Versilian Studios Joachim’s Piano [KONTAKT]

Created with media composer and arranger Joachim Horsley, Joachim’s Piano is a one-of-a-kind sampling of his lovingly-restored 1890’s Steinway B including the natural piano, preparations, percussion, and effects.

Over 35 hours of studio time went into recording the exact piano, space, and mic setups used in “Via Havana” and Joachim’s series of YouTube videos. A focus on rhythmic playability, the instrument is chromatically sampled with up to 4 Round Robins. Both full sustain pedal and non-pedaled samples were recorded on all patches.

An Historic Piano

The instrument sampled was an 85-key Steinway Model B, build in the 1890’s and recently (beautifully) restored. The vintage tone and responsiveness perfectly match Joachim’s style of performance, yet it has been sampled in such a way to allow it to fit numerous uses from live jazz to media composition.

An Ensemble of Preparations

As a performer, in addition to the natural sounds of the piano itself, Joachim uses an array of careful, controlled preparations of the piano in order to generate unique timbres. The piano itself also is frequently used as a percussion instrument, played with a wide range of mallets, brushes, and even hands. Philosophically, his goal is to recreate the sound of an entire band, from upright bass to conga, using only the piano itself.

35 Hours of Studio Time

Sampling was done in Joachim’s own studio, using the same exact mics, instrument, setup, and signal chain shown in his videos. A pair of legendary Microtech Gefell CMV 563’s with famed M7 capsules provides the main body of the piano, while a far pair of mics provides room to add to the sound when desired. Over 35 hours of recording time went into capturing the piano in such intricate detail!

Rhythmic Detail

The entire range of the instrument was sampled chromatically with up to four round robins and at up to five dynamic layers across a number of different articulations. This provides a very rhythmically satisfying instrument to play, especially in fast passages. Additionally, the entire instrument allows for sus pedal usage with real sus pedal samples.

Joachim also included various bonus fx sounds and a full set of percussive sounds created using the piano and various mallets/beaters.Ready for Stage or Studio

Hear jazz pianist Caili O’Doherty play Joachim’s Piano live in concert, run off a simple laptop setup. The MIDI performance was captured live to allow mixing in post with acoustic elements, which is an effortless process with the classic sound of the M7 capsule-equipped CMV 563.

Compared to the sounds built into typical stage pianos, the 18 GB chromatically sampled piano with true pedal sounds and 4 round robins provides a more realistic, natural sound. Keyboardists seeking more unique sounds can explore the array of preparations and percussive effects and even explore different tuning systems.

Normal Piano

Articulations – Piano Normal
Articulations – Piano Hard
Articulations – Piano Soft
Articulations – Piano SofterPrepared PianoArticulations – Harmonic Piano
Articulations – Harmonic Piano +24
Articulations – Muted Piano
Articulations – Muted Piano +24
Articulations – Muted Bass PianoPercussive & FXOther – Percussive Piano
Other – Bonus FXBonus Features72 Handcrafted Snapshots
Special “Jo’s” Mix accesses Jo’s own signal chain of choice
New ‘VISAGE’ Engine:
– Improved Mixer
– Enhanced Reverb Controls
– Easily Accessible FX
– 24 Built-In Temperaments/Intonations
– Realistic damper

Requires the FULL version of NI Kontakt v5.8.1 or higher!