VSL Studio Blüthner 1895 (Standard Library)

• Refurbished 193 cm (6'4") grand piano with patented Aliquot stringing

• Glorious example of Blüthner’s legendary “golden tone”

• Recorded at Stage B of Synchron Stage Vienna

• Multiple microphone positions – for a multitude of timbral variations

• Pre-configured main presets: “Concert”, “Intimate”, “Player”, “Pop”, “Ambience”, “Vintage”

• FX Presets for enhanced, warped or mysterious piano sounds

• Soft (una corda), sostenuto, sustain pedals, half-pedalling and re-pedalling

Built by the famous Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik of Leipzig, this exceptional instrument was acquired by Synchron Stage Vienna after having been lovingly restored by master piano builder Bernhard Balas from Vienna. But the impressive history of this piano isn’t the only thing that makes it truly exceptional. The 193 cm professional scale instrument is equipped with Blüthner’s specially developed and patented Aliquot system that uses additional dampened strings positioned above the conventional strings of the treble register, which are not struck by the hammers but resonate sympathetically. This fourth set of strings enhances the overtones, providing a velvety, organic shimmer and give the instrument a particularly lyrical “singing” quality. In addition, the strings are unusually long and thin, stretched to an enormous string tension of 20 tons, which helps define the instrument’s specific sound. In combination with its soft hammers the Blüthner grand produces a unique timbre that is superior to many modern instruments in its variety of tonal colors.

Vienna Symphonic Library’s Blüthner 1895 grand piano was recorded at Stage B of Synchron Stage Vienna. This beautiful 69 m² (739 sq ft.) live room with a 3.5 to 4.5 m (11.5 – 14.75 ft) height features a controlled acoustic environment with less ambience than the large main hall (Stage A). To capture the Blüthner 1895 with all its subtleties, our engineers developed a highly precise motion-control system based on a solenoid that controls a noise-free “robot finger”. The micro-controller moves the finger with super-human precision, providing flexible curvatures for down-strokes and release movements, the latter corresponding with the preceding note length and various release speeds.

While beautifully restored, this Blüthner 1895 was recorded “as is”, with all the charm and peculiarities that give a seasoned instrument its character. Its virtual recreation is extremely versatile and well suited for soloists seeking a memorable and personal piano sound. The Blüthner lends itself wonderfully to song accompaniments and chamber music settings, as well as pop songs, ballads, and any circumstances where the large sound of other concert grands is too obtrusive. Presets like “Intimate” or “Vintage” further underline this quality.

Our recording engineers used multiple high-end microphone arrays, affording an abundance of options for creating your individual sound (8 microphone positions). Even if you’re not using a surround setup, adding the Full Library’s additional room microphone signals to your stereo mix will provide you with more ambience variation and spatial depth.

In addition to the multitude of options from mixing various microphone signals, the Blüthner 1895 comes with the free Vienna Synchron Pianos Software that offers multiple options for shaping your sound and your playing experience. Hosting a high-performance playback engine, the software provides a full-blown mixer with a broad range of effects such as EQ, compressor, saturator, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, rotary, and many more. Change the volume of body resonances, sympathetic strings and pedal noises right in the main Play window. In the Edit window you may even adjust EQ, volume, tuning, dynamic range, etc. for each individual key!