SYNCHRON BLUTHNER 1895

Blüthner 1895 - Lyrical piano sound

• Renovated concert grand with a length of 193 cm and patented aliquot strings
• Blüthner's legendary "golden tone" as a software instrument
• Recorded in Stage B of the Synchron Stage Vienna
• Advanced release sample technology
• Eight microphone positions - for a variety of timbres
• Six preconfigured presets: "Concert", "Intimate", "Player", "Pop", "Ambience", "Vintage"
• FX presets for surreal, distorted or mysterious piano sounds
• Forte, piano (una corda) and sostenuto pedals
• Detection of half-pedal positions and "re-pedaling"
• "Sympathetic Resonance" (string resonance)
• "Body Resonance" (resonance of the body)

This grand piano from the famous Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik in Leipzig dates back to 1895 and was acquired by Synchron Stage Vienna after its extensive restoration by piano builder Bernhard Balas from Vienna.

The 193 cm long instrument has the "aliquot stringing" developed and patented by Blüthner. This means that in the treble range (from the double-bowed octave) an additional string, tuned one octave higher, is built in above each string. This fourth set of strings is not struck by the hammers, but only amplifies the overtones ("aliquots") and results in a velvety, organically shimmering sound that is described as particularly lyrical. But also the unusually long and thin strings and the enormous string tension of 20 tons are decisive for the specific timbre of this instrument. The combination with the soft hammer heads results in an always clear, yet warm, soft piano sound,

Not only famous composers from the past such as B. Debussy, Brahms, Mahler, Bartók, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich or Rachmaninoff created their works on Blüthner pianos. Paul McCartney also played a concert grand piano made by Blüthner in the original recordings of “Let it be” for the film of the same name in 1969.

The Blüthner 1895 of the Vienna Symphonic Library was recorded in Stage B of the Synchron Stage Vienna. Compared to the large Stage A, this 69 m² recording room with a ceiling height of 3.5 to 4.5 m is characterized by more controlled acoustics and less surround sound.

The sound of this beautifully restored instrument was left in the original and captured as authentically as possible, with all the charm and peculiarities that give this historical instrument its character. The virtual replica is extremely versatile and is a suitable alternative, especially for soloists looking for a slightly different, personal piano sound. The Blüthner is ideal for song accompaniments and chamber music, but also for pop songs and ballads, where other concert grand pianos are too big and sound intrusive. Presets like "Intimate" or "Vintage" underline this special quality even more.

Sampling with the highest precision

In order to capture the Blüthner 1895 in all its subtle nuances, the VSL developers have constructed their own, high-precision system that silently transfers all movements to a “robot finger” by means of a magnet. This micro-controller controls the finger with almost superhuman precision and covers all touch and release curves. The latter map the different speeds when a key is released and each correspond to the previous note length.

8 microphone positions

In order to capture this historical instrument in all its beauty, several arrangements with high-quality microphones were used, which offer a wealth of possibilities for individual sound shaping.

Microphones

• Standard Library : Condenser - Close 1 (Sennheiser MKH 8040) | Mid 1 (Sennheiser MKH 800) | Main / Room Mic - Decca Tree Stereo (L / R) | Main / Room Mic - Decca Tree Mono (Center) | 
• Full Library : Standard Library Microphones + Ribbon - Close 2 (Coles 4038) | Sphere - Close 3 (Schoeps KFM 6 Sphere) | Mid 2 (Sennheiser MKH 40) | Main Surround - Stereo (L / R)

Even if you do not create a surround mix, you can achieve a more varied sound image with more spatial depth by enriching your stereo mix with the signals from the room microphones contained in the full library.

Individual sound design options

In addition to the multitude of sound design options by mixing different microphone signals, the Blüthner 1895 also contains the specially developed Synchron Pianos software. In addition to a powerful playback engine, the player offers a full-fledged mixer with a variety of effects such as EQ, compressor, saturator, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, rotary and much more. Change the volume of body or string resonances as well as pedal noises directly in the main Play window. In the edit window you can even define EQ settings, volume, mood and dynamic range for each individual key.

Scope of the library

• Standard : Samples 62,232 | Download size 15.7 GB | Installed file size 45.9 GB
• Full : Samples 124,464 | Download size 32.3 GB | Installed file size 98.6 GB