Toontrack EZ Keys Orchestral Grand EKX Expansion

Colossal in anything from size and musical scope, the grand piano is the unequivocal centerpiece in any orchestral setting. With its limitless expression – resonant, wild and untamed while ever-so articulate – it can take on any thinkable musical scenario, from the roaringly loud to the velvety frail. In this EKX expansion for EZkeys 2, we’ve taken arguably the grand piano of grand pianos and, to add, placed it in one of the most flawlessly crafted studio rooms ever built and utilised the absolute best the world has to offer in terms of recording technology to capture it. The result is an immaculate grand, breathtakingly epic in any and all respects imaginable.

The instrument in question is a Steinway* D-274, one of the world’s most heralded instruments of its kind and a top pick for concert halls around the world. Measuring 274 centimetres in length, this majestic and one-of-a-kind colossus is a marvel of engineering and craftsmanship involving 12,000 individual parts assembled with utmost detail. To capture it, where better to turn than the main hall at Galaxy Studios – the very room in which the core library for Superior Drummer 3 and several other Toontrack libraries were recorded. Boasting 330 square meters and a daunting floor-to-ceiling height, it has an ambience tailored for natural but controlled reverberation. To offer flexible use in anything from the full-scale and orchestral down to the intimate and scaled-down, the recording setup included an array of 19 individual microphones. In the final product, these mics are used to give you mix-ready presets showcasing the instrument in a wealth of different mic configurations and timbres. In addition to the sounds and the presets, a basic collection of MIDI unique to the product and tailored for the instrument is included.

If you’re looking for one exquisite EKX that bridges the entire scope from the nuanced and subtle to the expressive and majestic, this is it.

• A meticulously maintained and tuned grand piano
• Recorded in the 330-square-meter hall at Galaxy Studios in Belgium
• Ready for mixes in stereo up to 5.0 surround
• Comes with mix-ready presets for different configurations, microphone setups and tonal flavours
• Includes a MIDI library unique to the product

This EKX requires EZkeys 2. Note: The MIDI included with this EKX is unique and not related to any existing or yet-to-be-released EZkeys MIDI pack.

THE INSTRUMENT.

Measuring 274 centimetres in length, involving 12,000 individual parts and with a rim consisting of up to 20 layers of carefully selected wood, the majestic D-274 is a marvel of engineering and craftsmanship. Built by hand and unchanged in design since the late 1800s, it is more than just an instrument, it’s just as much a unique piece of art that only exists in one specimen. The particular one sampled for this EKX was handpicked by the owner out of a range of the same model at the factory in Hamburg back in 1992. It simply spoke to him. No wonder, it sounds sublime in any and all ways imaginable – from the most frail notes at the top of the range, where the high-tensile Swedish steel strings tremble and beautifully sing, to the thunderous low end that resonate with power as much as with subtle delicacy.

Brand: Steinway
Model: D-274

THE STUDIO.

With its 330-square-meter room and eight-meter ceiling height, the main hall at Galaxy Studios in Belgium was the ideal location for capturing these instruments with a surround setup of microphones. In addition to having immaculate acoustic qualities, the entire studio complex is built on springs to ensure that any outside interference is literally nonexistent. In fact, with only 14 dBA of environmental noise, this room is the most quiet recording space of this size in the world.

THE ROOM & THE MICROPHONES

In addition to the carefully positioned close mics intended to pick up the attack and direct total presence of the instruments, this sound library was recorded using eleven additional room microphones set up in a surround configuration. This will enable you to use these instruments way beyond the conventional.

1. Neumann U87
2. B&K 4006
3. Schoeps MK-4
4. Sonodore RCM-402
5. Neumann M150
6. Royer R121
7. Schoeps CCM 2S
8. Schoeps MK-4
9. Schoeps MK-4

THE PRESETS.

The included presets cover a wealth of different tonal colours and microphone configurations ranging from the close and intimate to the massively grand. Each preset has its own bespoke set of macro controls. With these, you can easily alter, tweak or fine-tune the sound to perfectly suit your mix. Should you wish to route an instrument to your DAW for further processing, use any of the various Multi-Out out presets. In addition to offering unsaturated takes of each instrument, these settings will distribute all stereo microphones in each recorded configuration of the instrument to its own channels and allow you to mix in up to 5.0 surround.

THE MIDI.

This EKX includes its own unique collection of MIDI tailored specifically to illustrate the scope of the instrument. Ideal for anything from subtle and heartfelt ballads to articulate jazz, epic piano-driven scores and classical, it will give you a starting point of material to work from and be inspired by when exploring the sonic possibilities of the product.

As always, the profound set of features in EZkeys 2 designed for tailoring MIDI to fit your needs will let you expand on these basic ideas and take them to whatever musical space your songs call for.