The story
This a 12 year old Concert Grand Steinway, bought at the opening of the new Kilden Theatre in Kristiansand, Norway. Kristiansand is a small town in the South of Norway, 2 direct flights in and out from London a week. The government here put money into the Kilden to provide art to the region, they value it’s importance. There is a resident Symphony Orchestra and this piano is often played during their concerts.
Day to day, the Piano rests quietly in a large cupboard next to the concert hall stage, until it gets wheeled out in front of the audience and shines. It’s the newer of the two main Grand Pianos they have here, a louder, clearer piano, used to stand out in front of the orchestra, though, is harder to play than the older one.
The night before recording I was lucky enough to see an excellent young Pianist playing with the Orchestra. They give younger soloists a chance to play public performances with the band, and it’s a very inspirational watch. Being able to record this beautiful piano on that stage was awesome!
Reviews for Kristiansand Concert Steinway
- Sound
- Character
- Playability
- Inspiration
- GUI
Leave a review to let others know what you thought of the instrument!
Melancholic but gorgeous
Was looking for a melancholic piano that suited a particular setting (a well to-do bar/ restaurant) for a song I had been working on and this gorgeous piano captured that isolated, lonely tone perfectly.
Thanks for ur great work
This piano is amazing ngl. I prefer this piano before a lot of paid paid pianos frfr. Great work!
Grand with mellow tone
This has such a beautiful mellow tone. I often find non felts to lack in character and be a bit too bright but thats definitely not the case with this now. It has a really balanced tone not having too much or too little of both lows and highs. The sample editing seems really good to me. Its really playable. There is a bit of noise in the samples but its not anything too bad. Its not my favorite piano on the site but its definitely a great one to have around.
A very soft grand
If you are looking for a soft and sweet grand piano, with good dynamics, this might be agood choice for you. Unfortunately the samples are a little noisy especially on higher velocities, and that noise builds up relatively quickly if you use the sustain pedal. There is a knob to reduce the trigger samples though, which is always nice to have, and there is also a dry switch in case you want to just have the triggers as a separate instrument in order to treat them differently in the mix.
Sweet and Mellow
The piano is a great instrument and well recorded. It's generally very playable, although I do wish the samples were edited a little tighter. To my ear, there's a noticeable lag when I play. the choice of mics and positioning seems pretty much perfect. I do wish that the instrument was more dynamic. It doesn't seem to get much above mezzo piano, even at the highest velocities. So, that makes it a little less versatile, and maybe a little less playable in my book. If you're looking for something soft and sweet, this is a great choice, however.
