The Grand 3
by Steinberg · Keys · Sampled piano suite
Not rated yet
Steinberg's virtual piano suite with five deeply sampled instruments: Steinway D, Bosendorfer 290 Imperial and Yamaha C7 grands, a Nordiska upright and the Yamaha CP80 Electric Grand.
Up to 20 velocity samples per key, close and player mic positions, and resonance and mechanical-noise modeling come in about 30 GB of content, with its own VST, AU and AAX plugin.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, Pop, Ambient & Cinematic, Rock & Indie.
Keywords: grand piano, sample-based, upright piano, hardware emulation, AAX, bright, electric piano, heavy.
What it does
The Grand 3 is Steinberg's "high-class virtual piano suite": five sampled pianos in one instrument, recorded with Neumann microphones in a large room built for piano recording.
- Five pianos: Steinway D, Bosendorfer 290 Imperial and Yamaha C7 concert grands, a Nordiska Pianofabriken upright, and the Yamaha CP80 Electric Grand (sampled by Yamaha in Japan).
- Deep sampling: up to 20 velocity samples per key, with hammer action, sustain and sostenuto pedal support, mechanical noises and resonance.
- Two mic positions: close and player perspectives, mixed from a 12-microphone recording setup.
- Editing tools: per-model controls such as sustain resonance, string release, key sound and hammer release, plus EQ, a convolution reverb and tuning and velocity options (per MusicRadar's review).
- CP80 effects: the electric grand swaps the acoustic controls for tremolo and chorus, flanger or phaser modulation.
The current version is 3.3.20 (April 2026).
Source: Steinberg product page
When to use it
The Grand 3 is the pick if you want three different concert grands, an upright and a CP80 in one mid-priced plugin with a straightforward interface. It is larger on disk and less tweakable than Pianoteq 9, which models its pianos physically, and it has fewer instruments or less detail than Keyscape and Ivory II Grand Pianos, which are larger sample libraries. Where Vienna Imperial focuses on one Bosendorfer, The Grand 3 offers several grands.
- Best for: solo and accompaniment piano parts, pop and rock ballads, and composers who want several grand piano characters to choose from.
- Genres: classical, jazz, pop, singer-songwriter, film and rock (the CP80).
- Look elsewhere if: you want vintage electric pianos and keyboards beyond the CP80; Pianoteq 9 or Keyscape fit those needs better.
- Standout: the Yamaha CP80 Electric Grand, which reviewers singled out.
What producers say
Reviews are mostly positive about the sound, especially the CP80, with complaints about loading times and a brighter tone than earlier versions.
- MusicRadar (2010) called it "a winning balance of quality sound and flexibility" with the CP80 "the star of the show"; cons were slow loading and no room sample set.
- Audiofanzine users (2010) one moved to it from The Grand SE and found the Bosendorfer "sweet and full" but noted it is heavy and expensive.
- Gripe: another Audiofanzine user (2010) called it "Worse than The Grand 2" and found it "much more metallic" than Ivory.
Where to buy
- Plugin Boutique: $129.99
- Best Service: $130.77
- Steinberg: $149.99
- AudioDeluxe: $149.99
Tutorials and reviews
- The Grand 3 - The Ultimate Virtual Piano Suite (Steinberg)
- Steinberg the grand 3 review (floridamusiccompany)
- Steinberg The Grand 3 (Audio-3000)
- Steinberg The Grand 3 - VST Instrument
- Steinberg Grand 3 Demo Yamaha C7 closed
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