True Keys: Pianos by VI Labs

Overview

True Keys is a virtual piano collection based on three highly revered concert grands, delivering pure sound with advanced scripting and specialized sampling.

Technical Specifications

Velocity Layers

19 total velocity layers including Silent Strike samples

Mic Positions

4 discreet Microphone Perspectives available

Sample Count

50000 (approx)

Plugin Formats

VST, AAX, AU

Standalone

Yes

Sympathetic Resonance

Yes

Half Pedal Support

Yes

True Pedal Modeling

Yes

Lossless format

flac format allows highest quality with smallest drive space requirements

Format

Lossless flac format

Ideal Use Cases

• Professional studio musicians requiring nuanced and expressive grand piano performances for recording sessions.
• Film and game composers needing versatile and realistic piano sounds to enhance their orchestral scores.
• Music educators and students practicing classical repertoire with authentic piano dynamics and response.
• Arrangers and orchestrators building intricate musical textures with the precise control over piano articulation.
• Audio engineers mixing tracks who need to sculpt the exact sonic character of a grand piano within their productions.

Insights from Real-World Use

Strengths

• beautiful
• dry and you don't have to do anything to it, it's very good
• playability is probably the best I have in my collection
• incredible immediacy in the sound output
• really like these pianos
• will sit excellently in a live band mix
• real standouts in terms of playability

Weaknesses

• sample quality is not the highest
• Less so with the older True Keys series

Tone: intimate, beautiful nice top end, warmth, expressive, no-nonsense

Review Snippets

• Very good instrument for its size and price, joyful to play due to great playability.
• A great sample library sounds beautiful dry, the Fazioli excels.
• Italian Fazioli has beautiful top end and real nice warmth.
• Yes really like these pianos...
• Pure sound of instruments ideal for jazz, blues, classical, and film scores.
• The American piano is very expressive, in your face, no-nonsense. It's definitely my favourite. All these piano will sit excellently in a live band mix. Love it.
• Also curious how their much older True Keys: American Grand compares. Been awhile since I loaded that one up. Frankly, I dug the original TrueKeys pianos.
• In particular, I think its release behavior is second only to VI Labs' own Modern U... And unlike the True Keys pianos, it has a nice and long sustain.
• American D piano has a nice warm tone with good attack.
• Playability and immediate sound output are excellent, comparable to Pianoteq.
• Excellent playability and control make it ideal for recordings, improving overall performance.
• Side mics on Bechstein create a very intimate and nice feeling.
• Powerful yet easy-to-use virtual piano collection.
• reviews before upgrading. I ... Labs pianos are real standouts in terms of playability - particularly the Modern U. Less so with the older True Keys series.
• Also, make sure you are logged in to your VI Labs account before purchasing Modern D to take advantage of loyalty discounts. I own both True Keys and the...

Frequently Asked Questions

What host or player is required for this product?

This product requires UVI Workstation (v2.5 or later) as its host. It also supports VST, AAX, and AU plugin formats and can be used standalone.

Is this a sampled or modeled piano VST?

This is a sampled piano VST, featuring three distinct concert grand pianos. It includes 50,000 audio files and 19 total velocity layers, including Silent Strike samples.

What are the key features of the pedal system?

The pedal system includes a sampled una corda pedal, adjustable sample-based half-pedal, sostenuto with sympathetic resonance, repedal function, and adjustable pedal noise and damper pedal samples.

What are the system requirements for installation and operation?

The library size is 7.3 GB, and 8 GB of free disk space is recommended. It requires 4GB of RAM and is compatible with OSX 10.14 or later and Windows 10 or later.

How many microphone positions are available?

There are 4 discreet Microphone Perspectives available: Close, Player, Side, and Mix. Each offers a different tonal characteristic for sound shaping.

What genres and use cases is this product best suited for?

It is well-suited for classical, jazz, pop, and film scoring. Ideal use cases include professional recording sessions, film and game composition, music education, and live performance.

Does this product support sympathetic resonance?

Yes, sympathetic resonance samples are included, along with pedal-down resonance scripting, adjustable resonance volume, and adjustable resonance polyphony.