Hamburg Grand S274 Virtual Piano

IK Multimedia has released Hamburg Grand S274, the latest addition to IK’s Pianoverse virtual instrument, which combines the world’s finest concert-grade pianos with inspiring, cinematic effects. For subscribers, the latest in a series of remarkable pianos adds the distinctive voice of the Steinway & Sons Hamburg D-274 for even more breathtaking piano realism and limitless creativity is included with the Pianoverse update released today through the IK Product Manager. It’s also available for purchase separately and comes included in the new Pianoverse MAX.

Pianoverse lets users explore a breathtaking sonic range, from the most true-to-life acoustic piano experience to the wildest atmospheric and interactive creative textures, all in a single plug-in. And all with incredible ease of use and an inspiring workflow.

Hamburg Grand S274 is based on a robot-assisted deep multisampling of a 9′ Steinway & Sons Hamburg D-274 from 1958, a concert grand piano manufactured by Steinway & Sons of Germany. Each Hamburg D-274 is handcrafted and the entire process, from selecting the wood to voicing the strings, takes over a year. This dedication to quality has attracted the world’s greatest players throughout the years including Lang Lang, Emanuel Ax, Hélène Grimaud, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, the legendary Russian composer and pianist.

For the Hamburg Grand S274, IK traveled to Officine Meccaniche studios in Milan where a gorgeous 1958 Steinway & Sons Hamburg D-274 lives in perfect harmony with its ambient surroundings. IK captured the magic using the same preamps as other Pianoverse instruments with no EQ or compression. A pair of DPA 4011 as close mics and a pair of Coles 4038 mics in a Blumlein configuration took full advantage of the room’s acoustics. The results are spectacular, from the singing voice of the piano to the more prominent impact of its pedals.

New Pianoverse MAX
With the release of Hamburg Grand S274, IK is pleased to introduce Pianoverse MAX, a bundle offering users the option to own all 6 available pianos for one low price, including Hamburg Grand S274 plus two additional pianos scheduled for future release. Special upgrade pricing is also available for Pianoverse instrument owners and current yearly subscribers.

Capturing Treasured Pianos
IK’s team spent years sourcing treasured pianos from the most prestigious manufacturers. Each instrument is hand-tuned and prepared by a master tuner and then sampled using multiple microphone setups and IK’s custom-built robotic system. The result is unprecedented realism across the entire dynamics of each Pianoverse piano without flattening it or simplifying it too much, which regularly happens with traditional sampling.

A Powerful New Engine
The IK sound design team then used subtle techniques perfected over 2 decades of virtual instrument programming to bring these thousands of samples to life. Pianoverse’s groundbreaking new engine uses completely redesigned round robin, voice management, and other techniques to deliver a seamlessly authentic experience.

Beyond Accuracy and Sound
Pianoverse also shines with a unique combination of performance controls for both stage and studio work. To customize each piano’s sound, Pianoverse offers adjustable lid position, harp resonance, pedal noise, or even the noise of the piano mallets, all things that are usually only available in modeled instruments. For live use, all three pedals offer continuous control, including half- and catch-pedaling and una corda, to deliver an unmatched performance experience.

Must-have Studio Processing
Pianoverse provides two sets of microphones per piano so users can choose if they prefer a more modern and in-the-face sound or a more classical sound. On top of that, for traditional sound-shaping and mixing, the Pianoverse engine also offers a comprehensive suite of must-have effects tools and a dedicated master channel with EQ and a VCA-style limiter for final mastering polish.

Generative Spaces to Explore
Where most piano instruments end, Pianoverse is only getting started. Using a new generative reverberation engine, Pianoverse transports any of its concert-grade pianos to 30 sonic destinations. These go from traditional concert halls and studio spaces to less traditional ones like a warehouse or vault, and otherworldly cinematic environments like an iceberg, desert or even Mars. Plus each space includes flexible controls to further shape and create never-heard-before cinematic sounds and textures.

Unique Creative Effects
In addition to custom-created Spaces, Pianoverse also offers 12 new creative effects to design sounds. These effects range from new cinematic spatial effects to must-have studio effects and can be inserted on 3 simultaneous slots: the first slot being a parallel send effect, while slots 2 and 3 are insert effects.

Then, unique to Pianoverse, users will find 4 modulation sources – 2 envelopes and 2 LFOs – that may be assigned to various parameters in these 3 effects slots to further animate and move the sound and create extreme effects when desired. Together these effects offer an arsenal of sound-sculpting tools that cannot be found in any other piano instrument.

A Series of 8 Pianos
With the Hamburg Grand S274, there are now 6 pianos in Pianoverse based on a Steinway & Sons Hamburg D-274, a Fazioli F278 Concert Grand, a Yamaha CFIII Concert Grand, a Yamaha U5 Professional Upright, a Bösendorfer 280 Vienna Concert and a Steinway & Sons New York D-274. With more coming soon featuring models based on a Bösendorfer 200 and a Koch & Korselt Upright, users can discover new inspiration as they need it.

Options, Pricing and Availability
Pianoverse Hamburg Grand S274 is available now either sold separately and as part of the new Pianoverse MAX from the IK Multimedia online store and from IK authorized dealers worldwide. It’s available free to all-access subscribers, as will all future Pianoverse pianos.