But I once asked hin about his scripts, and he said that was using mostly Ivory (first version).

That got me really confused...

I love the player's perspective on the TK Steinway. I do feel that TK's shortcomings are revealed, though, when you play Chopin or other nineteenth-century composers: its sympathetic and sustain resonance aren't quite complex and rich enough, so you don't get the kind of sonic bloom and overtone saturation that real pianos (and Pianoteq!) are capable of.

I bought True Keys recently (the full monty) and it's excellent; much better than Ivory 2 actually. The basic piano tone is gorgeous, especially on the Steinway and Bechstein, and has a lovely fullness and presence. My sense is that it outdoes Pianoteq in this respect.

True Keys is also very playable. Pianoteq is probably better in terms of overall playability and it's certainly superior in terms of sympathetic and sustain resonance (it seems to me that modelling is a better solution here than sampling). Having said this, True Keys is remarkably good in these areas too (and, again, clearly superior to Ivory 2).

Much though I love Pianoteq, I find there's still a very slight hint of artificiality to the basic piano tone that becomes clear if you compare it side by side to True Keys. Having said this, I do the prefer the basic tonal character of Pianoteq to that of Ivory 2, which sounds distant and thin to me -- like a recorded piano rather than a real one.

If I had to choose one of the True Keys pianos, I'd opt for the Steinway (American), which is probably the most versatile of the three. I'm not too keen on the Fazioli, which is rather loud and a bit harsh.

I  will second everything Pianophile said about Truekeys. Although I only own the American I bought as a download single. 
It is genuinely spectacular!! I t completely blows away  Ivory II (which is over-hyped), and is a bit better than Galaxy Vintage D (another Steinway) , as far as sampled pianos go IMO.
And, as far as Pianoteq is concerned,  tonewise, Pianoteq (bluthner)  comes up quite a bit short in
comparison to TK too , but Pteq  still has a little edge  when it comes to playability  and linearity from ppp to
fff. (but not by much!)
I still love Pianoteq for what it is, and the future potential of its modeling technology- I kind-of think of
it  in a different way  vs sampled pianos....
rhombic

- sometimes an artificial sounding sustain where certain frequencies stand out. I guess the overlap of partial tones from different keys is not modelled right, so you sometimes here sine tones stick out. I guess the real piano has kind of a saturation behaviour there which is not modeled in Pianoteq (yet)?

- the sometimes boxy overall sound, basically a microphoning / stereo issue

The way the algorithm mix/blend one to another determines the quaity of the final staccato sound.

Maybe true keys went a step further:

"Staccato 
Release samples are carefully recorded and voiced for each key and are numerous and timed for the utmost realism. Most noticeable is having true staccato release trails that make staccato playing more enjoyable and realistic. Listen to the energy of a long bass string as it's dampened as well as the ringing trails of treble notes. Along with resonances, the release trails give body and depth to the real pianos"

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s...&gl=br

Probably recorded in a perspective that please you more.

paolopiano wrote:

I bought true keys and Imho ivory is much better ... no questions about it.....

after 2 hours of testing I must say that the staccato at piano velocity is better on TK .... but overall sensation is better on Ivory.... Playability is better on Pianoteq ofcourse , still Imho

But I would like to understand more about the recording itself. How people can say that a simple chord it's better in one compared to another, if we are in the digital age and all or mostly are recorded in Hi end equipment and anecoic chambers?

Is micrphone placement the key factor, or just a matter of taste, like someone prefer a library basic tone for the mic position, and other person prefer another mic position? 

Vienna Imperial have about 50GB, but it's a "500GB of 44.1kHz/24-bit sample data into a compact 50GB disk" according this article:   http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/...ial-221688

I can do more comparisons even with pianoteq if you are insterested, and thinking of repeating short patterns two or three times of each piano followed by each other.

You can't go wrong with any option being TK, Ivory if you like samples or Pianoteq if you go simulated. I like how TK is very playable.

                                                                        Symp Res