft Pedal samples, and several Synth Layer pads. The right side of the page controls the number of Voices your CPU needs to dedicate to Ivory, Buffer Size, and settings for Gain (boost sound if needed), and tunings: (Octave control, global note Transposing, Fine Pitch tuning and detuning, and whether the general tuning uses a concert 440 Hz or another chosen tuning base. You can switch the stero field with the Performer/Audience button and even force strict mathematical tuning with the Stretch (standard) and Equal button.
I have written and performed 3 pieces so far using Ivory, one each using the different grand pianos available. Every piano is superb. In headphones, the sound is absouetly perfect. The on the posted MP3s is slightly muffled and less dynamic than the original AIFFs, and the clarity of sound is not as perfect as in the premix version. The controls (above) have thrilling effects on the realism and quality of the sound. I contrasted the Sustain Resonance layer in the first half of my song, "Just Above The Ground," with the no-hold pedal middle section (which also lets you hear a delicate use of the Key Noise option). The jpg above shows the setting I used in "Just Above The Ground." If you would like to hear the other pieces I have composed and performed using Ivory, please go to my Morning Whispers Project page.
Ivory also has very good effects, controlling reverb, EQ and chorus:
There is a third control page I don't show that sets the Velocity Senstitivity of the keyboard you are using, which is handy alternative to going into your synth's SysEx datat and changing it manually.
All of these settings are saveable. Once saved, you will have access to the saved settings from muliplte applications. Synthogy has thought of everything.
Of course, there are some drawbacks, since no sample-based system will sound and behave exactly like a real acoustic instrument. There are a few key hits (each key is sampled separately at mutlpile velocities) that have a unique ring to them; a few release samples that have unique harmonics; and a few samples that have slight hiss in the upper ranges... None of this matters unless the key is repeated or used in a specific instance to draw attention to this difference. In some instances it is actually a realistic plus. Since each each is sampled at multiple velocities, going into the MIDI and changing the velocity can sometiimes be enough to fix the problem. Also, using the sustain pedal can build up the hiss that can gather is too many keys are sustain while the Resonant Sustain option is turned on, and care must be taken to the precise placement of the sustained pedal On and Off commands. But these drawbacks are minor compared to the beautify and power of this new software.
I tested the sound produced using Ivory to recordings of live piano in my library, and it stands up to every one, from Windham Hill to Deutsch Grammophon. I heartily recommned Ivory for the studio musician who would otherwise not have access to an actual grand piano.
• Synthogy's powerful custom 32 bit sample playback and DSP engine.
• Sympathetic String Resonance
• DSP for realistic damper pedal response.
• World class Digital FX including ambience, chorusing and EQ. User controls for Timbre, Stereo Width and Perspective, Velocity Response, Mechanical Key Noise, Tuning and many others.
• Synth pad layering for creating modern sounds.
• Control over resource usage for optimum CPU performance.
• Support for VST, RTAS, and Audio Units.
• The sessions were produced by Joe Ierardi, an accomplished pianist and award winning sound designer and producer of piano modules for Kurzweil Music Systems®. Ierardi’s unique expertise covers every aspect of piano design, from tuning and regulation, to recording, editing, programming and engine design.
• Retails for $349.
Great sounds inspire. If a pallate of sounds is truly amazing, it makes you want to play and create with it. This is exactly what happened when I began using Ivory.
I can say this with all honesty: If you are looking for the perfect acoustic grand piano module, look no further. Synthogy has created an amazing product with incredible flexibility and control: Ivory, distributed by Ilio. It works flawlessly as an AU or VST plugin inside GarageBand and other MIDI software. And it has an amazingly realistic sound.
UPDATE: For the next two days, ZZounds.com has Ivory for only 329.95 with free shipping.
Ivory is not a stand-alone module, but meant to work inside other software, including GarageBand, Digital Performer, Cubase, ProTools and others. It is also not easy on CPU. I have a dual processor 1 GHz G4 1 with 1.75 GB RAM, and Ivory uses nearly 20% of my CPU. Its 31 GB of data also took 90 minutes to load into my computer, so you may need an extra hard drive (at least Firewire 400, or, as the manual says, 7200 RPM; I was using a Firewire 800 Superdrive) to store the sounds. If you layer Ivory sounds (and use more than one module at once), slight audio "ticks" might become noticeable if the drive speed is too slow and sounds cut out (which can be mitigated by decreasing the amount of samples and buffer size used), so make sure your system can handle the module's needs.
Here is a snapshot of the Main Ivory Module page:
Note how you have control over the Release time (how fast the keys fade out upon release), Key Noise (the "thucking" sound of hammers hitting the strings), Timbre (EQ), Dynamic Range (how soft or loud each key hit is allowed to sound) and Stereo Width (how much left-right differences there are in the low-high keys in the stereo field). What is also cool is the idea of Sustain Resonance, a setting that controls a layer of sound added to the main sample which adds an ambient sound to help emmulate realistic sustain pedal and harmonics sounds. There are also additional samples you can use that emmulate the Release sound of the hammer leaving the strings, Soft Pedal samples, and several Synth Layer pads. The right side of the page controls the number of Voices your CPU needs to dedicate to Ivory, Buffer Size, and settings for Gain (boost sound if needed), and tunings: (Octave control, global note Transposing, Fine Pitch tuning and detuning, and whether the general tuning uses a concert 440 Hz or another chosen tuning base. You can switch the stero field with the Performer/Audience button and even force strict mathematical tuning with the Stretch (standard) and Equal button.
I have written and performed 3 pieces so far using Ivory, one each using the different grand pianos available. Every piano is superb. In headphones, the sound is absouetly perfect. The on the posted MP3s is slightly muffled and less dynamic than the original AIFFs, and the clarity of sound is not as perfect as in the premix version. The controls (above) have thrilling effects on the realism and quality of the sound. I contrasted the Sustain Resonance layer in the first half of my song, "Just Above The Ground," with the no-hold pedal middle section (which also lets you hear a delicate use of the Key Noise option). The jpg above shows the setting I used in "Just Above The Ground." If you would like to hear the other pieces I have composed and performed using Ivory, please go to my Morning Whispers Project page.
Ivory also has very good effects, controlling reverb, EQ and chorus:
There is a third control page I don't show that sets the Velocity Senstitivity of the keyboard you are using, which is handy alternative to going into your synth's SysEx datat and changing it manually.
All of these settings are saveable. Once saved, you will have access to the saved settings from muliplte applications. Synthogy has thought of everything.
Of course, there are some drawbacks, since no sample-based system will sound and behave exactly like a real acoustic instrument. There are a few key hits (each key is sampled separately at mutlpile velocities) that have a unique ring to them; a few release samples that have unique harmonics; and a few samples that have slight hiss in the upper ranges... None of this matters unless the key is repeated or used in a specific instance to draw attention to this difference. In some instances it is actually a realistic plus. Since each each is sampled at multiple velocities, going into the MIDI and changing the velocity can sometiimes be enough to fix the problem. Also, using the sustain pedal can build up the hiss that can gather is too many keys are sustain while the Resonant Sustain option is turned on, and care must be taken to the precise placement of the sustained pedal On and Off commands. But these drawbacks are minor compared to the beautify and power of this new software.
I tested the sound produced using Ivory to recordings of live piano in my library, and it stands up to every one, from Windham Hill to Deutsch Grammophon. I heartily recommned Ivory for the studio musician who would otherwise not have access to an actual grand piano.
• Synthogy's powerful custom 32 bit sample playback and DSP engine.
• Sympathetic String Resonance
• DSP for realistic damper pedal response.
• World class Digital FX including ambience, chorusing and EQ. User controls for Timbre, Stereo Width and Perspective, Velocity Response, Mechanical Key Noise, Tuning and many others.
• Synth pad layering for creating modern sounds.
• Control over resource usage for optimum CPU performance.
• Support for VST, RTAS, and Audio Units.
• The sessions were produced by Joe Ierardi, an accomplished pianist and award winning sound designer and producer of piano modules for Kurzweil Music Systems®. Ierardi’s unique expertise covers every aspect of piano design, from tuning and regulation, to recording, editing, programming and engine design.
• Retails for $349.
