This free VST plugin bases on free samples provided by the University of Iowa. The sound? Well, it’s often not quite right. Samples do double (or more) duty, files stay small, resources aren’t strained. It’s common to sample a few notes directly then digitally extrapolate the pitch to fill in the other, non-sampled notes. In the early days of digital sampling, file sizes were a much bigger limitation than they are now, but reasonable size still has plenty of advantages. Some of you new to VSTs and sampling might think, “aren’t all notes sampled individually?” That’s a big nope. There’s one piano, a Steinway grand, with nearly every note on the keyboard sampled individually. This is about as basic as a piano VST gets, though you do get ADSR (attack, decay, sustain and release) adjustment capability. Literally, from the University of Iowa, comes the Iowa Piano. If you need to brush up on your rendition of “Chopsticks,” now’s the time, since each of these plugins has something to offer with a price tag you to which you can’t say no. There’s not only a decent and free piano VST out there. There’s some great news for those of you lusting for luscious piano sounds on the cheap. What it really comes down to is the sound for studio or bedroom producers. True, much of these costs have to do with the mechanics of building or replicating piano keys, something many VST users forego in the name of convenience and affordability.

Oh, and you want that in a FREE VST? Is that even possible in a you-get-what-you-pay-for world? A flip through listings of digital performance pianos reveals prices topping $5,000 and if you want to fork out for a new Steinway concert grand, expect to part with about $150,000.

Encapsulating the magic in digital audio samples, combined with a compelling way to play back these samples with grace and subtlety is something of a holy grail for plugin developers and VST users alike. The tone, timbre and depth of a well-tempered acoustic piano has perhaps the widest expressive range of any instrument this side of a complete orchestra.

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