Exceptional Pianos, Built For MPCs
Piano Suite 3 is our flagship acoustic piano expansion featuring 7 beautifully multisampled acoustic pianos recorded with up to 8 velocity layers to create breathtakingly realistic pianos in all modern MPCs.
Now fully updated to include support for MPC3 advanced keygroups, Q-LINK adjustable piano mechanics and ready-to-play instruments for the MPC Sample.
The Pianos
The expansion features the following 7 acoustic pianos, all fully multisampled and mapped to MPC3 advanced keygroups:
- Concert Grand - A vintage concert grand piano with a dark, rich timbre.
- Studio Upright - Clear tone with plenty of depth and presence.
- Console Piano - A compact upright piano with a contemporary sound.
- Saloon Piano - Distinctive piano sound indicative of old Western movies.
- Toy Piano - tine-based toy piano with distinctive bell-like sounds.
- Parlor Grand - a medium sized grand with a very pleasing tonal character.
- Spinet Upright - a small vintage upright with a timbre that falls somewhere between the console and saloon sound.
We've also created a total of 70 ready-to-play instrument patches which build upon the seven core pianos, utilising different FX and track parameters to achieve a range of additional piano sounds.
What's in the MPC3 Edition
- All pianos updated to use MPC3 advanced keygroups
- 70 unique sound patches for multiple tones and flavors
- Up to 8 velocity layers for a natural, dynamic piano sound
- Custom MPC3 Q-LINK macros for instant hands-on sound design
- Adjust piano mechanics to create your perfect piano sound.
- Craft the perfect ambience and character with dedicated FX controls of reverb, delay, modulation, EQ, compression & lofi FX
- Ready-to-play using pad perform or attached MIDI keyboards
- Highly optimised memory usage for all standalone models, uses significantly less memory compared to Akai piano plugins
- MPC Sample version with starter projects built around reach of the seven pianos
- MPC2 edition also included containing legacy keygroup versions of all pianos.
Craft Your Own Piano Sound
Customise each piano with 32 dedicated Q-LINK macros for adjusting a range of piano mechanics and FX (MPC3 edition only).
Adjust key release noises, hammer level, damping, dynamic range and randomised timbre variation. Dive in deeper with control of velocity response curves and stereo key tracking.
Complete your unique sound by adjusting tone, compression and ambience via our pre-configured Q-LINK dials.
MPC Sample Instruments Included
The dedicated MPC Sample Edition provides two unique ways to create beautiful piano performances in your MPC Sample:
- 16 LEVEL One Shots - one shot instrument samples multisampled across multiple octaves for use in the 16 LEVELS feature, perfect for dropping into any existing MPC Sample project to add haunting acoustic piano melodies to your beats
- Starter Projects - 7 pre-built projects that each feature a high quality, ready-to-play multisampled acoustic piano chromatically mapped across multiple pad banks. Each piano features up to 8 velocity layers (utilising the MPC Sample's hidden sample layer support).
With a starter project, your piano is pre-loaded into banks C to H, leaving all other banks for your drum kit and other sounds. Alternatively if you prefer to add the piano to an existing project, use the 16 LEVELS option instead. Read more in the User Guide
Optimised For Standalone
As with all our MPC instrument expansions, memory and CPU usage is highly optimised to ensure you have absolutely no problems dropping these instruments into any MPC project, no matter which model you are using. They also don't eat into any of your allotted plugin slots.
Built For MPC & Force
Piano Suite 3 is compatible with all modern standalone MPCs, the MPC Sample, MPC Software, MPC Beats & Akai Force.
FAQs
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Does this expansion work with MPC3 and MPC2?
Yes, the expansion includes separate versions for MPC3 and MPC2 making it compatible with all modern MPCs, Akai Force, MPC Software and MPC Beats. It also comes with an edition made specifically for the MPC Sample.
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How do I use the pianos in an MPC Sample?
We provide two ways to use this expansion in the MPC Sample. The first option is to use the multisampled acoustic piano one shots with the 16 LEVELS feature to create playable 16 note chromatic piano instruments from any pad in your current project. The second option is via the 'starter projects'. Here each project loads with a multisampled piano instrument mapped chromatically across multiple pad banks (typically banks C to G, leaving all other pad banks available to for drum kits and other sounds). All instruments feature up to 8 velocity layers for maximum realism.
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How easy is it to customise the sound of each piano?
Each piano includes a total of 32 custom Q-LINK macros (MPC3 only) which give you instant hands-on control of many different aspects of the piano including key release noise, string damping, hammer volume, dynamic range and timbre variation. You can also control FX such as eq, ambience, compression and lofi noise. For deeper control, head over to 'TRACK EDIT' where you can use the MPC3 'advanced keygroup' interface to customise any parameter you wish, or use the XL channel strips for more granular editing of FX settings. You can also use the mod matrix to adjust velocity response curve and stereo key tracking (full instructions included in the User Guide). MPC Sample users can easily control the FX applied across the instrument via the 'PAD FX' screen and make changes to filters and envelopes via the SAMPLE screen.
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Do these pianos require a lot of memory?
No! We've spent a lot of time optimising the instruments use the smallest memory possible, each pianos is only around 100MB, so even on a 'gen 1' MPC with 2GB RAM you can easily load several pianos without breaking a sweat (and these pianos do not use up any plugin slots).
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How do I preview the different instruments before loading?
Go to the browser and make sure 'AUDITION > AUTO' is set. Now when you tap on an instrument in the browser the MPC will play a short audio demo for that instrument.
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Can I play these instruments with a MIDI control keyboard?
Yes, just hook up your keyboard to your MPC (via USB, MIDI cable etc) and you can immediately play the instruments with the keyboard. Set up instructions are provided in the User Guide.
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I can’t play keyboard, can I still use these instruments?
Yes! You can play the instruments directly with your pads via PAD PERFORM mode which maps pre-built chords and scales across your pads.
Technical Specs
| Contents: | 7 multisampled acoustic pianos with 70 instrument presets. |
| Format: | 24 Bit WAV, XTD. |
| Compatibility: | All modern standalone MPCs & MPC Sample. Also suitable for the Akai Force, MPC Software, MPC Beats |
| Supported Hardware: | MPC Sample, MPC XL, MPC Live 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Live, MPC Live 2, MPC X / SE, MPC Key 37/61, Force |
| Minimum Software/Firmware: | MPC 2.15, MPC 3.9, Force 3.3. MPC Sample 1.3.0 |
| Disk Space Required For Installation: | 530MB |
| Developer: | Pad Pimps |
| Delivery: | Download instantly after purchase |
| More Info: | Piano Suite 3 User Guide |
