November 2007 Mark Wherry Review in Sound On Sound

"a brand new piano library developed ...that offers an unprecedented level of tonal control."

"Rather than sample yet another Steinway or Böesendorfer piano, Ernest and Dan have instead opted for a Blüthner Model One, and the Digital Model One is actually an officially licensed product of the Blüthner company. Although the Blüthner name is perhaps not so well known as Steinway or Böesendorfer these days, the company was founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1853 (the same year that Steinway & Sons was founded in New York) and its pianos have a attracted a long list of high-profile admirers, including Arthur Rubinstein, The Beatles, Rachmaninov, and Queen Victoria."

"The care and attention that has gone into creating the Blüthner Digital Model One is quite staggering "

"The library of Timbral Impulse Responses included in the Digital Model One is vast and covers a whole spectrum of grand pianos of varing sizes, upright pianos, and even other digital and sampled pianos. ... the flexibility and tonal possibilities you get from using the Timbral Responses is tremendous and really adds another dimension to the sound."

"The Variable Sustain Pedal instruments, however, allow for more realistic pedalling by supporting – literally – a variable sustain pedal (see box) where there are 126 values in between fully down and fully up. Although the effect of using the Variable Sustain Pedal instruments can be quite subtle, it does add a surprising amount of realism to both the sound and the playing experience."

"I almost forgot that I was sat in front of an electronic instrument because the dynamics seemed so much more intuitive than with other sampled instruments, although I think you’ll need to have a good weighted keyboard to take full advantage of this."

"The market for virtual piano instruments is quite competitive these days, and while the Digital Model One might seem a little expensive at first, it’s in a similar price range to Synthology’s Ivory or Native Instruments’ Akoustic Piano, despite the fact that with these products you do admittedly get three or four different types of pianos, rather than one. However, for me, none of the pianos provided in these packages are equivalent in quality or offer anywhere near the level of tonal control as you get with the Digital Model One."

"In conclusion, despite all of the amazing possibilities and features of the Digital Model One, what makes it successful in my opinion is that Dan and Ernest got the two most important and basic qualities an instrument should possess absolutely perfect: the sound is fabulous and the Digital Model One is a complete joy to play."

November 2007 Richard Leiter Review in Keyboard (USA)

"this is a brilliant piano rendition that I predict will reside on the hard disks of many composers and producers."

"In 2005, sample mavens Dan Dean and Ernest Cholakis spent a week at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch sampling the nine-foot Blüthner grand... under pristine conditions with some of the best recording gear and engineers in the world, they amassed a playable acoustic image of this to-die-for instrument, composed of 2,500 individual samples."

"a legendary old-world piano that was a favorite of composers such as Brahms, Bartok, Debussy, Liszt, and McCartney"
"the instrument sans room ambience, sans reverb, sans everything but what you’d hear if you stuck your head under the lid"

" they did something quite unique, at least for piano libraries: They created sonic fingerprints — Timbral Impulses, or TIs — of dozens of the greatest pianos ever recorded ...These impart the frequency response characteristics not just of famous pianos, but of what those pianos sounded like in the context of famous recordings and venues, such as Artur Rubinstein at Carnegie Hall in ’73, Oscar Peterson at the Village Vanguard in ’59, or Dr. John at Tipitina’s on a sultry New Orleans night."

"the sounds are uncanny and emotional"

"this is a brilliant piano rendition that I predict will reside on the hard disks of many composers and producers."

"This is intriguing for perfectionists who want to explore"

"This is a haunting and evocative piano library"

November 2007 Len Sasso Review in Electronic Musician

"The thing that most sets this piano apart from the competition is its heavy reliance on Kontakt 2's convolution engine. In addition to room ambience and reverb, convolution is used to enhance sustain resonance and, most importantly, to change the timbre of the piano completely. That last is accomplished by convolving the piano samples with impulse-response curves taken from other pianos, from piano recordings, and in one of the most interesting twists, from speech."

"A complete second set of instruments is included for use with a variable sustain pedal. A variable sustain pedal sends different values with increased pressure rather than simply acting as an on/off switch. It's a much more realistic piano-damper-pedal implementation, "

The basic piano comes in six dynamic-scaling configurations ranging from the full dynamics of the piano, labeled 100, to the most compressed dynamic range, labeled 45. The chosen scaling makes a huge difference in the sound and feel of the instrument. A little time spent experimenting with different dynamic-scaling choices combined with the Velocity-curve choices on my MIDI keyboards allowed me to dial in the feel I wanted with greater precision than on other sampled pianos I've tried.

It stacks up well with the collection of top-of-the-line sampled pianos EM profiled in the October 2006 feature article "Software Eighty-Eights" (see Web Clip 2). It's reasonably priced, and... it's at least high on the food chain.

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What some well known musicians & producers have to say about the Blüthner Digital Model One

Luis Resto

Academy Award-winning songwriter Luis Resto worked with Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Herbie Hancock, the Highwaymen, Iggy Pop, even Bert Parks (for "The Freshman" soundtrack)! He has recorded sessions with such Detroit legends as George Clinton, Anita Baker, Earl Klugh and Gladys Knight; worked as rehearsal vocalist for Paul Simon; composed modern dance pieces with New York choreographer Susan Marshall; performed on the Brian Wilson documentary "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", directed by Was; guided remixes for the Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna, and recorded with the Patti Smith Group, co-writing the song "My Madrigal". Luis won an Oscar for "Lose Yourself", which he co-authored and arranged with hip-hop emperor Eminem for the film "8 Mile". A phenomenal hit, "Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at #1 on the pop music charts;

The Bluthner is blowing me away daily. As a gigging piano player I've always preferred a real acoustic piano over a portable electric simulation, even if it is a bad upright. Reason being it is real and has resonance. That resonance and acoustic variable is what makes it alive in its response and makes me want to play. Playing the Bluthner Digital does that to me in the same way. Shading is the first thing that comes to my mind. When you play soft, the timbre softens as well, like a real acoustic. As you crescendo you can hear and feel the harmonics creep in up to ff. And that is absolutely the very tip of the iceberg. I hadn't tried any of the timbre impulse responses for the first week of playing and was in heaven. Once I started checking them out, I was lost for hours checking out and improvising in the head space they put me in. Really remarkable stuff. I know an instrument is special when I find myself coming back to play it over and over again. The Bluthner's sound inspires me to play and improvise every time.

George Duke - "I had the chance to install the piano and I must say that though I didn't spend but an hour playing around with it, I really believe you have something special here!"

Grammy winning Keyboardist/Producer/Composer - Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderly, Stanley Clarke, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, The Pointer Sisters, Al Jarreau. Soul Train.

 Russell Ferrante (Yellowjackets) - "The Blüthner piano is the most dynamically responsive sampled piano I've encountered. The detailed sampling at the lowest velocities allow a level of expression that makes it uniquely satisfying to play."

Yellowjackets Grammy winning Keyboardist/Producer/Arranger - Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, Robben Ford, GRP Big Band, Lee Ritenour, Brenda Russell, Joni Mitchell.

Jay Graydon - "I have experimented with many piano plugins over the years. After experimenting with the Blüthner, I quickly realized the piano has depth unlike any other used to date! Finally a piano that sounds great on its own for solo stuff, great for vocal and piano songs, great for jazz, and great for commercial music of all styles! Clearly a plugin that can be used by all!"

Grammy winning Producer/Songwriter/Guitarist - David Foster, Earth Wind & Fire, George Benson, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Cher, Cheap Trick, Hall and Oates.

 Don Grusin "The Blüthner piano has realism and playability that surpasses all the other wannabees. I’m happy."

Grammy winning pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer, arranger, and songwriter - Friendship, Lee Ritenour, Patti Austin, Oscar Castro-Neves, Dave Grusin, Ernie Watts.

David Kahne I've been using the new Dan Dean Solo Strings now since they were released. I've never been able to get such clarity and subtle control with any other library.   I arranged a string trio for a song chorus recently, and played it for a member of
the NY Phil, and he thought it was live players and asked me why I hadn't hired him.

The Kontakt interface, and the way both the Solo Strings and the Bluthner piano are organized in the player, work flawlessly,
allowing me to add just the right amount of ambience for whatever I'm working on, and to layer easily and accurately.

I recommend both libraries to anyone looking for seamless reality in their production.

Grammy winning producer/engineer for Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Stevie Nicks, Sublime, Sugar Ray, K.D. Lang, and The Bangles.

Keith Levenson "The Bluthner is the most amazing sample library of anything I've ever heard."

Grammy winning Broadway composer/conductor/pianist/musical director - Broadway: “Annie”, “Grease”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Dreamgirls”. “Tommy", Ry Cooder, David Sanborn, Eric Burdon, Alice Cooper, Natalie Cole, Dr. John, The WHO, Meat Loaf,  Peter Frampton, Billy Preston, Yes, KISS, The Alan Parsons Live Project.

Oscar Castro-Neves "I’ve been an arranger/composer for quite a long time. But, for even a longer period I am a music lover and the sound of an orchestra is something that immediately fires my heart and inspires me to keep on striving to write and create, hopefully, meaningful pieces.

 I’ve been using Dan Dean's wonderful library of instruments for quite a while. But nothing compares what he and Ernest Cholakis have done with the Dan Dean Solo Strings Advanced and the Blüthner Digital Model One Grand Piano.

 The warmth, the clarity and the realistic response of the instruments instantly draw your attention to the music, because the listening experience is one of listening to live, real instruments.

When I am orchestrating I reach first for their libraries. And, most likely not even look for anything else. The beauty is already there.  Thanks Dan and Ernest"

Guitarist/Orchestrator/Composer - Antonio Carlos Jobim, Yo-Yo Ma, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, numerous films and TV programs.

Mark Hinton Stewart

I've just received my copy of BDMO and it's truly a beautiful sound. I have Akoustik and Ivory, but neither compares to this. Well done on a superb job!

There’s always some kind of compromise where audio instruments are concerned, and thankfully the compromise with BDMO is not in the beautiful sound and playability. I grew up playing my Grandmother’s Bluthner grand, so to now have that same sound inside my computer is a complete joy.

Mark Hinton Stewart is a cutting edge, contemporary British film and television composer.

Tim Gordine

"Anyway I Just wanted to thank you for such fine work and dedication on this beautiful sounding piano module. It is the most detailed and inspirational virtual piano I have experienced."