Studio Bösendorfer Imperial

Name: Studio Bösendorfer Imperial
Price: 214.61 USD
Author: Vienna Symphonic Library

by Vienna Symphonic Library · Keys · Sampled Bösendorfer Imperial grand

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Studio Bösendorfer Imperial by Vienna Symphonic Library

Studio Bösendorfer Imperial is a sampled Bösendorfer Imperial 290-755 concert grand, recorded at VSL's Silent Stage with three mic perspectives: Close, Player and Audience.

It uses Bösendorfer CEUS technology for up to 100 velocities and up to 1,200 samples per key, in 69,633 samples (33 GB), for €189 (about $215).

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

Keywords: grand piano, sample-based, intimate, cinematic, film & game audio, multisampled.

What it does

Studio Bösendorfer Imperial brings "the unmistakable Viennese sound" of Bösendorfer's Imperial concert grand into a close, controlled studio setting. It was recorded on VSL's Silent Stage rather than in a large hall, so the sound is intimate and you add the room yourself.

CEUS recording: the piano was played by Bösendorfer's CEUS reproducing system during sampling, for precise, repeatable notes.
Deep sampling: up to 100 velocity layers and up to 1,200 samples per key, 69,633 samples in total.
Three perspectives: Close, Player and Audience mics, which you can blend and adjust.
Presets and reverb: the Synchron Player presets combine mic positions with reverb settings, as the 19 demo tracks show.
Half pedalling: added in an update, according to users on VI-Control.

It plays in the Vienna Synchron Player. A crossgrade from VI Vienna Imperial is available, and it is included in the Studio Pianos Bundle. It is a different product from Synchron Bösendorfer Imperial, which was recorded on Stage A of the Synchron Stage.

Source: Vienna Symphonic Library product page

When to use it

Studio Bösendorfer Imperial is the pick for a single, deeply sampled concert grand with a dry, close sound you can place in your own reverb. Compared with Pianoteq 9, it is a sampled piano with a large disk footprint rather than a small modeled one, and it offers less control over the instrument itself. Against Keyscape or the Garritan Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand, it gives a different, Viennese colour that users describe as a bit edgier, which can help it blend with other parts. Owners of VSL's older Vienna Imperial get a crossgrade, and users who compared the two found them very close in sound.

Best for: intimate solo piano, jazz, pop ballads and scoring where you add your own room.
Genres: classical, jazz, cinematic and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you want a big concert-hall sound out of the box; Synchron Bösendorfer Imperial, recorded on a large stage, fits better.

What producers say

Users on VI-Control find it very playable, especially since updates, though some prefer the older Vienna Imperial.

VI-Control thread (2025) one user called it a "top 3 playable piano" and another said half pedalling "totally transformed the performance"; one user praised its "somewhat edgier timbre" for blending and for jazz.
Compared with Vienna Imperial: one user thought the two "are the same" and another preferred the old one; a user noted some samples were dropped in the move to the Synchron Player.
Fixed issues: early complaints about latency and tone were addressed in an update, a VSL representative said.

VI-Control thread

Where to buy

Vienna Symphonic Library: $214.61 (Listed at €189; converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))

Tutorials and reviews

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