Steinberg The Grand 3 Operation Manual

11
The Grand 3
The content
The recording of The Grand
The four acoustic piano models were recorded in Sweden 
by highly experienced recording specialists, in a large stu-
dio with a high ceiling well suited for the recording of 
acoustic instruments. The piano models were recorded 
using top-of-the-line recording equipment, and no filters 
or effects were applied during mixing to preserve the nat-
ural piano sound. For all keys of each of the 4 acoustic pi-
ano models, up to 20 velocities were recorded....

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The Grand 3
Parameters
General plug-in controls
In the upper section of the plug-in window, you will find a 
number of general controls. Here you can load and save 
presets and adjust the main volume. In addition, there are 
buttons to activate the ECO Mode (see “ECO Mode (gen-
eral controls)” on page 24) and the RAM Save functions 
(see “RAM Save (general controls)” on page 24). The Re-
set MIDI function (the “lightning” icon) allows you to reset 
the plug-in. Use this function when you lose the MIDI...

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The Grand 3
ÖWhen you select a preset from a different model than 
the one that is loaded, the respective samples have to be 
replaced. Therefore, the loading process will take longer.
To save a preset, proceed as follows:
1.Click the disk icon to the left of the preset pop-up 
menu.
2.Specify a location and file name in the file dialog.
3.Click Save to store the preset and close the dialog. 
Click Cancel to close the dialog without saving the preset.
To delete a preset, proceed as follows:
1.Select...

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The Grand 3
ÖWhen you load the plug-in, it always opens in the Edi-
tor view.
Before you can switch to the Player view, you must load a 
piano in the Editor view.
To switch to the Player view, proceed as follows:
1.From the Editor view, load a piano model or a preset.
2.In the upper left section of the control panel, click the 
“p” button to the left of the plug-in logo. 
The Player view opens, showing the selected piano model.
To switch back to the Editor view, click the “e” button in 
the upper left...

15
The Grand 3
The Model page
On this page you can select the piano model and adjust 
its sound. All important aspects of the acoustic pianos 
were sampled separately. This does not only include the 
sustain resonances, but also release sounds and mechan-
ical noises from the keys and pedals. You can control the 
loudness for each of these aspects separately. This way, 
you can adjust the character and sense of playing of the 
piano to your liking. For example, if you want a more inti-
mate character and...

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The Grand 3
CP80 model
Modulation effects are a vital part of the CP80 sound. The 
CP80 model offers a tremolo and a modulation effect. You 
can use these effects for sound variations.
Tremolo produces amplitude (volume) modulation. The 
modulation signals for the left and right channels have a 
fixed offset of 180°. Hence, the sound image is moving 
between left and right.
1.Click the button at the top left of the Tremolo section 
to activate the Tremolo effect. 
The button turns red.
2.Adjust the...

17
The Grand 3
The Ambience page
The settings on the Ambience page allow you to position 
the piano in the room and to add reverb to the dry piano 
sound.
Positioning the piano
With its two stereo outputs, The Grand supports quad 
surround (4.0 channels). You can activate this to the right 
of the graphical control.
When surround panning is activated, you can position the 
piano between the front and rear of the room.
ÖTo hear the rear channels, you must assign the second 
stereo output of the plug-in to...

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The Grand 3
The Control page
Unlike an acoustic grand piano, The Grand is played using 
a MIDI-enabled keyboard or digital piano. We recommend 
the use of an instrument with weighted keys to benefit 
from its sensitive and complex dynamic response. How-
ever, not everyone has this type of instrument at hand and 
response and handling vary from keyboard to keyboard.
Therefore, you can adapt The Grand to suit your MIDI key-
board and style of playing by means of ready-to-use ve-
locity curve presets. In...

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The Grand 3
Saving a user-definable curve
To save a user-definable curve, proceed as follows:
1.Click the disk icon to the left of the velocity preset pop-
up menu.
2.In the file dialog that appears, specify a location and a 
file name.
3.Click Save to store the preset.
Loading a user-definable curve
•To load a previously saved user-definable curve, select 
it from the velocity preset pop-up menu.
ÖIf you modify a velocity preset, an asterisk is shown 
behind its name to indicate that the settings of...

20
The Grand 3
Loading scale presets
•To load a scale preset, select it from the pop-up menu 
to the right of the Scale button.
The pop-up menu lists factory scale presets and user scale presets. Fac-
tory and user scale presets are separated by a line.
ÖTo deactivate the selected preset, click the On/Off 
button to the left of the pop-up menu. When turned off, no 
tuning scale is applied and the piano sounds with its orig-
inally recorded stretched tuning.
Saving user-defined scale presets
To save a...