Spectrasonics Keyscape is a massive virtual piano library that covers everything from acoustic pianos to electric pianos. This is one of the largest collections of piano VSTs in the world today and it has become incredibly popular.
So, is it worth the money?
I believe Keyscape worth the money for producers and serious gigging musicians. While it is pricey, if you break down exactly what you’re getting, it’s a complete steal.
Think about it, a Yamaha C7 piano and a Rhodes at your fingertips without the heft price tag. Sounds nice, right? Well, it is.
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In 2012 my band booked studio time with the most popular producer in the area. This guy is a complete beast with production and mixing. We came in with some pretty solid instruments and we ended up pretty much using none of our actual keyboard sounds.
We went to VSTs across the board. This is because there’s just so much you can explore with them.
With the Keyscape VST, you literally have access to the same sounds that most of your favorite artists and producers are using.
I believe that Keyscape is top 3 when it comes to the absolute best. I don’t personally think it’s fair to say it’s the best because some of this comes down to preference.
What I can say, is that it is incredibly deep and has some absolutely breathtaking sounds that you will be able to use on most of your productions.
Note: Keyscape is a software download that you directly download to your PC or Mac.
Let’s get into the review of Keyscape below.
Table of Contents
Specs/Features Of Keyscape
Below are the features and specs of Keyscape. All of this will be covered in great detail below.
Works in all major DAWs including some free DAWs
500 plus sounds
80 GB installation (Lite version is 30GB for onstage use)
Includes mechanical, pedal, and release noise modeling
Patches feature authentically circuit-modeled amp fx
System Requirements
Below are the system requirements for every user. I highly recommend that you have a nice computer if you’re doing music production. It makes everything so much easier.
When you first load up Keyscape, you will notice that it is an absolutely massive collection of virtual pianos. With this may come some slower loading speeds depending on your setup.
This plugin is well recognized in the producer community as one of the absolute best and it really is for good reason.
Although this is a major download, I also believe that it is well worth the space it takes up.
Interface
The interface is really easy to navigate. You can the controls on the bottom starting with the input and ending with the gain. Tweaking the sustain and release can go a long way with a lot of the presets.
While navigating and loading the instruments, you will notice that it might take some time, even if you have an SSD. The thing with plugins is that they are typically CPU intensive.
With this being said, this is getting better as technology continues advancing. You have to remember, you’re basically loading up a recording studio for each instrument you pick along with effect channels.
Sound
My simple breakdown of the sound of Keyscape is that its main patches such as the Yamaha C7 and the Rhodes, are incredibly realistic. The samples really shine and it’s hard to believe what plugins can produce sonically nowadays.
The C7 benefits greatly when you add a little bit of delay and reverb to it. As far as the electric pianos go, all I can say is, enjoy yourself. I love working. on tracks using the electric pianos and they work especially well in hip hop/R&B compositions.
All of the main patches sound on point and they also can be run through effects channels.
To create a human-like feel, Spectrasonics has created every sample to have up to 32 different velocities. This is always what helps determine a large part about how realistic your samples end up being.
To do this, notes are all played differently in order to capture the different dynamics of musicians.
They then use a technique called, “Round Robin,” which randomly selects the different velocities. I really enjoy this technique and find it to be great for the overall vibe of your tracks.
A Look At The Keyboard Models In Keyscape:
Custom C7 Grand Piano – One of my favorites
Wing Upright Piano
Wing Tack Piano
Rhodes LA Custom “E”
Rhodes Classic Mark I
Wurlitzer 140B – Standout
Wurlitzer 200A – Standout
Yamaha CP-70
Vintage Vibe Electric Piano
Hohner Pianet M
Hohner Pianet N
Hohner Pianet T
Weltmeister Claviset
Hohner Clavinet C
Hohner Clavinet-Pianet DUO
Vintage Vibe
Celeste
Chimeatron
Dulcitone
Clavichord
Dolceola
Electric Harpsichord
Mini Student Butterfly Piano
Rhodes 1946 – Standout
Toy Piano Classic
Toy Piano Glock
Toy Piano Grand
Toy Piano Saucer Bell
Rhodes Piano Bass – Standout
Vintage Vibe Tine Bass
Weltmeister Basset I
Weltmeister Basset II
JD-800 Crystal Rhodes
MK-80 Digital Rhodes
MKS-20 Digital Piano
Harmochord
Touring Musicians
You will notice that Spectrasonics built Keyscape to be fully compatible for touring musicians and for studio producers. If you choose to use this for touring, you will want to download the lite version which is 30 GB.
If you’re using a DAW with an Ableton Live MIDI controller, you will find it a breeze to set up. The reason why I say Ableton Live is that it is the most popular option for gigging musicians.
Effects
The effects are located on the bottom of the interface for Keyscape. They are easy to access and they can quickly put some life into some of your presets.
I suggest playing around with the sustain, the gain, the EQ’s, & the pedal noise. The pedal noise creates this element of organics that I fall for every time with most plugins.
Doesn’t Support Half-Pedaling
This is one thing that pianists might be a little disappointed about. If you’re someone who likes to get super dynamic with your pedaling, you can’t really do that with Keyscape the way you would like to.
With this being said, I would also encourage you to test it out and see what it sounds like when you have your sustain pedal hooked up and you’re rocking out.
Why Keyscape Is A Good Value
While there are a lot of other inexpensive plugins out there, not many compare to the overall size and sounds that you get with Keyscape.
This is an extremely deep plugin that offers you everything you would like from a producers point of view.
You have a collection of instruments that would cost you thousands of dollars that are at your fingertips ready for use for a fraction of the price.
At the very top of the virtual instrument space, Spectrasonics is hands down one of the greatest companies out there. Spectrasonics Keyscape is the best piano VST and serves as the industry's benchmark for virtual pianos.
If you want endless sound design possibilities, go with Omnisphere. If you want great piano sounds, go with Keyscape. It's ideal to get both if you have the money. All Spectrasonics instruments work with Omnisphere, meaning you can use the sounds from Keyscape (or Trilian) in Omnisphere when creating sounds.
The size the full Keyscape library uses in your drive (77 GB) is actually compressed using lossless audio compression. Uncompressed, the library is over 200 GB! So when we say the library is “huge,” we really mean it!
The minimum RAM for Keyscape is 8 GB. Increasing RAM to 16 GB or more will generally improve streaming performance and is recommended if you are frequently encountering audio glitches. View the System page and ensure that the Pre-Load Memory Size is around 50,000 and the Stream Brake is around 0.1.
1. Serum by Xfer Records. The original Rent-to-Own plugin and one of the most beloved software synths of all time, Serum continues to hold the top position on many Splice users' lists.
Additionally, with our system, you aren't limited to using them on only one computer. Since all Spectrasonics instruments have a “single-user/multiple-computer” license, you can install and use them on as many computers that you own and will be using yourself.
Top Artists all over the world rely on Omnisphere as an essential source of sonic inspiration. This award-winning software brings many different types of synthesis together into one amazing-sounding instrument that will spark a lifetime of exploration.
We have a “single-user/multiple-computer” lifetime license policy. If it is a recording project that you are musically involved in producing, engineering, or arranging, of course that isn't a problem.
There are times when you want to play and record Keyscape but you don't need all the tools included with a full-featured DAW. It can be time-consuming to open a DAW and set up a session just to access your favorite sounds / keyboards. You just want to sit down and play, and even record your ideas.
Conclusion. Spectrasonics Keyscape is a fantastic collection of modeled instruments. The variety it has is enough to inspire and find unique sounds for any style of music, but not so overwhelming that it feels hard to use. The 36 keyboards included feel like just the right amount.
The sounds include up to 32 layers of velocity, which is large for a sampled library and allows a great range for dynamics. Without any editing on the user end, Keyscape sounds good by default.
There are a few notes / downsides to be aware of. First, this takes a long time to install. I think for me it was somewhere about 8 hours, which is a really long time to wait when you're eager to try it out!
When installing Keyscape, the installer will prompt you to select one of two available installation types for the instrument: Full or Lite. The Full installation includes the complete collection of Keyscape keyboard models and uses a total of about 77GB of drive space on Mac, and about 71GB on Windows.
Fabfilter Pro Q3 is probably one of the most advanced EQ vst plugins with features such as Linear phase mode, natural phase mode, mid/side processing, and dynamic EQ. FabFilter Pro Bundle is the industry's favorite mixing bundle, and many producers consider it a must-have VST plugin in 2023.
Hybrid Digital Pianos are the most expensive type of digital pianos. They usually have highest quality samples, sophisticated sound system, and action that fully replicates the action of an acoustic piano. Hybrid pianos come the closest (in all aspects) to real acoustic pianos.
The Kawai ES120 is the most affordable digital piano in the company's arsenal, but without a doubt, it's one of the most realistic digital pianos in its class. Kawai instruments have always been known for their realistic keyboards and authentic piano sounds. The ES120 is no exception.
The data files for Omnisphere, Keyscape, and Trilian are stored in the same STEAM folder. When you update your patches or soundsources, you are updating files in your STEAM folder, which was created when you originally installed Omnisphere, Keyscape, and/ or Trilian.
The minimum RAM required for Omnisphere is 8 GB. Increasing RAM to 16 GB or more will generally improve streaming performance and is recommended if you are frequently encountering audio glitches.
Can I resell Omnisphere used to someone else? Not without obtaining a license transfer from Spectrasonics. The sounds and software are licensed and registered ONLY to you. You cannot automatically transfer the license to someone else, and therefore you cannot simply sell it used.
Keyscape installation is available from a USB drive or as a download. Here you will find instructions for performing default and custom installations for both Mac and Windows. After installing Keyscape, you'll need to authorize the plug-in.
A recent study shows that over 97 percent of piano soloists performing with orchestras played on Steinway pianos. Concert pianists perform all around the world with symphony orchestras.
Touring artists have use of Steinway pianos on tours through the company's “piano banks.” Well over 90% of performing pianists continue to choose Steinway grand pianos. Duke Ellington (1899-1974): Known for his upbeat jazz style, Duke Ellington helped define the genre and forge a new path for many following musicians.
Keyscape has four, ranging from the archetypal childish plinky-plonk of the so-called 'Grand' and 'Classic' models to the esoteric tones of the 'Bell Saucer' and 'Glock' instruments, which use, respectively, a bell tree and miniature metal bars as their sound sources.
A single parameter can be Unlearned, while the rest will remain assigned to the physical controller. Keyscape is MIDI input-channel-sensitive when MIDI-Learning.
To switch to the Omnisphere interface, just click on the “X” in the top left of Keyscape's interface: Conversely, selecting the KEYSCAPE button on the Omnisphere interface when a Keyscape Patch is loaded will return you to the Keyscape Custom Controls page.
We have a “single-user/multiple-computer” lifetime license policy. If it is a recording project that you are musically involved in producing, engineering, or arranging, of course that isn't a problem.
It's "Piano A," the first and favorite of Elton's four 9-foot Yamaha Disklavier® DCFIII concert grands. "It's probably the most played, most traveled piano on the planet," says Keith Bradley, Elton's tour director. "Actually, Elton has four touring piano systems, which are represented by the letters A through D.
He's unequivocal about his preference for Steinway pianos to tell his musical stories. “Guitarists talk about their guitar like it's a woman...they talk about the wood and the shape,” Joel has said. “It's the same thing with these pianos.” He speaks as a man in love. And in January, we'll celebrate that love with him.
The Kawai ES120 is the most affordable digital piano in the company's arsenal, but without a doubt, it's one of the most realistic digital pianos in its class. Kawai instruments have always been known for their realistic keyboards and authentic piano sounds. The ES120 is no exception.
The most important tool in piano tuning is called the tuning hammer (also called a lever), which is a specialized wrench that helps the tuner turn the tuning pins, thereby adjusting the string pitch.
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