Topic: Expansion Pack - Gran Coda (Steinway D-274) [update v1.10]

[Francesco Massa]

Hi friends,
I just want to share this piano pack I've personally sampled a few years ago: Gran Coda.

Originally developed for Native Instruments' Kontakt, Gran Coda is now finally available for YAMAHA's mid/top class arranger keyboards.
Sampled from the world famous Steinway D-274 model, this grand piano continues to seduce the audience with its deep and detailed musical nuances.

Features:

• 44.1kHz 16-bit Stereo sample resolution;
• 5 dynamic layers;
• Resonance/Key-off simulation;
• Long-loop dynamic decay;
• Dynamic release (long for low notes, sustained for very high notes);
• Available in .PPF format (PSR A3000/S-770/S-775/S-970/S-975, Tyros5 and Genos);
• Main pack total size: 330 MB (5 voices);
• PSR-S pack total size: 96 MB (1 voice).

Suggestion for Genos owners: set up DSP on Misc. / Damper Resonance with the following values:
- Dry/Wet: D24>W
- Pedal Control: 48
- Depht: 40
- Instrument Reverb: 0

Included voices in the main pack:

• GranCodaConcert: the main piano voice in all its beauty;
• GranCodaLive: a special version of the 1st voice, simulating dynamics using cut-off filter;
• GranCodaMono: a lighter version of the 1st voice;
• GranCodaOldMovie: a shifted-root voice that simulates an ancient piano sound;
• GranCodaSaloon: great voice that simulates an unpitched saloon upright;
• GranCodaLegacy: old sampling of the same piano, with room mics and mono.

Included voices in the PSR-S pack:

• GranCodaLive: a special version of the Concert voice, with a very small size for PSR-S friends.

Installation: remove all previous versions of Gran Coda, then import the GranCoda.ppf file into Yamaha Expansion Manager. The last version of this software is strongly recommended, as the last O.S. update for your arranger keyboard.

DOWNLOAD MAIN PACK
DOWNLOAD PSR-S PACK

Francesco

[overover]

Hi Francesco,

thank you very much for sharing this valuable Grand Piano Pack!


BTW:
I noticed that the voice "GranCodaLegacy" has a yellow/orange icon in YEM. This usually indicates an altered PRESET voice. What is the reason for that? Does this voice, besides its own samples, also use PRESET samples of the keyboard?


Best regards,
Chris

[Francesco Massa]

Hi Francesco,

thank you very much for sharing this valuable Grand Piano Pack!


BTW:
I noticed that the voice "GranCodaLegacy" has a yellow/orange icon in YEM. This usually indicates an altered PRESET voice. What is the reason for that? Does this voice, besides its own samples, also use PRESET samples of the keyboard?


Best regards,
Chris

Hi Chris,
don't worry, that voice has been created in the past for Tyros4 in UVN format, and YEM marks the voice with yellow color, but it should be perfectly playable!

Francesco

[StuartR]

Hi friends,
I just want to share this piano pack I've personally sampled a few years ago: Gran Coda.

Originally developed for Native Instruments' Kontakt, Gran Coda is now finally available for YAMAHA's mid/top class arranger keyboards.
Sampled from the world famous Steinway D-274 model, this grand piano continues to seduce the audience with its deep and detailed musical nuances.

Features:

• 44.1kHz 16-bit Stereo sample resolution;
• 5 dynamic layers;
• Resonance/Key-off simulation;
• Long-loop dynamic decay;
• Dynamic release (long for low notes, sustained for very high notes);
• Available in .PPF format (PSR A3000/S-970/S-975, Tyros5 and Genos);
• Total pack size: 329 MB (5 voices).

Suggestion for Genos owners: set up DSP on Misc. / Damper Resonance with the following values:
- Dry/Wet: D24>W
- Pedal Control: 48
- Depht: 40
- Instrument Reverb: 0

Included voices in this pack:

• GranCodaConcert: the main piano voice in all its beauty;
• GranCodaMono: a lighter version of the 1st voice;
• GranCodaOldMovie: a shifted-root voice that simulates an ancient piano sound;
• GranCodaSaloon: great voice that simulates an unpitched saloon upright;
• GranCodaLegacy: old sampling of the same piano, with room mics and mono.

Installation: just import the GranCoda.ppf file into Yamaha Expansion Manager. The last version of this software is strongly recommended, as the last O.S. update for your arranger keyboard.

DOWNLOAD PACK

Francesco

Wonderful effort!  I can't believe there aren't more comments about this Steinway D274. It sounds great. Many thanks for sharing this!

[Al Ram]

Francesco . . .

thanks a lot for sharing.

For the people that already installed this . . . can someone please send step by step instructions on how to install these piano voices . . .

I have never done this before.

I downloaded the ppf file and copied to USB.  Inserted the USB into Genos.   I do not know where is the Genos Expansion Manager . . .  in Genos Menu/Menu 2 there is a function 'Expansion' and then "Pack Installation" . . . I was hoping to see and select the downloaded ppf file, however, the keyboard did not see the ppf file in the USB.

It is greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[beykock]

Many thanks, Francesco, for this great upload !

Babette

[Bill]

can someone please send step by step instructions on how to install these piano voices . . .

I have never done this before.

Hi Al

You need to download the Computer Program Exp Manager form the Yamaha Download site.  There are also 2 short manuals further down the page.

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/keyboards/arranger_workstations/genos/downloads.html#product-tabs

[Al Ram]

Bill
thank you so much . . . .

I was able to download YEM program and install on my windows computer.  I also downloaded the PDF instructions.   Will print and read . . . . to try installing the piano pack later today or during the week.

It is greatly appreciated.

thanks again

[XeeniX]

Hello Francesco,

I have downloaded the pack and I am gonna install it. It will take some time so I do not know yet if I am going to use it after the first tests but I want to thank you nonetheless for sharing your work.

I have this NI pack for use with Kontakt so I am curious to find out how it sounds once installed as a yem package compared to the NI pack

thanks,
Peter

[XeeniX]

Francesco,

You made me a very happy camper so to speak. I like the main voice but especially the "old" piano mixed with an ambient pad and a soft string for playing some Enya piano tunes. I did not compare it yet to the NI pack but I think I don't need to since I like these piano voices that you put into a Yamaha pack. They sound better (to me) than everything piano alike I had on my Tyros 5 so far.  using "flat" sounds since I am not that familiar and handy with setting different dsp's or the mixer on my T5 but perhaps someone else has some proposals to make it even better

again big thanks
Peter

[elad770]

I was very excited to try this but for some reason, i wasn't able to download it . Is it possible to place the file on a different server?

[Francesco Massa]

Thank you all for appreciating my piano!
I'm now working to an update to improve the sound with smoother transition between layers.
Stay tuned

Francesco

[Francesco Massa]

I was very excited to try this but for some reason, i wasn't able to download it . Is it possible to place the file on a different server?

Don't worry Elad,
just give me your mail please, and I'll send you the pack with wetransfer 

Francesco

[BenoitM]

Hi Francesco,

First, a big THANK YOU for this expansion pack ! 

While testing it on my Genos, I noticed a strange 'tick' on a sample (I can hear it too in YEM):
- This small 'tick' / 'click' sound can be heard on the F#3 and G3 keys , i think its on the 41-68 Velocity range  (in YEM, when you click slightly above the middle of the F#3 or G3 keys)

Can you ear it too ? While playing on the Genos, it is very noticable 

YEM is a very limited editing tool, I wonder how did you manage to produce a 'Key Off' sample effect ? Perhaps by tweaking the EG ? 


Anyway, thanks for your time & patience !

Benoit

[Francesco Massa]

Hi Francesco,

First, a big THANK YOU for this expansion pack ! 

While testing it on my Genos, I noticed a strange 'tick' on a sample (I can hear it too in YEM):
- This small 'tick' / 'click' sound can be heard on the F#3 and G3 keys , i think its on the 41-68 Velocity range  (in YEM, when you click slightly above the middle of the F#3 or G3 keys)

Can you ear it too ? While playing on the Genos, it is very noticable 

YEM is a very limited editing tool, I wonder how did you manage to produce a 'Key Off' sample effect ? Perhaps by tweaking the EG ? 


Anyway, thanks for your time & patience !

Benoit

Hi Benoit,
thank you for your report.
Oh dear, you're right about the "thick" sound, my fault: I think it's a noise from the piano chair!  I used high precision mics to sample the piano, and it was absolutely difficult to avoid "environment" noises especially on soft dynamics. I'll try to edit the sample with some de-click tool and see the result.
I've already tried to add key-off sample (like the Kontakt version) with a bit of tweaking, but unsuccessfully!  I hope Yamaha will add new functions to YEM maybe with Genos next update.

Francesco

[elad770]

Thank you so much Fransesco!

I appreciate it very much

eladbarmatz@gmail.com

Don't worry Elad,
just give me your mail please, and I'll send you the pack with wetransfer 

Francesco

[deepsae48]

Thank you Fransesco  for the Piano pack

[arvacon]

Hi.
Is it possible to break this pack to 5 separate piano voices, so the owners of S770 to be able to load these voices at our keyboards too, or are the 5 different voice samples for the 5 layers of one voice finally?
How can this happen, is it possible via YEM?
Could you do this for us dear Fransesco?

[wersianer]

I have exported the individual piano sounds in the YEM. The size is reduced only slightly at 3 of the sounds. Here are the links:
GranCodaConcert:
https://mega.nz/#!qFYQgapY!5WVvWJQ0mojsKxUxYMY_UThji4B-KN31HrDuH08XNWU
GranCodaLegacy:
https://mega.nz/#!XQBQDSIK!bTlwbCnbZ1IjP5SNkuOs3Kd71ujaWP5WEGdEXavyzcE
GranCodaMono:
https://mega.nz/#!bBRW0SzT!71aiQY5qjSVkeLgfxKAP29I8_oKOz1LrPiIsDf0eiyg
GranCodaOldMovie:
https://mega.nz/#!rU4xFKCR!FxPmdlviSRnA1jBHRmoSEQ_HULnocxdhz_1QSzNWT_s
GranCodaSaloon:
https://mega.nz/#!nMwzHS5C!haYfznnvL184t_6XdChEQBeO6nT1gW8_arM9zPGSZOc

I wish it helps.

[arvacon]

Thank you very much my friend!
How did you manage to separate them in yem?
How did you make some of them smaller?

[khudson7]

WOW!! Thanks so much for this, Francesco.  I really do appreciate your generosity and look forward to any improvements you make with it.(Although it already sounds great to me.)

Thanks SO much, and all the best,
Ken

[Arnak]

Hi Francesco,

Thank you very much for this pack.

Very much appreciated.

Martin

[wersianer]

Thank you very much my friend!
How did you manage to separate them in yem?
How did you make some of them smaller?

Hi arvacon,

I'm glad, if it has used something.
Well, after loading in the YEM, the 5 individual sounds are automatically displayed separately. You just need to export them individually. At the respective size I did not change anything.

[Francesco Massa]

Update v1.10 now available.

Changelog:

• Added a new voice: GranCodaLive;
• Added a special pack version for PSR-S friends, with a very small size (96 MB!) but keeping great sound quality.

Francesco

[elad770]

Thank you so much
I tried the link you sent me and it says: deleted

Trying to get the updated version, Can you resend it to me please?

Many thanks

Update v1.10 now available.

Changelog:

• Added a new voice: GranCodaLive;
• Added a special pack version for PSR-S friends, with a very small size (96 MB!) but keeping great sound quality.

Francesco

[XeeniX]

Elad,

The download link(s) in Francesco's initial post (1st one) are updated and work just fine.
And agan thank you  Francesco!

regards,
Peter

[elad770]

Elad,

The download link(s) in Francesco's initial post (1st one) are updated and work just fine.
And agan thank you  Francesco!

regards,
Peter

For some reason, it doesn't work for me. I tried in chrome browser and a download app. It simply doesn't work. If you can email me i would appreciate that
eladbarmatz@gmail.com

[arvacon]

Update v1.10 now available.

Changelog:

• Added a new voice: GranCodaLive;
• Added a special pack version for PSR-S friends, with a very small size (96 MB!) but keeping great sound quality.

Francesco

Thanks for the PSR-S version! I just tried it at my s770 and it sounds great!
I like the softness of the sound when you play calm and the dynamic range of the touch sensitivity, it sounds very pleasant and more realistic than the default yamaha's "grand concert piano live" voice.
Keep up the good work!
Ps: Do we need to change any settings at equalizer or dsp as with Genos owners?

[Francesco Massa]

Thank you so much
I tried the link you sent me and it says: deleted

Trying to get the updated version, Can you resend it to me please?

Many thanks

Hi Elad,
have you tried different browser?

Francesco

[Francesco Massa]

Thanks for the PSR-S version! I just tried it at my s770 and it sounds great!
I like the softness of the sound when you play calm and the dynamic range of the touch sensitivity, it sounds very pleasant and more realistic than the default yamaha's "grand concert piano live" voice.
Keep up the good work!
Ps: Do we need to change any settings at equalizer or dsp as with Genos owners?

Hi arvacon,
I don't know properly the DSP of S770, but you can probably get better results applying the Harmony Enhancer DSP or the 3-band-eq set on Stereo mode and turn down a bit the 5 kHz frequency.

Francesco

[arvacon]

How many layers has this psr-s live voice?
I love the feeling that it gives you when you play softly, especially at high notes.
I like the hammer background sound when you push extra softly, so much!
You have done great work with the dynamics, I feel I can control the keys easier now.
Well done my friend!
I can't imagine how better it can be the GrandCodaConcert voice!

Is there any possibility to make it smaller by keeping only the 61 keys, so we can fit this to the 160MB memory of s770, or am I asking too much?

[arvacon]

Hi Francesco.
Can you make another piano voice for psr-s770,  that it will be 160MB and it will have the most possible quality that it can fit to this amount of data?
What is the way to make a voice smaller with YEM?

[Francesco Massa]

Hi Francesco.
Can you make another piano voice for psr-s770,  that it will be 160MB and it will have the most possible quality that it can fit to this amount of data?
What is the way to make a voice smaller with YEM?

Hi arvacon,
I could try adding 1 more layer, but I think it's difficult to fit this voice in a small memory keeping high quality. 

[arvacon]

Hi arvacon,
I could try adding 1 more layer, but I think it's difficult to fit this voice in a small memory keeping high quality. 

Hi my friend.
How about if you keep only 61 keys instead of 88? Could this save some space for more layers or for the best possible quality?
How many layers does this voice has now?

[Francesco Massa]

Hi my friend.
How about if you keep only 61 keys instead of 88? Could this save some space for more layers or for the best possible quality?
How many layers does this voice has now?

The main voice has 5 layers and one extra layer for release resonance simulation.
The Live voice has 2 layers on mid-range notes and 1 layer on low / high notes, all with cutoff to simulate dynamics but no extra layer for effects.
Sure, I can try to make a 61-keys version to fit into 160MB!

Francesco

[arvacon]

Sure, I can try to make a 61-keys version to fit into 160MB!

Perfetto! 

[arvacon]

Do we have any news about the 61 keys version? 

[voodoo]

Hi friends,
I just want to share this piano pack I've personally sampled a few years ago: Gran Coda.

Included voices in the main pack:

• GranCodaConcert: the main piano voice in all its beauty;
• GranCodaLive: a special version of the 1st voice, simulating dynamics using cut-off filter;

Hi Franceso,

thank you for your great pack. It is very well made. Let me give you some feedback of my impression.

I think that the built in piano sounds of the Genos are very well made. They are tuned perfectly and play very well. I have also a Nord Electro 5 with the newest high quality piano samples from Nord. The Yamaha Grand piano is very comparable to the Nord Italian Grand Piano. So I will take the Genos and the Nord piano voices as a comparison to what I expect.

I think that the GranCodaConcert (and many other custom made multi layer piano samples) do not play well, because in the range of mid velocity they use samples that are sounding to dark. One have to use high velocity values to switch to the more brilliant velocity layers. So often this voices sounds way to dark and not brilliant.

As compared to this, I like the voice GranCodaLive much more. By using velocity sensitive cutoff frequency instead of velocity layer switching, we get a much smoother transition between lower and higher velocity play. So in the range of mid velocity we get a much clearer sound.

Any other opinions? Am I the only one that thinks that the sound of GranCodaConcert ist too dark (using the standard Genos keybed)?

Uli

[arvacon]

I don't know how Genos or Nord piano voices sounds, but comparing Gran Coda with the stock Grand piano live of my s770, all I can say is that Coda sounds much warmer to my ears. I wouldn't calling it dark, as it has a nice soft feeling and the touch sensitivity comes much closer to real piano, than the default yamaha voices.
Just try hit the keys harder than you have accustomed and you will hear the clear crisp sound that you are looking for.
From the moment I installed it, I have not touch the default piano voice again. 

[StuartR]

...From the moment I installed it, I have not touch the default piano voice again. 

Me neither. Much improved over the stock Genos offerings.

[arvacon]

The main voice has 5 layers and one extra layer for release resonance simulation.
The Live voice has 2 layers on mid-range notes and 1 layer on low / high notes, all with cutoff to simulate dynamics but no extra layer for effects.
Sure, I can try to make a 61-keys version to fit into 160MB!

Francesco

HI Francesco.
Any news about this experimental version for 61 keys?
It would be really nice to give us the chance to upgrade our poor s770 piano sound, so I can't wait for this version!


Is it possible finally, did you try it?

[Normanfernandez]

Hello Francesco,

I have downloaded the pack and I am gonna install it. It will take some time so I do not know yet if I am going to use it after the first tests but I want to thank you nonetheless for sharing your work.

I have this NI pack for use with Kontakt so I am curious to find out how it sounds once installed as a yem package compared to the NI pack

thanks,
Peter

Pete, how do you get the samples from NI,
I have a ton of NI VST.

[robinez]

Pete, how do you get the samples from NI,
I have a ton of NI VST.

it's really easy to do with samplerobot 6 pro, which has a vst host to sample all those sounds. I used it to create a 6 velocity version of the NI alicia keys piano library for my genos. It sounds fantastically and 99 percent of that result was done completely automatically with samplerobot 6.

I also use samplerobot for creating my own expansion packs. The way i do it is to create new sounds in my vst's and then sample those and transfer those sounds to my own expansion packs for the genos (or tyros, or Korg pa4x and kronos, etc). Samplerobot creates the samples and does the autoloop features for every sample that i create. So you can clone your vst's to your gear if you want to use those sounds without a computer or you create your own sounds and create all kind of new sounds on your genos to get more sounds on your genos.

You can check that program over here, it's absolutely fantastic.
https://samplerobot.com/

[KeyboardByBiggs]

I also use samplerobot for creating my own expansion packs.

That's a fantastic piece of software, thanks for the introduction!

What type of export do you use to get your final creation into your Genos?

[Normanfernandez]

That's a fantastic piece of software, thanks for the introduction!




What type of export do you use to get your final creation into your Genos?

It has to be put in YEM, Converted. 
It has to be Wave to YEM.

[robinez]

That's a fantastic piece of software, thanks for the introduction!

What type of export do you use to get your final creation into your Genos?

i export the result in samplerobot to SoundFont format. The YEM software can import Soundfonts and does the keymapping (including all velocity layers!) automatically as defined by samplerobot in the Soundfont.

Then in Yem i go to the common tab of the exported sound and modify the parameters so that the sound has the characteristics i want (like Attack, Decay, Release). After that i copy that preset 9 times so that i have one page of presets for that expansion pack and each preset i modify in Yem so that i have different characteristics for that sound.

It's a fantastic product to enhance your genos in an easy way.

here's an example where i sampled the alicia keys piano from native instruments (6 velocity layers) with samplerobot, imported the soundfont in YEM and transfered that as a new expansion pack  to the genos. In this video i use that alicia keys piano expansion to play the song Fragile from sting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFC60DX94xY

[Normanfernandez]

It's definitely a good software, I have to get my hands on it.
Will share a lot of samples with the forum members 

I do have a lot of Questions.
As to how it runs.

[Normanfernandez]

There are 3 Version of SampleRobot
Pro , Korg + Wave , Multi.

What's the main difference. 

My main goal is to Extract Samples from VST.

[arvacon]

Guys, you know you are a little off-topic, don't you? 
Please open an new thread, otherwise Francesco will never see my question about Grand Coda! 

[KeyboardByBiggs]

i export the result in samplerobot to SoundFont format. The YEM software can import Soundfonts and does the keymapping (including all velocity layers!) automatically as defined by samplerobot in the Soundfont.

Thank you for the step-by-step details!

Is your name actually on the keyboard in the upper-left in the video, or did you add that electronically? If it's real, how did you manage that?