Château Piano
by Spitfire Audio · Keys · Sampled vintage grand piano
Not rated yet
A 1901 Steinway B grand from Château d'Hérouville near Paris, the studio piano heard on records by Elton John, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac.
It has eight mic signals, including tape, compressed, chorus and distorted versions, and 37 presets, for $159.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Pop, Rock & Indie, Ambient & Cinematic.
Keywords: grand piano, vintage, bright, 80s, classic, hardware emulation, sample-based, 70s, cinematic, film & game audio, gritty, lo-fi, round-robin, smooth, textures, tube.
What it does
Château Piano samples the 1901 Steinway B at Château d'Hérouville, the "Strawberry Studios" château north of Paris used on albums by Elton John, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac. Spitfire pitches it as "a timeless piece of pop music history", with a bright, percussive attack that sits in dense mixes.
- The piano: once owned by film composer Michel Magne; the studio closed in 1985 and reopened in 2020, and the piano was restored by tuner Bastien Herbin.
- Recording: valve and condenser mics, including vintage Neumann U67s placed as in the original Elton John sessions.
- Sampling depth: five dynamic layers with three round robins per note (two at the extremes), with pedal-up and pedal-down samples.
- Four natural signals: Close, Super Close (hammer-end placement for an up-front pop sound), Room and a balanced Mix.
- Four processed signals: Tape (saturation and compression), Compressed (parallel compression), Chorus (a vintage Roland Dimension D) and Distorted (outboard grit).
- 37 presets: grouped as Natural, Classic, Intimate, Lush, Driven and Effected; each preset uses a set of three signals.
- Shaping: high- and low-pass filters, a Tightness control, Expression and Dynamics sliders, reverb, and vintage chorus and flanger effects.
It runs in Spitfire's dedicated plugin. It has a 40% student and educator discount. No trial is offered.
Source: Spitfire Audio product page
When to use it
Château Piano is the pick for one characterful, bright vintage grand with studio processing already built in. Compared with Keyscape or Pianoteq 9, it offers one instrument and much less playing detail, but its Tape, Chorus and Distorted signals give a finished classic-record sound without extra plugins. Unlike Spitfire's own Originals Felt Piano, which is soft and intimate, it is made to cut through a pop or rock mix. It has no una corda pedal or velocity curve, and each preset is limited to its own three signals.
- Best for: 1970s-style pop and rock piano, singer-songwriter tracks, and lo-fi or driven piano textures.
- Genres: pop, rock and indie, singer-songwriter, cinematic.
- Look elsewhere if: you want a modern concert grand, deep pedal and velocity control, or adjustable physical modelling; Pianoteq 9 does that.
- Tip: Sound On Sound suggests setting the velocity curve in your keyboard's software, since the plugin has none, and setting Expression and Dynamics before playing.
What producers say
Reviewers and users like its bright, characterful sound but find the control options limited for the price.
- Sound On Sound praised a "distinctly bright sound, well suited for pop and rock", smooth playability and responsive dynamics, but noted no una corda pedal, no velocity curve and restricted signal combinations.
- VI-Control thread users found it "absolutely wonderful and inspiring" and liked the new preset panel; one buyer found the dynamic range "limited but usable", disliked being locked to three signals per patch, and noted it defaults to sustain on.
Where to buy
- Spitfire Audio: $159
- PluginFox: $159
Tutorials and reviews
- Introducing Château Piano by Spitfire Audio
- A Steinway Steeped in History - Spitfire Audio presents Château Piano.
- Château Piano by Spitfire Audio - A piano steeped in musical history!
- Camden Stewart explores Château Piano
- Tina Hizon Explores Château Piano
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