Toontrack has recently introduced a new EZkeys 2 expansion featuring a carefully captured felt-damped upright piano, ideal for anything from mellow singer-songwriter and folk to acoustic pop and rock.
The Felt Piano EKX delivers earthy, round and warm tones.
The piano in this EKX was recorded using a classic technique where an extra layer of felt is applied directly to the strings that the hammers strike, giving the tone of the instrument a much quieter attack and an overall more warm and intimate resonance. To add, the room in which it was captured is moderately small, adding to its almost visceral timbre.
To capture every tonal aspect possible, one mono as well as three different stereo pairs of carefully selected microphones were used in the recording. These microphone options were then all utilized in the broad collection of presets, showcasing anything from the subtle, nuanced and delicate to the more full-bodied and rich – still all with that gentle and almost velvety attack. In addition to the sounds, a basic MIDI library tailored specifically for the instrument is included, giving you a starting point of piano grooves to work from and be inspired by when exploring the sonic possibilities of the product.
Also available is the new Acoustic Songwriter expansion for Toontrack’s EZmix versatile mixing tool.
In this EZmix pack for EZmix 3, we’ve honed in on providing a basic set of go-to presets tailored specifically for acoustic instruments. Regardless of whether you have a mic’d up acoustic guitar that sounds distant and muddy, a vocal that you need that super up-close-and-personal vibe on or an upright bass, a mandolin or a piano in need of some extra presence, you’ll find your settings in this pack. In addition to these instrument-specific settings to be used in the actual recording or mixing process, it even includes a selection of AI-Assisted mastering presets, making sure this collection of presets has you covered from idea to finished song.
If you’re a writer of acoustic pop, folk or singer-songwriter music and need an easy way to ensure that your mixes ooze of tube-like soft, warm and enveloping sounds that burst with consummate and absolute acoustic clarity and distinction, here you go.
The Felt Piano EKX and Acoustic Songwriter EZmix Pack are available at Best Service and from Toontrack for 89 USD/EUR and 39 USD/EUR, respectively.
