EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

Over the last several years many people have become accustomed to 
playing sampled pianos that have been extensively processed with 
noise reduction and filters.  Sampled digital pianos with all of this 
processing sound very even, consistent, and in general sound perfect 
from note to note, but they do NOT sound like a real piano.  They 
have more of the characteristics of a synth where every note sounds 
even from one end of the keyboard to the other.  Many piano 
recordings have been produced in years past with these processed 
digital pianos by musicians who have home studio setups with digital 
keyboards and without having a real piano at their disposal, or in 
studios where they did not have a real quality piano and were 
equipped with digital keyboards instead.

Practically all sampled pianos that are available, with the exception 
of the Bardstown Bosendorfer Imperial Grand, have been processed with 
low pass filters and noise reduction.  But on the other hand, the 
pure, natural, and pristine sound of the sample recordings of the 
Bardstown Bosendorfer did not necessitate any of these destructive 
processes.  With the Bardstown Bosendorfer you have the full natural 
and unprocessed raw sound of the instrument that was sample recorded 
because this is the sound that most people want, which perfectly 
emulates the sound of the real Bosendorfer Imperial Model 290 that 
was sample recorded.

The Bosendorfer Imperial Model 290, which was sample recorded in 
order to produce the Bardstown Bosendorfer Imperial Grand, was 
professionally adjusted and tuned by one of the best piano 
technicians in the US immediately before the sample recording process 
began.  The very best professional recording equipment and techniques 
were used in the sample recording process of this piano.  Unlike 
other sampled pianos that are available, all notes on the Bardstown 
Bosendorfer were chromatically sample recorded at all velocity levels 
of pedal up, pedal down, and release note off, which captures the 
ambient sound of the performance hall in which this Bosendorfer was 
sample recorded.  And also unlike other sampled pianos that are 
available, all notes on the Bardstown Bosendorfer were individually 
edited and tweaked by hand one note at a time and without the use of 
any streamlined batch processes in order to insure the very highest 
quality.  This process took a little over a year to complete.  

You do have the option of easily applying your own low pass filters 
if desired.  Low pass filter controls are easily accessible in all of 
the various software samplers, including, EXS24, Giga, Kontakt, and 
HALion.  Low pass filters do make any sampled instrument, including 
the Bardstown Bosendorfer, sound softer and provide more of a mellow 
warming sounding instrument.  An excessive amount of filters will 
make any sampled piano take on more of the characteristics of digital 
pianos that have been produced over the last several years.  If you 
are accustomed to this sound and prefer a processed digital piano 
sound, you can very easily apply these filters on the Bardstown 
Bosendorfer Imperial Grand in any of the samplers mentioned above in 
order to achieve this character and sound.

For soft classical, soft new age, and soft ballads, a moderate amount 
of low pass filtering may be desirable in some situations, but there 
again this is a subjective opinion that will vary from person to 
person.  Recording engineers who record musicians who are playing 
soft classical, soft new age, and soft ballads on REAL pianos will 
sometimes apply low pass filtering to the piano tracks in order to 
produce a sound they are wanting.  The Bardstown Bosendorfer Imperial 
Grand provides the full, pure, pristine, and natural sounds of the 
real Bosendorfer Imperial Model 290, and by having these full, 
pristine, and natural sounds of the real instrument, the user can 
very easily apply low pass filtering and EQ to suit their individual 
taste.  

Most people, and myself included, prefer the pure natural pristine 
sound of the Bardstown Bosendorfer Imperial Grand without any 
filtering or EQ processing.  With sampled pianos that have been 
processed, you cannot take away these filtered or equalized sounds in 
order to have a pristine and unprocessed sound, but you can very 
easily ad these processing effects if so desired.  

Usually within a half an hour of playing around with this sampled 
Bosendorfer Imperial Grand piano, most people are able to determine 
what works and sounds best for them (whether to filter or not to 
filter), depending on their various styles of music and playing 
styles.  

Kindest regards,

Kip McGinnis
Bardstown Audio
www.bardstownaudio.com























--- In exs-users@yahoogroups.com, Mike Auty <mailinglist@c...> wrote:
> You are not alone.  I bought it as well and am very disappointed.  
> There are distorted notes in the lower registers as well as clicks 
in 
> the samples in the right channel around notes F#3, G3 and G#3.  I 
am 
> trying to edit these myself to make it workable anyhow.  Seems 
people 
> running it on giga and kontakt can't hear these problems.
> 
> 
> -mike
> 
> On Tuesday, July 22, 2003, at 09:39  AM, exs-users@yahoogroups.com 
> wrote:
> 
> > I had this idea from all I had read that the Bardstown 
Bosendorfer 
> > would be=
> >  nearly
> > perfect - maybe my expectations were too high, but it was a 
> > disappointment =
> > for me.
> > To me, there is an inconsitency in some notes/velocities that 
really 
> > surpri=
> > sed me - I
> > also realize how hard it must be to get all those velocities 
perfect. 
> > I hav=
> > en't been able
> > to use it on several of my pieces because of a choked sounding 
note(s) 
> > in t=
> > he lower
> > register. I was using it with the 30 day trial of EXS24 - my 
trial has 
> > expi=
> > red and I
> > haven't bought EXS24 because my main reason was to use it with 
> > Bardstown. I=
> >  need
> > to complain to Bardstown, but w/o EXS24 to play it I've forgotten 
> > which not=
> > es were
> > not working for me...
> >
> > The Bardstown Bosendorfer can sound nice on the right tune - it 
just 
> > wasn't=
> >  what I
> > was expecting. Of course it sounds nothing like a Steinway or the 
> > piano use=
> > d on Holy
> > Grail Piano - something along these lines might have suited me 
better.
> >
> > Just my 2¢ - your mileage may vary!
> > Andy