Black

Grand MkII

The magnificent Steinway D, recorded in a concerthall for the true concert grand
experience. Three different microphone perspectives, Close, Ambient and
Medium Ambiance that you can mix together. Incredible 48 samples/note cut's
this sampled instrument in a class of it's own.

I was listening to some Suzanne Ciani at work the other day during my lunch hour. She is a huge
figure in New Age piano. I also had a CD-R in the machine of some test pieces I had created using the
Black Grand (Ambient Perspective). I had actually forgotten that CD was in the machine. When it
started playing the Black Grand pieces, I was immediately struck by the fact that it sounded in the zone
of the Ciani material, but actually much better - warmer, which for me is a good thing! So here was an
unprocessed sampled piano - the Black Grand - sounding much better than a real piano which had
been recorded and mastered in a million dollar studio. Amazing!
- Lawrence Lougheed

"Been playing the medium ambience set tonight - wow! Can't put it down! Sounds amazing; so much
expression! Congratulations on a first class library."
- Nick Redman
"Black Grand is really a dream piano"
-Pascal Perrin, Composer & Producer
"Love it! Thanks for your excellent work and the obvious love and care you have for
your virtual instruments."
-Roger Barnes, Musician and Composer
Got the Black Grand. Wow! A sampling masterpiece
Grant Olsen Musician & Composer

The MkII
Since the samplers has been become more advanced and the Black Grand still are
one of our most popular pianos, we decided to bring it up to date and add some
functions in the line of the original ideas.
In the MkII all microphone perspectives are included so you can use them one by
one, of mix to taste!
We also added hammerback and pedalnoise samples.
Then we added our True Resonance feature and used Kontakts scripting facilities
to make Real Time/True Pedaling, Sympathetic Resonance and some other nifty
features, and, Voila: The Black Grand MkII

The Swedish Chef

Yes, I am from Sweden! So, I hope youll understand that the text in this manual
sometimes not are grammatically correct, and that there might be a few spelling
mistakes, but who cares huudli-buudlii-coconut.

The Kontakt GUI

Heres what you see when you load up the Black Grand MkII In Kontakt:

Reverb

Press the button to activate the reverb and choose the size with the Rev Size
knob

Resonance Volume


The resonance, (in this instrument anyway), is the sound produced when you hit
a key with the sustain pedal pressed. What happens when you press the sustain
pedal on a piano is that you lift all the dampers from the strings so that all strings
on all notes are undamped. When you then hit a key, all strings in the piano will
resonate.
Here you set the volume of the resonance that the piano produces when hitting a
note, or notes, with all strings undamped.
Set the amount to taste, or turn it up for some really cool effects!

Shimmer

As described above, you can set the volume of the resonance produced with
undamped strings.
Ok, on some pianos, the dampers are a bit worned out and simply dont damp the
strings as they should, so when you are playing with the sustain pedal up, you
still get some resonance from the strings. This gives the instrument a
shimmering tone that, in some cases might be considered a fault, but in other
(this), case are considered a feature.
With this control you blend in the resonances to notes played with the pedal up.
All the way to the right you will actually playing pedal down notes all the time,
but experiment with this to find a setting that works with your current musical
mode!

Res Vol & Shimmer ganged
You cant have a Shimmer thats louder then the Res Vol. If you could, pressing the
pedal would actually produce a lower resonance, and thats a bit to weird even for
me. So, when raising the shimmer and reaching the Res Vol settings, the Res Vol
knob will follow.

SR Vol


Heres where the magic starts.

Sympathetic Resonance The life & soul of the piano
There are two ways of undamping a piano string, one that described above, when
you press the sustain pedal and undamp all strings, and another where you play
and hold a tone.
When playing a note on a piano, it will effect all other strings that are undamped
by resonating them. Depending on what note(s) that are held and what note(s)
that are played, you will get certain overtones going. This is called Sympathetic
Resonance and really, really blows life into a piano.
To try it out, turn on the SR by pressing the button, set the SR Vol to about half
way up, play and hold a C chord, let it ring out and then, while still holding the
keys to the C chord, play the C in the octave below.
As you can hear, youll get a resonance going. This is the Sympathetic Resonance.
You can, if you like, turn this knob to eleven (in a true Nigel Tufnel manner).
This will produce an over the top resonance that still can be cool for effects!
Some limitations
If you consider the amount of combinations of possible pressed and held keys
together with possible played notes, that sum would be, well big! The SR in the
Black Grand MkII is an emulation that works on many, but not all combinations. To
get actually all would make a, well BIG program and would really be impossible
to make.

Velocity Settings

Here you can set the way that the piano response to velocity, or, how hard you
hit your MIDI keyboard.

Vel Resp

With this control you can set the velocity curve of the Black Grand MkII. Fully
left, you will get a response where you will trigger lower velocities on a larger
range, fully right you will set it to trigger higher velocities on a larger range.
In the middle, you will get a linear response and will probably be your starting
point. If you are in a softer mode, turn it down a bit, and for more aggressive
playing, turn it up. Try it out and youll see what I mean!
The Velocity Curve
You will probably have the option to change the velocity response, or curve, on your
MIDI keyboard. I would recommend having this set to a linear response if you want
to control things with the Black Grand MkII. Also if you prefer to control this with
your keyboard, I suggest you set the Piano in a linear mode

Min Vel & Max Vel
Here you can set the velocity range of the piano. With Min Vel fully left and Max
Vel fully right, you will get the full velocity response from the instrument, and
this would be your go-to setting.
If you turn up the Min Vel, you will not reach the lower velocities, and if you turn
down the Max Vel, you will not reach to higher velocities. Try it; youll see what I
mean!
Min Vel & Max Vel ganged
You cant set the Min Vel higher than the Max Vel, because this would only be, well,
strange!

HB Vol & Ped Vol

Hammerback Noise
This sets the volume of the clunk that the mechanics of a piano key makes
when released. Here you set the volume of the clunkiness.

Pedal Volume
When pressing and releasing a sustain pedal, you will get a certain sound. So
with this control you can choose how much of that you want present. Also, the
pedal noise is a bit random, so its there are several versions recorded, and you
will not get the same noise triggered two times in a row.

Room



The Black Grand is recorded in a concert hall. So the release samples has a lot of
room ambience in them. With this control you can set the amount of room
ambience.
The Perspectives

Close Perspective


The treble and bass side of the microphones capturing the Close Perspective. Milab
DC-96B and MG UM30

The "Close" perspective was recorded with the microphones placed very close to
the strings. Normally, this isn't the way you would record a classical piece, but
you will find that this perspective gives you a great presence and brilliance. Try
this version for an in-your-face pop or jazz sound, or for bold and aggressive
features. Definitely reach for this version first on a live performance. It has the
raw edge needed to cut through a pounding rhythm section, or to back up a
powerful vocalist. The more live your playing space, the more likely that the
Close Perspective instrument will work for you.

Medium Ambient Perspective


Microphone placement. Medium Ambience perspective. Neuman KM84

The "medium" perspective is taken using two microphones placed at a moderate
distance from the instrument. This perspective works well for both classical and
acoustic jazz recordings, where the perception of some room in the tone is
desirable. Don't be afraid to try this version in places where you might consider
the Close Perspective to be ideal. Sometimes a little distance on the piano can
actually make it easier to bring up in the mix. Every mix is different, and the
ultimate choice is always going to be a "mix thing."









Ambient Perspective


Microphone placement, Ambient perspective. Rode NT5

The "Ambient" perspective is normally the preferred configuration for recording
a live classical piano performance, such as a recital. The microphones are placed
at a sufficient distance let the tone fully engage the room. You might even say
that the room is really the featured player here, as much as the piano. As a
player, you are responding as much to the way the instrument is acoustically
interacting with the room as you are to the piano itself. You might want to start
with this piano if you are seeking to emulate the sound of a piano being played
onstage with other instruments. Try it for solo piano work as well. Ultimately,
again, only the final mix and mood you're trying to achieve can inform your
decision.

Technical stuff

16 velocity levels
More the 7300 samples
TimeVel Release Technology
Sympathetic Resonance
Controllable volume for key/pedal noise
Controllable volume for Sympathetic Resonance and True Resonance
Three microphone perspectives
24 bit 44.1 stereo samples

Minimum requirements:

Kontakt 4, (full version, it will open in the free player, but in a time
limited/session mode)

As always, have fun with the instrument. Please remember to eat, sleep and register
to vote.
Love & Peace!