Happy Piano Day 2025! I’ve played a lot of pianos over the years, real and virtual and I’ve had a few different favourites, depending on what project I was working on. These are the virtual ones that I currently have installed for various musical uses, including cinematic, jazz, relaxation and lofi.
IK Multimedia Pianoverse
I love the Pianoverse plugin and use these pianos on a lot of tracks, especially the Bösendorfer. I’ve always loved the rich tones of Bösendorfers, which makes them ideal for a range of styles, including jazz and chillout. There’s a lot of realism with Pianoverse samples due to their added mechanical noises, round robins and mic placements. I sometimes use this as a standalone for practise too. Lots of fun to play.
(Track – Desolation)
Modartt Pianoteq Studio
This is a fantastic plugin that I use for my daily practise as it loads really quickly as standalone software, I can be playing within seconds unlike some of the other options. I have a couple of Steinway D models here which are great for jazz (plus some vintage tines for the funk / fusion tracks).
(Track – Clouds)
EastWest Bösendorfer
EastWest Bösendorfer was one of the first virtual pianos I purchased due to its deep, rich tones. I’ve used it on a few relaxation tracks over the years and love the control that you get over the sound with the lid and mic position options. Dropping the lid gives a lovely, muted effect for very gentle, atmospheric pieces.
(Track – Rainfall)
Spitfire BBC Piano
I regularly use the Spitfire BBC orchestral instruments for soundtrack style pieces so getting the piano was a must as it blends beautifully with the room settings of the other instruments. It often needs a volume boost but has a lovely tone and expressiveness, as you would expect from such a high end sampling company like Spitfire.
(Track – Polka in Bb Major)
UJAM
I love all of the UJAM plugins, they take a different approach by offering a great, easy to use control panel with carefully matched effects and a range of preset tones and riffs for a really speedy workflow, hardly surprising since one of the founders is Hans Zimmer. Their Score piano is beautifully sampled, a very ethereal and atmospheric option.
(Track – Drifting Off)
Spitfire Labs Soft Piano
Spitfire Felt Piano is a Labs freebie and a fantastic choice for chilled out pieces. I’ve used it alone and blended with other pianos and it’s one of those instruments where, with the addition of a little bit of reverb, you can get lost for hours just playing for fun.
(Track – REM Sleep)
XLN Audio Addictive Keys
I have the Studio Grand which is a lovely, bright and dynamic option that’s a real pleasure to play. This one lends itself to different styles although I’ve mostly used it on cinematic and neo classical style pieces.
(Track – Sugar Lumps)
Korg M1
OK, so much more than a piano but the Korg M1 was a no brainer for recreating that classic house sound, so I picked this one up for sessions where that sound is required. It’s a lot of fun to play as it takes me back to that era where I first got into synths. I got to play on a real M1 every day in the store where I worked but never got to own one. Here’s a little sample of that famous M1 piano sound.
