Piano Reviews: Native Instruments’ Alicia’s Keys Virtual Piano

The newest music software from Native Instrument is about to change the entire computer audio and music software landscape, holding soul and R&B at perfect balance.

Created together with award winning artist Alicia Key, Native Instruments’ Alicia’s Keys Virtual Piano brings Alicia Keys’ very own sound much closer. This software recreates Key’s signature Yamaha C3 Neo grand piano. The entire project is a product of a close craftsmanship between the renowned keyboard software developer Thomas Scarbee and Alicia Keys herself. And within two years, Native Instrument successfully captured that unique Alicia Keys sound with its latest equipments and hard work.

Using nothing but the best vintage microphones and high-end outboard studio gear, this new sampled grand is not an everyday instrument. On top of that, it also has a number of strong features plus a great tone, all at a very decent price.

This virtual piano uses 17GB worth of high resolution samples plus 12 discrete velocity layers on every note. It has sophisticated emulation of crucial sonic aspects like key release, pedal sustain functionality and sympathetic resonance.

This virtual piano’s user interface has a complete control over the sound in order to let you adjust the software into a specific musical preference and playing style. And to make things even better, it also includes a studio-quality convolution reverb that allows a number of authentic room ambiences ranging from a small piano chamber to a large stage or concert hall.

The actual piano that Alicia Keys uses is a Yamaha C3, a part of the limited edition Neo cabinetry. The C3 is a six-foot grand, which means that its low register is less full and deep than on a nine-foot concert grand. Yamaha pianos are widely respected for their bright, in-your-face sound, and that the same characteristic is preserved in this music software.

The moment you try it, you will notice right away the realistic features of Alicia’s Keys. Its velocity response makes it very playable even when you are no professional piano player with every range of the keyboard responding well as it should.

It also has a standard DSP reverb that allows you to run it smoothly on a slower computer. However, even without the reverb, the piano’s natural ambience is beautiful. Probably because of its meticulous tuning each of the unisons has exactly the right amount of microscopic tuning, making the tone of the choruses almost perfect, just like on a real piano.

Alicia’s Keys will give you the pop ballad feel that you are looking for richer and more up-front than the Yamaha C7 or the German Steinway. It is by far the most inviting to play as well as the most flexible to use compared to any other virtual pianos available today.

Make music out of sheer inspiration. Evoke deep emotions with every note. Why wait? Try Native Instrument’s Alicia’s Keys Virtual Piano today!

Find out more about Native Instruments’ Alicia’s Keys Piano