Waves GRAND RHAPSODY PIANO User Manual - page 4
RhapsodyGrandPiano/UserGuide
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1.1 Product Overview
For more than three centuries, the piano has played a huge role in music. Once introduced, it quickly gained popularity
over contemporary keyboard instruments, primarily because it provided more volume and greater dynamic control. Over
time it has become a staple sound in almost all musical genres, including contemporary pop.
A piano’s sound is created when a key is pressed; this activates a hammer that strikes a string. The resulting vibration is
enhanced in tone and volume by the piano’s soundboard and acoustic enclosure. These, along with the position of the
piano’s cover and cover flap, influence how the piano vibrates, and therefore how its sound travels through a space (be it
a room, a concert hall, or a studio). The sound of a grand piano is purely mechanical and acoustic, with no artificial
reinforcement. In concert situations, microphones can be used to capture the instrument’s vibrations.
Waves Grand Rhapsody Piano is based on a library sampled from a famous Fazioli 228 grand piano in Studio A at
London’s Metropolis Studios. This library provides a full array of velocity and alternative samples for each key. Waves
also developed a method to recreate the ethereal sound produced by the sympathetic resonances introduced by idle
strings when the sustain pedal is pressed and the string dampers lift to release the string. The played strings are
accompanied by the light resonance of the undamped strings through acoustic excitation and the resonance correlated to
the sympathetic strings. This adds nuance and realism.
There are controls for velocity curve and formant. Beyond this, Waves has added studio-grade effects, including a
compressor, EQ, and a high-quality digital reverb.