In the end, it's all about playability and great sound, and Ivory has both in abundance. In light of these comprehensive controls, it seems strange that there are no microphone or surround options. The Session page offers control over the likes of voice/memory allocation, tuning and velocity, while the Effects page offers well-implemented chorus, EQ and reverb/ambience treatments. There's also the Synth Layer feature, which plays synth pad sounds alongside the pianos. Most useful are the Key Noise, Timbre and Timbre Shift controls, which can radically transform the tone and 'knock' of the piano and would be very useful if, for example, you wanted to thin out the sound in order to place it in a busy mix. There's Soundboard Resonance (choice of eleven) and the new Sympathetic Resonance settings for starters.

Custom keyboardĪlmost every aspect of the instrument can be manipulated from the Program page. The Steinway seemed softer and mellower, and the Yamaha the most characterful - we'd call it 'cronky' even, especially in the bottom end. The Bösey came across as most natural, neutral and at home in its space. The three grands have differing tonal qualities, smoothness and tightness of tuning, overtone variation, etc. Ivory II Studio Grands is also the first Synthogy piano collection to ship with their new Ivory 2.5 Piano Engine which now means an iLok is no longer compulsory for authorisation.The Bösendorfer sounded vibrant, real, instantly playable and entirely at home in this top-notch environment, and after a lot of enjoyable playing, we turned our attention to the numerous presets and parameters. Ivory II Studio Grands features up to 24 velocity levels, harmonic resonance modeling, multiple levels of soft pedal and release samples, plus numerous other features that make this collection one of the most expressive and realistic playing experiences possible in a virtual piano today. Synthogy Ivory II Studio Grands boasts two exceptional studio grands - Steinway B Grand Piano recorded at Power Station New England, Connecticut, and the Bösendorfer 225 Grand Piano, recorded in California´s Firehouse Recording Studios.

Synthogy ivory 2 grand pianos reviews