Studio FX Piano

Name: Studio FX Piano
Price: 279 USD
Author: Vienna Symphonic Library

by Vienna Symphonic Library · Keys · Prepared and effects piano

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Studio FX Piano by Vienna Symphonic Library

A prepared and effects piano library built on a Yamaha CFX recorded on Stage B of the Synchron Stage Vienna, using screws, bolts, chains, felt, rubber and an EBow.

It covers hits, drones, plucks, pads, glissandos, string scrapes and mallet strikes, for €249 (about $283) Standard or €399 Full.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM.

Keywords: sound design, drones, pads, cinematic, mallets, plucks, grand piano, textures, acoustic drums, eerie, evolving, risers & hits, strings, tube.

What it does

Studio FX Piano is a Vienna Symphonic Library sound-design library made from a prepared Yamaha CFX grand, recorded on Stage B of the Synchron Stage. VSL says it expands on the prepared-piano idea John Cage popularized in the 1940s.

Preparations: screws, bolts, rubber, felt wedges, chains and paper placed on the strings, plus an EBow for infinite sustain.
Techniques: glissandos, string scrapes and mallet strikes, alongside percussive hits, drones, plucks and pads.
Patch categories: percussive, pads, spacious, delays and evolving.
Presets: Prepper's Delight, Beyond Recognition and Pure Experimentation, a Decca Tree multi-mic preset, and in the Full Library a surround-to-stereo downmix and extra FX presets.
Microphones: Neumann KM 184 condenser, Royer SF-24 ribbon, Lewitt LCT 1040 tube, two mid pairs (AB and ORTF), Decca tree stereo and mono, and main surround.
Two editions: Standard with 59,292 samples or Full with 118,584 samples.

It runs in the free Vienna Synchron Player (not the Synchron Piano Player). The product page does not mention a demo.

Source: Vienna Symphonic Library product page

When to use it

Studio FX Piano is the pick when you want the piano as a sound-design and percussion source rather than an instrument for playing tunes. Compared with Spitfire's Originals Felt Piano, which gives one soft, playable character, it offers a wide range of hits, drones and scraped textures from a single grand. Keyscape and Pianoteq 9 are better for playing real piano parts, while this library is closer to a percussion library. It is also very large.

Best for: thriller and horror cues, ambient textures, cinematic hits and sound design.
Genres: cinematic, ambient, experimental and electronic.
Look elsewhere if: you want a normal piano for playing; Keyscape or Pianoteq 9 are the better choices.
Tip: a VI-Control user recommends the Synchron Player's parallel mode to lay several articulations across the keyboard, each in its own range.

What producers say

Early forum reactions were enthusiastic about the range of sounds; no full magazine review was found.

VI-Control users called it "beyond amazing" and "a stunning library" after the demos, and one said "it's crazy what you can do with it".
Comparison: one user noted it is "more of a percussion library" than a playable piano, unlike VSL's older prepared piano in its Special Keyboards collection.

VI-Control forum thread

Where to buy

Best Service: $279
Vienna Symphonic Library: $282.74 (Standard Edition listed at €249 (Full Edition €399, about $453.06); converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))

Tutorials and reviews

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