Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand

Name: Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand
Price: 159 USD
Author: Garritan

by Garritan · Keys · Concert grand instrument

vst3s Score 8.3/10 · rated #7 of 10 keys & pianos

Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand by Garritan

A sampled Yamaha CFX concert grand recorded in Studio One at Abbey Road Studios. It offers three recorded perspectives: Classic, Contemporary (brighter, with more hammer) and Player (a binaural recording from the piano bench, for headphones).

It runs in Garritan's own ARIA Player as a plugin or standalone, so no separate sampler is needed. It is used for classical, solo piano and film work; a smaller Lite edition is also sold.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, Ambient & Cinematic, Pop.

Keywords: grand piano, bright, sample-based, classic, film & game audio, cinematic, standalone app.

What it does

The CFX Concert Grand is Garritan's sample library of Yamaha's flagship nine-foot CFX, recorded in Abbey Road's Studio One with the studio's microphones (Neumann, DPA, AKG and Schoeps) and engineers.

Three perspectives: Classic (natural and balanced), Contemporary (bright, with more hammer attack) and Player (binaural, as heard from the bench, for headphones).
Presets: 11 Classic, 10 Contemporary and 9 Player presets, all editable.
Controls: lid position (open, half or closed), built-in convolution reverb, and further piano, studio and advanced pages.
Engine: the ARIA Player; no separate sampler needed.

A smaller CFX Lite edition is also available.

Source: Garritan product page

When to use it

Garritan CFX is the classic, recital-style concert grand among the rated pianos. It is older and less tweakable than Ravel and Pianoverse, and a single piano where Keyscape covers many instruments. Like Noire it uses a CFX, but where Noire goes for a close, intimate sound, Garritan's version gives you the CFX in a large studio room, with its brightness and long sustain.

Best for: solo classical piano, film cues and any part where the piano should sound like it's in a natural room.
Genres: classical and jazz, cinematic, and ballads.
Look elsewhere if: you need a tight, close-miked piano that cuts through a busy pop or rock mix. Addictive Keys or Pianoteq are lighter.

What producers say

It was widely praised on release and is still named in current guides.

MusicTech gave it a 9/10 Choice award, calling it one of the finest virtual pianos available, with storage size and price as the main drawbacks.
Sound On Sound said Garritan had raised the bar for virtual pianos (as quoted on Garritan's reviews page).
Electronic Musician gave it an Editors' Choice award.
Sweetwater buyers (4.3/5 from 45 reviews) praise the realism but mention slow loading and a bright midrange that suits classical more than pop.

Where to buy

Sweetwater: $159
AudioDeluxe: $159
Garritan: $199.95

Tutorials and reviews

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