VSL Synchron Fazioli F212 Sample Library

A smaller grand, sampled in a smaller room… but it’s still big!

VSL – Vienna Symphonic Library – started out about 20 years ago by… yes, sampling an orchestra, i.e. the individual instruments, and in great detail – a concept that still sounds remarkable when you stop to think about it.

It was made possible by the late GigaSampler, which made samples of any length possible by streaming them from disks. The state of the art has advanced considerably since then, as we all know, both because developers keep getting better at it and because today’s computers are more powerful and access far more memory.

… all of which is to lead up to this Fazioli grand library. You can hear a little of the powerful Fazioli “clang” in some of Guy Bacos’ demos, but in general this is – as advertised – a smaller instrument recorded in a smaller studio.

And it sure sounds great. Can you listen to the demos and tell that you’re hearing a sample library? – NB

Here’s the company release:

New from Vienna: Synchron Fazioli F212
Vienna Symphonic Library releases virtual representation of Italian grand

Vienna, February 15, 2024 – The Vienna Symphonic Library is pleased to announce the release of Synchron Fazioli F212, the virtual reprensentation of the Italian piano maker’s classic medium sized grand. Unlike its big brother, the F308 that was captured in the grandeur of Synchron Stage Vienna’s Stage A, the F212 was recorded in the smaller, dryer Stage B. In this intimate setting, with more direct signals and less room sound, every nuance of the F212’s rich sound shines, from the powerful bass to the warm mid-range to the crisp upper registers. The new product is currently available at an introductory price of $236 for the Standard Library (reg. $310), and $394 for the Full Library (reg. $515). The difference between the Standard Library and the Full Library is the number of available microphone positions.
https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Fazioli_F212

As with the C. Bechstein upright piano that is available as the German Upright 1904, this Fazioli F212 is owned by pianist and film composer Mick Baumeister, co-creator of the Hornberg hb1 MIDI breath controller. Mick acquired this Fazioli 212 after some intense testing at Piano Fischer in Stuttgart as a birthday present to himself in 1998.

He compared this piano with the other available Faziolis (228, 278 and 308) and was looking for a well-balanced piano with a nicely rounded bass that would fit his recording room. After a few days of testing, the F212 won his heart with its intimate yet powerful sound.

There was only one thing holding him back, and that was the feeling of one specific octave. After tweaking the intonation of certain notes didn’t help, Mr. Paolo Fazioli himself made the trip to Stuttgart and brought with him a brand-new hammer-row that immediately made this instrument sing over the entire range, with beautifully rounded tones across the keyboard spectrum. Given its sound and the significant attention it received, including from the company’s founder, this particular instrument became an obvious choice to complement Vienna’s esteemed virtual piano collection.

The Synchron Piano Player
In addition to creating the desired sound by mixing several microphone signals, the free Vienna Synchron Pianos software offers multiple options for shaping the sound of the piano and the user’s playing experience. Hosting a high-performance playback engine, the software provides a full-blown mixer with a broad range of effects such as EQ, compressor, saturator, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, rotary, and many more. It is also possible to adjust the volume of body resonances, sympathetic strings, and pedal noises right in the main Play window. In the Edit window users can even tweak EQ, volume, tuning, dynamic range, etc. for each individual key!

Microphone Positions
In order to capture this marvelous instrument on Stage B, Vienna’s recording engineers used multiple high-end microphone arrays, affording an abundance of options for creating your individual sound. The Full Library features three different sets of close microphones with condenser, ribbon and tube options, two pairs of mid mics, as well as the Decca tree with additional surround outriggers.