Toontrack EKX: Felt Piano

Sounds As Soft As Silk

A dampened, warm and acoustically beautiful upright piano for EZkeys 2.

This expansion for EZkeys 2 features a carefully captured felt-dampened upright piano ideal for anything from mellow singer-songwriter and folk to acoustic pop and rock.

If you're looking for the ultimate instrument for earthy, round and warm tones, this is it.

Recorded using a classic technique where an extra layer of felt is applied directly to the strings that the hammers strike, the overall tone of this instrument has a much quieter attack and an overall more warm and intimate resonance compared to a traditional piano.

To add, the room in which it was captured is moderately small, adding to its almost visceral timbre.

To capture every tonal aspect possible, one mono as well as three different stereo pairs of carefully selected microphones were used in the recording.

These microphone options were then all utilized in the broad collection of presets, showcasing anything from the subtle, nuanced and delicate to the more full-bodied and
rich - still all with that gentle and almost velvety attack.

In addition to the sounds, a basic MIDI library tailored specifically for the instrument is included, giving you a starting point of piano grooves to work from and be inspired by when exploring the sonic possibilities of the product.

Features

• A carefully sampled vintage upright piano
• Recorded using an extra layer of felt dampening applied to the piano strings
• Ideal for anything from mellow singer-songwriter and folk to acoustic pop and rock
• A wealth of presets incorporating different mic setups and effects
  
• Includes a basic MIDI library unique to the product

Felt, Finesse, and Feel

When a key is pressed on a traditional piano, the hammer that corresponds to each key strikes a string, producing sound.

The "felt" modification works by introducing a felt layer between the hammer and the string, damping the impact.

The result is a quieter, more delicate and damped sound.

This makes a felt piano the perfect choice for any song that calls for softer dynamics and an overall more intimate sound.

The Presets

The included presets cover anything from the most natural, warm, nuanced and intimate to the more elaborate ones involving various amounts of effects and saturation.

To add, some presets even include textures of additional synths, giving you completely new multi-layered soundscapes.

As always, 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 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.

The Mics & The Ambiences

The piano was recorded using several sets of microphones; one stereo pair under the keyboard, one pair in front of the soundboard, one pair at the backboard and, finally, one mono mic providing a center image of the instrument.

The different sonic flavors and ambiences are represented across the variety of presets.

The MIDI

This EKX includes its own basic collection of MIDI.

It was tailored specifically for the instrument and designed to 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 compositions call for.