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PIANOS
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The new meaning of heavyweight. EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos stands out because it's the biggest most ambitious sampled piano project ever, with the sound quality to prove it.
— KEYBOARD MAGAZINE
After two years of recording, editing, and programming, EastWest/Quantum Leap proudly present the most detailed collection of the world's finest grand pianos ever recorded in one of the 'temples of sound', EASTWEST STUDIOS (more RIAA certified platinum and gold records awarded than any other recording studios) with 3 mic positions for each piano.
This virtual instrument includes four of the world's finest grand pianos: a Bechstein D-280, Steinway D, Bösendorfer 290, and Yamaha C7. The PLAY interface includes impulses from the same hall the producers used to record Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs so the pianos can blend with those collections.
EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos Gold Edition, which provides only the player's perspective mics and 16-bit samples, is available for users with less powerful systems. A low-cost upgrade path is available for users of the Gold Edition who wish to move up to the Full Edition.
Additional close mics version engineered by KEN SCOTT (Elton John, Supertramp, David Bowie, Beatles)
The most detailed piano recordings - EVER!
Load any piano or mic position individually (each piano is approx. 60Gbs)
3 positions are included per piano for maximum flexibility
10-18 velocities per note of sustain and sustain with pedal
8-12 velocities per note of repetitions and repetitions with pedal
5-8 velocities of soft pedal and soft pedal with sustain pedal
16 velocity staccato on every piano
Repetition samples taken from 180 BPM performances for a TRUE repetition sound and not simply an alternate take.
Software detects true repetitions
Resonance - pedal resonance recorded for every note at multiple velocities, as well as with the soft pedal down
Proprietary resonance captured on the Bösendorfer
Release samples with software envelope follower
Articulations on each piano include
A. Sustain
B. Sustain with pedal
C. Repetitions
D. Repetitions with pedal
E. Soft pedal
F. Soft pedal with sustain pedal
G. Staccato
H. Release trails
Recorded in a proper piano environment with vintage Neumann microphones, Meitner AD converters and a vintage 8078 Neve console
Stereo swap possible in software
Mic position mixing in software
Lid position simulation
Articulation matrix for quick and straightforward loading
Most powerful streaming engine available with highest polyphony counts
PLAY interface includes impulses from the same hall the producers used to record Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs so the pianos can blend with those collections.
In summation, these are without question the most gorgeous sounding sampled pianos I've ever heard. If you're looking for the most authentic sounding sampled grand pianos available at this time, and have a system that can handle it, Quantum Leap Pianos is a must-consider.— RECORDING MAGAZINE
All demos were created with no external reverb or processing.
Most demos were created using the player position mics only. Some demos such as Hammerklavier and Liebesfreud use a mixture of the player position mics and the room mics.
To download each .wav file option-click on the file name on a Mac, or right-click or control-click on the file name on a PC.
The following comparison demos were created by Thomas Bryla for a forum in Europe. Thomas has no affiliation with EastWest or Quantum Leap. The midi files were NOT created with the EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos. All demos are dry without any additional reverb. The EastWest/Quantum Leap Piano versions were reproduced using the player position samples.
The following demos are comparisons running the same midi file through various virtual pianos including EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos, Synthogy Ivory, Native Instruments Akoustik Pianos and VSL Bösendorfer. The midi files were NOT created with the EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos, they were created with other sampled piano libraries. No external processing was used. The latest software versions were used for all instruments and the primary factory default programs were selected. All demos are out of the box, except Vienna which does not have reverb, so minimal reverb was added. For the EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos and Synthogy Ivory versions, the player perspective samples were used. For NI Akoustik Pianos and VSL Bösendorfer, the more distant samples were used as there were no player perspective samples. The intention here is show the dynamic, tonal, resonance, coloration and overall image differences between the EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos and other popular alternatives. The EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos are capable of many other sounds, due to the multiple mic samples and interface options. Synthogy Ivory, NI Akoustik, and VSL Bösendorfer also have other options to alter the sound, but these comparison demos use their default programs.
Each of these pianos were sampled with three different mic positions (see picture) allowing you to mix together any combination of mics "using the interface" for the ultimate in real-time tone and ambiance control. This feature enables users to customize the sound of each piano to their own requirements.
Please note: while most computers suitable for running professional music software will run one of the mic positions (what you typically get with other piano libraries), you may need a more advanced system to have all options available.
In summation, these are without question the most gorgeous sounding sampled pianos I've ever heard. The greatest accomplishment, in my view, is the way the room sound was captured. Even when using only the Player position I found it almost unneccessary to invoke the built-in convolution reverb, which is amazing in and of itself.
If you're looking for the most authentic sounding sampled grand pianos available at this time, and have a system that can handle it, Quantum Leap Pianos is a must-consider. Just make sure you have the latest vesion - and a computer that is ready for it!
— RECORDING MAGAZINE
Piano sound being such a personal thing, it‘s hard to predict which way players might jump if asked to choose between QL Pianos' instruments. Whatever your preference, it's clear that all four are very good sampled pianos, and since they're sold as a bundle, buyers will be spoiled for choice!
Editing the 68,000 samples in this library took four people eight months, and I bet pianist John Sawoski‘s fingers are still aching!
The ultimate test of whether all the effort was worth it comes when a musician sits down to play the instruments, and this musician spent many happy hours playing the ‘fab four’ (to coin a phrase) pianos included in this world-beating collection.
This collection of four superb instruments raises the bar for sampled grand piano playability without hiking the price too high.
— SOUND ON SOUND
The new meaning of heavyweight. Players agreed that EastWest/Quantum Leap has by far the most detailed and biggest-sounding pianos of the bunch. "The dead center of the Bosendorfer's dynamic range sings out for a long time," noted Fortner, "exactly like the real thing, and the nine extra notes below bottom A [a famous feature of the real thing] are just thunderous." Richard Leiter said, "This sounds like a good recording of a good piano. It makes me want to play late 19th Century classical - if I could!" Aikin added, "This'd be loverly for Chopin, but not the patch you'd load for Bach ... or Little Richard." Trying the Steinway, Aikin said, "I'd sit down and play this for pleasure over the Bosendorfer. It's very lively, with just the right combination of depth and brilliance." He was even happier with the Bechstein: "This makes me want to play Mozart. There's a nice singing quality and melodic projection over chords. I have a sense of comfort here, even more than with the Steinway." The Bechstein was also Fortner's favorite for his R&B-derived playing style: "Lean into it, and it doesn't go quite as far as the Yamaha, but the bell-like harmonics you want for pop come forward. Lean back, and it's brooding and mellow. Gorgeous." EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos stands out because it's the biggest most ambitious sampled piano project ever, with the sound quality to prove it. You'll need a bad-ass computer to play the full-size presets with abandon, but if you have one - wow!
— KEYBOARD MAGAZINE
System Requirements
282 GB Free Hard Disc Space (Platinum)
57 GB Free Hard Disc Space (Gold)
Below are the minimum and recommended hardware and software specifications for using Opus on Windows and MacOS systems.
MINIMUM SYSTEM
CPU: Quad-core (four cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
RAM: 16 GB
OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
Drive: SSD for HW Orchestra Opus Edition
RECOMMENDED SYSTEM
CPU: Octa-core (eight cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
RAM: 32 GB or more
OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
Drive: NVMe SSD
The chart below outlines the MacOS and Windows 64-bit operating systems and sequencers that are officially supported and fully tested with the latest version of Opus. Please note that while most Sequencers / DAWs are VST 2, VST 3, AU and AAX plug-in format compatible, only those listed in the chart below are officially supported.
Product
Version
MacOS (10.13+)
Windows 10
EW Play 6 Stand-Alone
6.0+
YES
YES
EW Opus Stand-Alone
1.0+
YES
YES
Ableton Live
10.0+
YES
YES
Apple Logic Pro
10.0+
YES
-
Apple Garageband
10.3+
YES
-
Avid Pro Tools
2018.1+
YES
YES
Bitwig Studio
3.0+
YES
YES
Cockos Reaper
6.0+
YES
YES
Image-Line FL Studio
20+
YES
YES
Motu Digital Performer
9.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Cubase(1)
9.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Nuendo(1)
8.0+
YES
YES
Presonus Studio One
4.0+
YES
YES
VSL Vienna Ensemble Pro
6.0+
YES
YES
Notation Software(2)
Version
Avid Sibelius
2018.1+
YES
YES
MakeMusic Finale
25.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Dorico
3.0+
YES
YES
(1) VST3 usage is recommended
(2) Sibelius / Finale / Dorico notation programs work with Opus, but do not support the full feature set of some Opus/Play Libraries, such as those that use WordBuilder. Please contact support for details.
Load any piano or mic position individually (each piano is approx. 60Gbs)
3 positions are included per piano for maximum flexibility
10-18 velocities per note of sustain and sustain with pedal
8-12 velocities per note of repetitions and repetitions with pedal
5-8 velocities of soft pedal and soft pedal with sustain pedal
16 velocity staccato on every piano
Repetition samples taken from 180 BPM performances for a TRUE repetition sound and not simply an alternate take.
Software detects true repetitions
Resonance - pedal resonance recorded for every note at multiple velocities, as well as with the soft pedal down
Proprietary resonance captured on the Bösendorfer
Release samples with software envelope follower
Articulations on each piano include
A. Sustain
B. Sustain with pedal
C. Repetitions
D. Repetitions with pedal
E. Soft pedal
F. Soft pedal with sustain pedal
G. Staccato
H. Release trails
Recorded in a proper piano environment with vintage Neumann microphones, Meitner AD converters and a vintage 8078 Neve console
Stereo swap possible in software
Mic position mixing in software
Lid position simulation
Articulation matrix for quick and straightforward loading
Most powerful streaming engine available with highest polyphony counts
PLAY interface includes impulses from the same hall the producers used to record Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs so the pianos can blend with those collections.
