Best Piano Plugin Fl Studio

Ridiculously compact, the Fruity Limiter is still one of the most-used limiter plugins among FL Studio users. The Limiter has become the go-to plugin for most beginners doing side-chaining. While it may experience some troubles dealing with sound with lots of artifacts, the Fruity Limiter is reliable for most kinds of audio signal.

1. Best Piano Vst
2. Fl Studio Piano Plugins Free
3. Best Free Piano Vst

Which are the Best Piano VST Plugins or Sample Libraries for you? Let me share my top recommendations. =)

Hello, Mike here, and I am a composer.
Just. Like. You.

The piano is my absolute favorite instrument as a composer.

Why? Because it is so versatile. It has the full range of all octaves, as well as all dynamic levels from the softest of soft, too the loudest of loud (PPP to FFF).

View the list and start downloading the free ones: The 27 Best & Free Piano VST Plugins in 2019. The best FL Studio resource on the internet! Layering, It is the key to make your sounds the way you want it. Harmor is one of the best among all plugins in FL. There are some amazing presets and the plugin itself lets you create one.

You also have a huge range of sound, tone and character for the piano. Depending on which piano model you use, which microphones are use, where those microphones are placed and so on.

11 Best Piano VST Plugins (Top List)

How to Choose your Piano VST Plugin?

There are several factors to consider when choosing a piano plugin or library for your composer toolkit. However, there is no such thing as one piano to rule them all.

Every piano is like a different singer. And all vocalists have different styles they are best suited for. That's why I use different pianos for different productions, depending on what end result I am looking for.

Here is a list of the things I mainly consider:

• The Piano Model (Grand vs Upright. The brand and model name.)
• The Overall Tone (Warm vs Bright. Attacky vs Silky.)
• The Dynamics (Range, Balance, Dynamic Levels, Round Robins)
• The Microphones (How many, and how I can mix them.)
• The Shaping Tools (Can I adjust soft/hard, pedal noise etc.)
• The Sound Quality (Recording quality, balance etc.)

And here is my complete list of my favorite piano plugins and libraries:

1. Keyscape

Spectrasonics did an amazing job with this plugin. Not only do you get a great acoustic piano sound.

You get an entire library of all kinds of keyboard instruments, including lots of electric keyboards, and even rare keyboard based instruments.

The sound quality is amazing, and the customization options are extensive. The main downside though is the CPU and RAM usage is quite high compared to most other piano plugins and libraries I have used.

How I use Keyscape as a Composer

Keyscape is my go-to piano/keys software instrument for creative sound design keyboard sounds, smooth sub-bass like low-end pianos, hybrid piano sounds, and rare keyboards.

Keyscape – My Top List

• The Sound Quality
  10 years of detailed recordings and production of this plugin truly made it become one of the most celebrated piano and keyboard software instruments in the world.
• The Range of Sounds
  You get 36 instrument models with thousands of presets included.
• The User Control
  You can shape the tone & character, layer sounds, add effects etc.

2. Addictive Keys

This is not a Kontakt sample library, but in fact a dedicated piano VST Plugin. And I have to say this interface is one of the most beautiful and inspiring to work with. Not only for piano plugins, but for any plugin I have used.

You get a nice FX page in this plugin too, where you can customize delay, reverb, microphone mix, filters, saturation etc.

The main advantage is that you can get a complete piano sound with this plugin, effects and all included.

Addictive Keys also comes in different modules you can pick and choose from: a grand piano, an upright piano, an electric grand piano, and an electric piano.

How I use Addictive Keys as a Composer

I mainly use Addictive Keys when I need a crisp, studio sounding produced piano. I also like using it for arpeggios and delayed piano sounds.

Addictive Keys – My Top List

• The User Interface
  Stunning design, easy to use, and very inspiring.
• The Performance
  In my own tests it does perform remarkably well with low CPU usage compared to most other piano plugins I tried.
• The Quick Controls
  You can shape the tone & character, layer sounds, add effects etc.

3. Ravenscroft 275

When I want a well balanced true piano sound, I very often go to this instrument.

It has a very classic sound, but is also very flexible at the same time. You can play anything from jazz, to cinematic action piano parts.

It has that true hammer-resonant low-end that sounds like a piano. In contrast to many other piano plugins that are very boomy, and have too much rumble in the low-end range.

This piano is one of the easiest to mix in a composition, because of the great balanced tone over the full range.

How I use Ravenscroft 275 as a Composer

Whenever I look for a super well balanced piano sound that will easily blend into the mix, I consider this piano.

I find that it works great for background pianos and cinematic music, where you don't want a boomy low-end or piercing high-end. I also love it for that true and mean piano-hammer sound in the low octaves.

Ravenscroft 275 – My Top List

• The Tonal Balance
  Stunning design, easy to use, and very inspiring.
• The Ease of Mixing
  This piano always seem to blend in so well in the mix.
• The Classic Sound
  The sound of this piano works in so many styles of music because it doesn't stick out too much.

4. Walker 1955 Concert D

Based on a 9′ Steinway Concert D Grand, and with a huge number of velocity levels, this piano library has an amazing range of dynamics. Especially for staccatos, which have got extra attention from the developers.

They recorded dedicated staccato samples in 36 velocity levels and 2x round robins for each key. Which makes this my go-to piano for short note phrases, rhythmic playing etc. Try layering it with staccato or spiccato strings, and you will get amazing results.

Another great aspect of this piano is the adaptive release functionality. This means that the note length will change the actual release sounds, which adds more variation and life to the performance.

How I use Walker 1955 Concert D as a Composer

I love this piano for its amazing sound on short notes, staccato parts and arpeggios. Especially if you leave some space after the notes to let those beautifully recorded resonances and harmonics ring out.

Walker 1955 Concert D – My Top List

• The Controls
  There's so many ways to control this piano: a tone color page, una corda, velocity response, volume scaling, pedal noise, release volume etc.
• The Staccatos
  The focus on staccato samples makes this piano perfect for rhythmic and short note playing styles.
• The Dynamic Range
  The dynamic range, round robins, and variation from adaptive release etc.

5. Cinematic Studio Piano

This piano is not the most feature rich. However, the interface is amazingly simple, and the sound and tone is exactly what the name implies: cinematic.

It is based on a Yamaha C7 grand piano, and recorded in the same scoring stage as the rest of the cinematic studio series of instruments. This makes it one of my go-to pianos for that instant Hollywood cinematic sound.

You get 4 microphones that you can mix and blend to suit your current composition, and since it is recorded in a scoring stage you get that cinematic sound instantly without having to EQ, filter or add external reverb (unless you want to).

There's a switch to turn on/off key noise, as well as pedal noise. And an extra reverb slider. And that's it, no fuzz. Just a great pure and simple cinematic piano.

How I use Cinematic Studio Piano as a Composer

Whenever I need that instant hollywood sound for a piano part, Cinematic Studio Piano is a perfect choice. Lush, warm, beautiful room sound, and delicate tone.

Cinematic Studio Piano – My Top List

• The Instant Cinematic Sound
  The name says it all. A beautiful, cinematic sound recorded in a premium scoring stage.
• The Pure Interface
  No clutter, just pure focus on the most important aspects. And super easy to use.
• The Tonal Balance
  It has a great balance over the full range, and is very easy to mix, especially for cinematic music.

6. Una Corda

This piano library is very different from a standard grand piano. It was recorded from a custom built upright piano that produce a very soft, resonant tone.

It is incredibly useful for those dreamlike piano sounds, and I find it to work great for ambient parts, underscores, cinematic soft background music etc.

The tone is beautiful, and you can choose from 3 different modes. Felt, cotton and pure…all having a distinctively different character.

This piano has lots of character in the resonance and release, harmonics, pedal and key noises etc. I personally often dial down the noise aspects, but in some cases you want to have it present for that close, genuine and intimate sound.

How I use Una Corda as a Composer

I find this the perfect piano for magical overtones, otherworldly harmonics, and sustains full of soul and life. It does not get used in every track due to its specific sound, but when I need it I am grateful to have it in my composer toolbox.

Una Corda – My Top List

• The Pure & Silky Tone
  It truly has that magical character similar to what you get from guitar string harmonics.
• 3 Sound Banks
  You can choose from 3 different sound banks with a completely different tone and vibe: Pure, Felt and Cotton.
• The Shaping Controls
  You can shape the transients, the stereo image, add tape compression, vintage reverb etc.

7. Emotional Piano

Based on a walnut-bodied Kawai grand piano for it's soft, luminous warmth and rich, resonant tone. If you want a really soft and emotional piano sound…this piano might be the perfect choice.

It comes with over 40 presets to help you find the perfect piano tone for your needs. And in the user interface you can shape the character further with controls for: tone, body, tightness etc.

There is also an arpeggiator, as well as an entire FX rack. However, I personally most often use Emotional Piano straight out of the box using the main preset to get that lush, radiant piano tone that is perfect for soft, emotional piano performances.

How I use Emotional Piano as a Composer

Whenever I need a very soft, warm and emotional piano sound, this piano is a perfect match. Great for soft chord progressions, or inspiring warm arpeggios.

Emotional Piano – My Top List

• The Soft & Lush Tone
  For soft and emotional piano parts, this instrument is one of my favorites.
• The Ease of Use
  Since it is a very focused piano library, you can use it straight out of the box and get instant results.
• The Shaping Controls
  You can shape the transients, the stereo image, add tape compression, vintage reverb etc.

8. The Gentleman

Sometimes you simply need a nice upright piano, if you want that roomy and intimate vibe. The gentleman is based on an upright piano made in 1908, which gives it a really lush vintage sound.

It has a very delicate and close sound, and works great for piano parts in the background of a mix. However a nice, close upright piano also works great for pop music.

The tone controls include levels for pedals, damper, string, and hammer sounds. And you can even control if the lid is open or closed.

How I use The Gentleman as a Composer

If I need a laid-back, roomy piano sound with a close, soft, and intimate vibe, the gentleman is one of my primary choices.

The Gentleman – My Top List

• The Intimate Tone
  It has that roomy, jazzy vibe perfect for laidback piano parts.
• The Control Sliders
  Controlling the levels for various sound characteristics.
• The Vintage Vibe
  It has that vintage character in the very body of the sound.

9. The Giant

This is a very unique piano, which the developer calls 'Larger than Life Piano'. Why do they claim this?

Well, it is based on the Klavins Piano Model 370i, the world's biggest upright piano, which is built directly into the wall of the room it is installed in.

It is over 3 meters high, and weighs over 2000Kg. The size of the soundboard is about twice as large as a typical 9′ concert piano. Reading that made me understand their claim.

The end result is a super heavy low-end, rich overtones, and very cinematic sustains. This piano adds a lot of punch, so you really need to be careful with it in the mix to not overwhelm other instruments.

You get over 40 presets, and you have lots of tone shaping controls. But you also have a cinematic mode where you can really get creative and make piano sounds from out of this world.

How I use The Giant as a Composer

Every time I need a bold, punchy low-end in my piano sound, The Giant is a great choice. I rarely use this piano without the XXL button turned on. I also go to this piano for the twisted cinematic sound design abilities.

The Giant – My Top List

• The Bold Low-End
  The super heavy and bold low-end is my main reason for choosing this piano.
• The Cinematic Mode
  Design and shape a piano sound beyond this world.
• The Tone & Anatomy Controls
  Quickly shape the dynamic range, resonances and overall tone.

10. The Grandeur

A concert grand piano with that classic feel, a nice dynamic range with 18 velocity zones and separate overtone and resonance samples. Even the key release sounds have been sampled with 9 velocity layers.

The piano has a crisp and silky high-end and well balanced low-end. It also has that instant concert hall piano vibe, perfect for classical style piano parts.

You can control the tone from soft to bright, as well as individual levels for pedals, damper, string, and hammer sounds.

How I use The Grandeur as a Composer

When I want that classical vibe with a silky high-end and balanced low-end that would fit a concert hall piano sound, The Grandeur is a great choice for me.

The Grandeur – My Top List

• The Silky High-End
  Which works great for cinematic music where you might need a present piano sound at lower volume.
• The Classical Vibe
  If you need that classic concert piano sound, this piano will deliver.
• The Fine-Tuning
  Lots of sliders to control levels of various sound aspects.

11. Alicia's Keys

Recored from Alicia's own Yamaha­ C3 Neo grand piano. This piano is not as flexible when it comes to sound shaping as many others I've tried. But I still go to it often because of that soft, intimate sound you get straight out of the box.

I find that it works great for background pianos and cinematic music, where you don't want a boomy low-end or piercing high-end. I also love it for that true and mean piano-hammer sound in the low octaves.

Ravenscroft 275 – My Top List

• The Tonal Balance
  Stunning design, easy to use, and very inspiring.
• The Ease of Mixing
  This piano always seem to blend in so well in the mix.
• The Classic Sound
  The sound of this piano works in so many styles of music because it doesn't stick out too much.

4. Walker 1955 Concert D

Based on a 9′ Steinway Concert D Grand, and with a huge number of velocity levels, this piano library has an amazing range of dynamics. Especially for staccatos, which have got extra attention from the developers.

They recorded dedicated staccato samples in 36 velocity levels and 2x round robins for each key. Which makes this my go-to piano for short note phrases, rhythmic playing etc. Try layering it with staccato or spiccato strings, and you will get amazing results.

Another great aspect of this piano is the adaptive release functionality. This means that the note length will change the actual release sounds, which adds more variation and life to the performance.

How I use Walker 1955 Concert D as a Composer

I love this piano for its amazing sound on short notes, staccato parts and arpeggios. Especially if you leave some space after the notes to let those beautifully recorded resonances and harmonics ring out.

Walker 1955 Concert D – My Top List

• The Controls
  There's so many ways to control this piano: a tone color page, una corda, velocity response, volume scaling, pedal noise, release volume etc.
• The Staccatos
  The focus on staccato samples makes this piano perfect for rhythmic and short note playing styles.
• The Dynamic Range
  The dynamic range, round robins, and variation from adaptive release etc.

5. Cinematic Studio Piano

This piano is not the most feature rich. However, the interface is amazingly simple, and the sound and tone is exactly what the name implies: cinematic.

It is based on a Yamaha C7 grand piano, and recorded in the same scoring stage as the rest of the cinematic studio series of instruments. This makes it one of my go-to pianos for that instant Hollywood cinematic sound.

You get 4 microphones that you can mix and blend to suit your current composition, and since it is recorded in a scoring stage you get that cinematic sound instantly without having to EQ, filter or add external reverb (unless you want to).

There's a switch to turn on/off key noise, as well as pedal noise. And an extra reverb slider. And that's it, no fuzz. Just a great pure and simple cinematic piano.

How I use Cinematic Studio Piano as a Composer

Whenever I need that instant hollywood sound for a piano part, Cinematic Studio Piano is a perfect choice. Lush, warm, beautiful room sound, and delicate tone.

Cinematic Studio Piano – My Top List

• The Instant Cinematic Sound
  The name says it all. A beautiful, cinematic sound recorded in a premium scoring stage.
• The Pure Interface
  No clutter, just pure focus on the most important aspects. And super easy to use.
• The Tonal Balance
  It has a great balance over the full range, and is very easy to mix, especially for cinematic music.

6. Una Corda

This piano library is very different from a standard grand piano. It was recorded from a custom built upright piano that produce a very soft, resonant tone.

It is incredibly useful for those dreamlike piano sounds, and I find it to work great for ambient parts, underscores, cinematic soft background music etc.

The tone is beautiful, and you can choose from 3 different modes. Felt, cotton and pure…all having a distinctively different character.

This piano has lots of character in the resonance and release, harmonics, pedal and key noises etc. I personally often dial down the noise aspects, but in some cases you want to have it present for that close, genuine and intimate sound.

How I use Una Corda as a Composer

I find this the perfect piano for magical overtones, otherworldly harmonics, and sustains full of soul and life. It does not get used in every track due to its specific sound, but when I need it I am grateful to have it in my composer toolbox.

Una Corda – My Top List

• The Pure & Silky Tone
  It truly has that magical character similar to what you get from guitar string harmonics.
• 3 Sound Banks
  You can choose from 3 different sound banks with a completely different tone and vibe: Pure, Felt and Cotton.
• The Shaping Controls
  You can shape the transients, the stereo image, add tape compression, vintage reverb etc.

7. Emotional Piano

Based on a walnut-bodied Kawai grand piano for it's soft, luminous warmth and rich, resonant tone. If you want a really soft and emotional piano sound…this piano might be the perfect choice.

It comes with over 40 presets to help you find the perfect piano tone for your needs. And in the user interface you can shape the character further with controls for: tone, body, tightness etc.

There is also an arpeggiator, as well as an entire FX rack. However, I personally most often use Emotional Piano straight out of the box using the main preset to get that lush, radiant piano tone that is perfect for soft, emotional piano performances.

How I use Emotional Piano as a Composer

Whenever I need a very soft, warm and emotional piano sound, this piano is a perfect match. Great for soft chord progressions, or inspiring warm arpeggios.

Emotional Piano – My Top List

• The Soft & Lush Tone
  For soft and emotional piano parts, this instrument is one of my favorites.
• The Ease of Use
  Since it is a very focused piano library, you can use it straight out of the box and get instant results.
• The Shaping Controls
  You can shape the transients, the stereo image, add tape compression, vintage reverb etc.

8. The Gentleman

Sometimes you simply need a nice upright piano, if you want that roomy and intimate vibe. The gentleman is based on an upright piano made in 1908, which gives it a really lush vintage sound.

It has a very delicate and close sound, and works great for piano parts in the background of a mix. However a nice, close upright piano also works great for pop music.

The tone controls include levels for pedals, damper, string, and hammer sounds. And you can even control if the lid is open or closed.

How I use The Gentleman as a Composer

If I need a laid-back, roomy piano sound with a close, soft, and intimate vibe, the gentleman is one of my primary choices.

The Gentleman – My Top List

• The Intimate Tone
  It has that roomy, jazzy vibe perfect for laidback piano parts.
• The Control Sliders
  Controlling the levels for various sound characteristics.
• The Vintage Vibe
  It has that vintage character in the very body of the sound.

9. The Giant

This is a very unique piano, which the developer calls 'Larger than Life Piano'. Why do they claim this?

Well, it is based on the Klavins Piano Model 370i, the world's biggest upright piano, which is built directly into the wall of the room it is installed in.

It is over 3 meters high, and weighs over 2000Kg. The size of the soundboard is about twice as large as a typical 9′ concert piano. Reading that made me understand their claim.

The end result is a super heavy low-end, rich overtones, and very cinematic sustains. This piano adds a lot of punch, so you really need to be careful with it in the mix to not overwhelm other instruments.

You get over 40 presets, and you have lots of tone shaping controls. But you also have a cinematic mode where you can really get creative and make piano sounds from out of this world.

How I use The Giant as a Composer

Every time I need a bold, punchy low-end in my piano sound, The Giant is a great choice. I rarely use this piano without the XXL button turned on. I also go to this piano for the twisted cinematic sound design abilities.

The Giant – My Top List

• The Bold Low-End
  The super heavy and bold low-end is my main reason for choosing this piano.
• The Cinematic Mode
  Design and shape a piano sound beyond this world.
• The Tone & Anatomy Controls
  Quickly shape the dynamic range, resonances and overall tone.

10. The Grandeur

A concert grand piano with that classic feel, a nice dynamic range with 18 velocity zones and separate overtone and resonance samples. Even the key release sounds have been sampled with 9 velocity layers.

The piano has a crisp and silky high-end and well balanced low-end. It also has that instant concert hall piano vibe, perfect for classical style piano parts.

You can control the tone from soft to bright, as well as individual levels for pedals, damper, string, and hammer sounds.

How I use The Grandeur as a Composer

When I want that classical vibe with a silky high-end and balanced low-end that would fit a concert hall piano sound, The Grandeur is a great choice for me.

The Grandeur – My Top List

• The Silky High-End
  Which works great for cinematic music where you might need a present piano sound at lower volume.
• The Classical Vibe
  If you need that classic concert piano sound, this piano will deliver.
• The Fine-Tuning
  Lots of sliders to control levels of various sound aspects.

11. Alicia's Keys

Recored from Alicia's own Yamaha­ C3 Neo grand piano. This piano is not as flexible when it comes to sound shaping as many others I've tried. But I still go to it often because of that soft, intimate sound you get straight out of the box.

It does not do huge, it does not do bright and attack. Instead it simply does those gentle and magical sounding piano parts amazingly well.

It is very warm and lush sound that lends itself well to RnB, Jazz and laidback piano performances, and I personally use it a lot for background cinematic piano parts.

How I use Alicia's Keys as a Composer

I mainly use Alicia's Keys for soft, intimate chords to get that warm, lush and magical vibe. It's basically always a background piano for me, but a very nice one indeed.

Alicia's Keys – My Top List

• The Warm Tone
  The warm, soft and lush sound is this piano's main highlight.
• The Intimacy
  Even the fingers hitting the keys have been sampled separately.
• The Produced Sound
  This piano has a very produced sound, which is sometimes a great shortcut.

Now Take Action!

I personally don't want to be limited by only having one single piano library or plugin. But you have to start somewhere, and build up your library of pianos in your composer toolbox.

Good luck finding piano VST plugins and sample libraries that suit your music compositions! =)

PS. Free Downloads for You

Virtual instruments are now more popular than ever, so we are checking out the best piano VST plugins available in 2021.

Many piano VST's are thought to sound more realistic than the piano engines found in keyboard workstations, etc. When you consider the processing power of high-quality PC's and Mac's, it's no surprise that some plugins can push the boundaries further than a physical instrument. In this article, we will list and review our top piano plugins.

Here are the best piano VST plugins 2021:

1. Spectrasonics Keyscape

The ultimate piano VST plugin

Spectrasonics are giants of the virtual instrument world; their Omnisphere synth changed the way people think about VST's. Now, they Keyscape Collector Keyboards VST is the benchmark for virtual pianos.

Keyscape is a collection of 36 stunning keyboard instruments, ranging from a beautiful grand piano to a more obscure harmochord. In between the conventional and the obscure, there are gorgeous Rhodes, Wurlitzer's, Clavinet's, and much more. Even more impressive than the instrument lineup is the meticulous attention to detail in finding, restoring, and recording these rare instruments.

Each instrument has lots of variations, for example, the flagship Yamaha C7 Grand Piano has rock, classical, cinematic, amongst others. Each variation suits different styles of playing or musical genres.

The user interface is well laid out and easy to use. There are two windows on the left; the upper window is where you choose your instrument, and the lower window is where you select your style variation. Once you have selected a keyboard, the main window will show a nice image of it, underneath which you will find a range of relative controls, like reverb, performance noise, EQ, etc.

To get the most out of your performance, Keyscape has a broad range of velocity curve settings that are optimized for the most popular controller keyboards.

In our book, Keyscape Collector Keyboards is the best piano VST plugin; it's that simple. The fact that it was around 10 years in the making show the monumental amount of work that went into putting it together.

As a virtual grand piano, Keyscape's LA Custom C7 is king. The beautiful C7 is incredibly articulate and crisp, with a low-end that almost makes you feel the weight under the keys. No other virtual piano has so much depth of character; no other VST is so responsive to your playing.

At this level, sounding nice isn't enough; it's about small details, and Spectrasonics do that better than anyone. All 36 keyboard instruments are of the same impeccable quality; that's why Keyscape is our highest-rated piano VST plugin. Try it with a top-quality keyboard controller, and it will blow you away.

2. Garritan CFX Concert Grand

The sound of Abbey Road Studios

When you think about Yamaha grand pianos, the 9-foot CFX concert grand is as good as it gets. Now, place that CFX concert grand in Abbey Road Studio One, and you have a match made in heaven. That is precisely what Garritan did.

The Yamaha CFX concert grand piano is world-renowned for its broad palette of tonal color. The acoustics of Abbey Road Studio One was the perfect place to capture all of that detail. It was done by using the very best microphones in the world in various positions to create lots of presets.

The presets are split into three categories, which are Classic, Contemporary, and Player, each with its unique microphone position. Within each category, there are numerous sub-presets to suit all styles. If we take a closer look, the Classic category is full of presets that range from Bach inspired classical settings to a Bill Evens themed jazz tone. So, it crosses different genres but remains in the classic era of each.

Contemporary provides amore modern mix of presets. It covers everything from dark and edgy soundtracksto Randy Newman style movie magic warmth. Both Classic and Contemporary are allabout the output and how the audience hears the CFX.

The Player category, onthe other hand, is all about the CFX itself. It's full of presets that captureevery single noise and nuance of the CFX from right there on the bench. Thereare also a few alternate tuning presets that offer something a littledifferent.

Garritan put together an attractive user interface with just the right amount of content. It has enough tweaking options, whether it's mic positions or mechanical noise, but not so much that it becomes tedious. It's very playable right from the start.

Deciding where to place this one on our list was quite tricky. It was always going to be near the top, but splitting this VST and Ivory II by Synthogy was difficult. In the end, we placed Garritan slightly ahead; the sound quality was close, but the lovely user interface won us over.

The Yamaha CFX concert grand is a genuine performers piano; it's not tied to one genre. Garritan has delightfully captured all of that versatility through the extensive microphone positions. This piano is beautiful from top to bottom, but it's the midrange that excels most. Play a simple major 7th root voicing anywhere in the mids, and you'll be hooked.

3. Synthogy Ivory II Studio Grands

The most realistic grand piano emulator

Synthogy has been a leader in virtual piano software for many years, and some people still consider them to be the best. Their Ivory series has never failed to impress with its outstanding realism. This time, we are looking at the Ivory II Studio Grands plugin.

The plugin features two iconic grand pianos that were recorded in iconic studios. The first of the pianos is the Steinway Model B grand piano, one of the most recorded grand pianos in history. It was recorded at the legendary Power Station in New England with absolute precision.

The second instrument is the Bösendorfer 225 grand piano, which was recorded at the famed Firehouse Recording Studios in California. This specific VST has been used on multiple Grammy Award winning songs.

The thing that stands out most when you get the specs of Ivory II is that it boasts a 112 GB library. To think of the time involved in sampling those pianos to that extent is nothing short of spectacular. Each piano has up to 24 velocity layers and more release and soft pedal samples.

Ivory II was also the launch of an entirely new sound engine from Synthogy, the Ivory 2.5 Piano Engine. Apart from the improved sound, it comes with some new features like Shimmer, which gives more precise control over reverb and decay.

Synthogy are experts in this field; they have been doing it for a very long time and keep getting better. Ivory II takes two iconic pianos, and they have replicated them digitally with incredible accuracy. When you think about the sheer size of the library and the 24 velocity layers, you can imagine nothing is lost, every nuance of these instruments is at your fingertips.

The Steinway Model B is a stunning classical grand piano, it's beautifully percussive, too. The Bösenndorfer 225 is the more versatile of the two, great for classical, but exceptional for jazz. Especially that bottom range that Oscar Peterson made famous with his ostinato bass lines.

The interface lets it down slightly, while it offers a lot of tweaking possibilities, it looks very dated and isn't as intuitive as it should be. When it comes to sound alone, Ivory II might be the most realistic piano VST available.

4. Native Instruments The Gentleman

The best upright piano VST plugin

The Gentleman is one ofthe best-rated upright piano VST's available. It comes from Native Instruments,and it was released at a time when they got into their groove with onefantastic VST after another.

The most significant selling point of The Gentleman (over other upright pianos) is that it was sampled from a vintage 1908 piano. That might not sound overly interesting, but this 1908 is fully intact with all original parts. So, you'd have a hard time finding an upright piano with more character and charm.

The charm of that upright piano was captured in 2300 individual samples and 16 velocity zones. To give an idea of how extensive the sampling process was, even the key release noises were sampled in nine velocity layers.

The Gentleman shines when it comes to it's tweaking options. The main screen of the interface is nice and clean, with a few reverb, tone, and dynamic options. It's once you enter the full editing screen that you can control every tiny performance aspect. Everything from key release, hammer noise, to the velocity curve can be adjusted with fantastic precision.

The Gentleman is one that might get a mixed response from players who want a more modern upright sound. However, we love the character that this instrument brings with it. The piano has been sampled with incredible detail, as we have come to expect with Native Instruments.

The overall sound is warmer than it is bright, but the low-end has that growl that you get from an old upright when it's pushed hard. If you tweak the sound with the lovely 3-band EQ and abundance of adjustable parameters, you can head towards a brighter, livelier sound.

The downside is that a couple of notes have a slight click when played in a specific velocity range. It's something you might not notice, but it's a shame, considering the depth of the recording process. Despite that, The Gentleman is still the best upright piano VST, in our opinion.

5. Native Instruments Noire

One for the sountrack composers

Noire is the latest grand piano VST from Native Instruments. It was developed in collaboration with the German composer Nils Frahm, famous for his contemporary approach to recording piano. Frahm's handpicked 9-foot grand piano was sampled in Berlins Funkhaus recording complex.

There are two sound settings to choose from, which are pure and felt. Pure is the clean, untouched, grand piano tone. The felt setting, comes from the same grand piano, but it was sampled with a felt moderator between the hammers and the strings. The result is a much more gentle tone with a reduced attack.

Both of the main sound settings can be further tweaked by adjusting the various parameter knobs found at the bottom of the main screen. These include color, dynamic, reverb, tonal shift, and delay. The entire user interface is elegant and represents the instrument very well.

The thing that makes Noire different is the Particles engine, which is very much from the mind of Nils Frahm. What the Particles engine does is generate pulsating harmonic elements based on your playing. These elements can be mechanical sounds, percussive sounds, or pitch-based, and it adds momentum to your playing. It brings together the worlds of classical piano, industrial soundtracks, and modern EDM.

Noire might be a new piano plugin, but it's already proving to be a hit with composers and producers. It's another one that is going to work better for producers rather than performers. The reason we say that is because the Noire's pure piano tone isn't as good as Keyscape, Ivory II, etc. However, it is terrific, and the added elements of the felt version and Particles engine give it something different.

The pure piano tone is fantastic for jazz and reflective classical music, not so much percussive playing. It's when the Particles engine is used that the percussive qualities come out. To sum it up, as a performer piano, it's very good, for composition and soundtracks, it's absolute magic.

6. Native Instruments Alicia's Keys

The singer songwriter's virtual piano

Alicia's Keys was one of the first majorly popular piano plugins from Native Instruments. Many people were dubious about the success, wondering if it was down to quality or having a famous name attached to it. Forget that it's named after Alicia Keys and focus on the fact that it's modeled on her unique Yamaha C3 Neo grand piano.

Apart from the ridiculously rare grand piano, the other thing Alicia's Keys has going for it is the fantastic team who worked on it. Led by Thomas Skarbye (Scarbee), the development/recording team is full of Grammy winners and industry leaders. Even Alicia Keys herself was in the studio to record samples, so it's not one of those products a celebrity puts their name on after the fact.

When it was complete, it had a massive 17 GB of samples with 12 velocity layers per key. In terms of unique samples, it works out at over 3000 samples across the 12 velocity layers – that's insane!

The detailed sampling process paid off with possibly the cleanest quality virtual piano available at the time. The attention to detail didn't stop at the playing, Alicia's Keys still has one of the most natural sustain and release phases of any VST. Even the smallest performance details were captured meticulously, like fingers touching the keys, mechanical noises of key and pedals, string harmonics. The amount of that noise you want in your performance is entirely up to you, and easily tweaked from the interface.

The user interface is straightforward, clearly defined tabs have simple controls for everything from reverb type/amount, to mechanical noise, and mic position. You can even edit the stereo image of the output and hear the piano from the artist's or audience's point of view.

When Alicia's Keys was released, there was a time when it was the best-selling grand piano VST around. Those days have gone, but it's still one of the best VSTs, especially for pop or R&B music.

The overall sound is remarkable, although it's quite a warm sound, and maybe not as articulate in the high-range as it could be. The lows are thick but well defined, not muddy, and the mids are perfect for those lush minor 7/9 chords that Alicia Keys loves so much. If you are looking for a classical piano, this probably isn't the one, if you are a pop performer, it could be right up your street.

7. Native Instruments The Giant

The most unique piano plugin

The Giant is somethingutterly different from Native Instruments. They sampled it from the KlavinsPiano Model 370i, and if you didn't already know, it's the biggest uprightpiano in the world.

The extreme height ofthe piano provides intense dynamics that you won't hear anywhere else. NativeInstruments wanted to capture those dynamics as naturally as possible, so theysampled it completely untreated.

The Giant comes with two distinct personalities, day and night. Each personality is reflected in the user interface showing a city skyline (day or night) seen from the top of a building.

The day interface hasthree primary control sections, tone, space, and anatomy. The tone section hasa simple soft/hard dial to adjust color and an XXL button that boosts alldynamics when activated. Space deals with reverb, and anatomy controls thedynamic range and mechanical noise. Both the tone and anatomy sections expand,giving you far deeper control of their parameters.

Best Piano Vst

Now for the sinister alter ego, the night interface. The night interface has two distinct control sections, sources, and convolution. Sources deal with more extreme piano sounds, any resonant noise that this monster upright produces when pushed to its limits can be adjusted here. By that logic, the night interface is far darker and over the top than the day model. The convolution section provides a detailed EQ, limiter, and filter. The EQ has a swept middle, meaning it has two mid bands, so it's very accurate.

The Giant is big, bold, and beautiful.

The Giant is one of our favorite VST's period. It's not in the same league as some of the others when it comes to library size or velocity layers, but it's so different that we don't care. Despite being quite an extreme instrument, The Giant is an excellent pop piano when in its day personality. It has a very bright sound, but because the dynamics are so severe, it also has a deep and full low end.

Fl Studio Piano Plugins Free

When you switch to the night personality, it doesn't just get darker, everything becomes more extreme. Night mode is perfect for creating eerie atmospheres and haunting textures for any soundtrack. That is what we would suggest The Giant is best at, it's less about being a mainstream piano emulator, and more about creating textures as a sound designer.

Conclusion

If you haven't worked with piano VST plugins before, don't be put off by stories of MIDI problems and glitches. As long as you are running a system that exceeds the requirements of the plugin, you'll be fine.

When it comes to sound quality, we can confidently say that many VST's outperform physical keyboards. But, like choosing any instrument, each VST excels in different areas, so always consider where and how you will be playing it most. Our list includes some of the best-selling and most realistic piano VST's available, check them out and enjoy!

Best Free Piano Vst

James is a writer and musician with a passion for audio production. He is a lover of all things tech, especially the latest keyboards, synths, DAW's, virtual instruments, and effects plugins. Musical interests include jazz, funk, hip hop, blues, and rock.