Ravenscroft 275 Piano

I play literally hundreds of Darius digital pianos with USB midi and audio connectivity. I’ve also played hundreds of professional acoustic grand pianos. For an inexpensive acoustic piano app, this is certainly one of the best I’ve used on a digital piano or midi controller digital piano. Beautiful, resonate sound with long damper pedal decay time and It has enough features to do most of the editing that I want. But as far as I can tell it’s missing half-damper pedal control when connected to a digital piano, and for me that’s a big issue. I like the expressiveness and control of the half-damper pedal which most lower and higher priced digital pianos now have internally. Acoustic pianos have continuous variable damper pedal control, but when using this app it does not send that function to the sustain pedal so it’s just basically on and off with a little bit of re-pedaling which can make the sound a bit choppy when using a sustain pedal. Not very happy with that. Perhaps Ravenscroft can do something about this or let me know if I am missing something here. Otherwise the app is very usable and much better than most, especially for the money.

It would help if the developer would provide some documentation, which I can’t seem to find anywhere... The problems I encounter seem to be a function of the limited resources of the (2018) iPad. It doesn’t do polyphony well, and the sound will degrade with big arpeggiated chords and lots of pedaling (i.e.: Debussy). Ditto for the sample rate and buffer size. Just leave those at default or the latency will get ugly. If you have a good midi keyboard, keep the velocity around 95% for the best touch vs. volume. And ditto the Equalizer. Any adjustments more than just a little above/below the mean will sound terrible. If you accept the above limitations you will get the most from these gorgeous samples. Just don’t expect the same openness and presence as computer software like Pianoteq 6, etc. Phones and tablets simply don’t have the resources for that. However you can expect to enjoy a very pleasant and acceptably realistic piano sound. It’s a very good portable alternative to being tethered to a computer, and I think that’s all this app was ever meant to be.

After playing with this for a few days, I’m thoroughly impressed with the sound and feel, as well as the relatively simple setup. For those of us who have spent hundreds (or even thousands) on pro music software in the past, the price is a drop in the bucket, and quite reasonable for a professional application that is not a toy. I’m optimistic that the developers will continue to refine this app, and hope that the features of the desktop/laptop version that are missing in this one will be included over time. One of those missing features is the ability to adjust the levels of sustain pedal noises in the mix; while realistic, they are definitely higher in this app than they should be, with no means of changing them. That’s my only quibble at this point, and I’m looking forward to further developments.

No other ac. piano app comes close to this one. As others have said, the samples sound incredible. And just as importantly, the feel is second to none in the digital world. Phenomenal, professional product. I don’t understand the negative comments about damper noise. I spent all day recording an album for a client in a real studio - not a bedroom with a MacBook. We used the Ravenscroft piano app in half the tunes. The damper noise is definitely there, and adds even more realism to the sound. If it’s too much for your taste or use, simply turn the effect down or off in the settings. Pretty straight forward. have been a pro musician for 30+ years with a lot of experience and credits under my belt. Trust me, you need to get this app if you want the best ac. piano app currently available (Sep 2019).

I have Pianoteq stage and Eastwest piano Steinway D on my computer, so when I say this is an AMAZING app to compete with the previous two virtual pianos I mentioned I mean it. It comes in half the price you’d pay for any cheap app on a computer, and it has the essential properties you need. However, don’t try playing it with headphones like I did the first time, because headphones does it a disservice. I have the Casio Privia PX 770, and playing with this app and two external powerful speakers resembles playing on an acoustic piano, in my opinion, way better than Pianoteq and eastwest piano. So would you want to pay +$100 on an app on a laptop or a computer, or have an app on your phone for less than half the price, in your pocket, just as powerful if not better? You tell me.