Addictive Keys Modern Upright is a virtual piano instrument based on a Yamaha U3 upright, featuring seven microphone perspectives for versatile sound design within the Addictive Keys engine.
Purpose
The Modern Upright fills a niche for productions where a grand piano feels overly large or formal. Its source is a Yamaha U3 upright, a model respected for its tight, defined tone. This produces an intimate yet present sound with a subtle, airy quality that integrates smoothly into many mixes.
The instrument is tailored for songs needing a smaller and more intimate character than a grand provides. It captures the upright’s distinct voice along with its natural ambience, making it a practical choice for genres like jazz, pop, and singer-songwriter material where a grand piano would dominate.
Key Capabilities
The instrument offers seven distinct microphone perspectives, ranging from close to far, floor to soundboard, and mono to stereo. This variety provides the user with a broad sonic palette to shape the piano’s tone from direct and focused to wide and ambient.
These perspectives allow for extensive tailoring to fit a specific song’s needs. For example, close perspectives capture the mechanical details of the upright, while far perspectives emphasize the room sound. Stereo options provide width, and mono options offer a more centered, vintage feel.
Workflow
The Modern Upright is played through the Addictive Keys engine, which integrates the selected microphone mixes into a cohesive interface. Users can blend the different perspectives to sculpt a custom tone, adjusting the balance to highlight the piano’s attack, body, or room ambience.
The included presets showcase the instrument’s range, from smooth jazz with a mellow, warm tone to bright pop with an upfront sound. These serve as starting points, allowing quick auditioning of different characters before fine-tuning the microphone blend to match the production’s specific arrangement.
Practical Applications
The Modern Upright is well suited for ballads, indie rock, and intimate jazz ensembles where a grand piano’s sustain and power might overpower other elements. Its tight tone and airy ambience are particularly effective in sparse arrangements, providing a clear yet soft tonal center.
Audio producers can use the close mono perspectives for a focused, vintage-inspired pop sound, or blend in the far room mics for a more cinematic or ambient feel. The ability to adjust the blend within the engine makes it a flexible tool for both quick sketches and final production mixing.
Key features
- Based on a Yamaha U3 upright piano
- Seven microphone perspectives
- Range of presets from smooth jazz to bright pop
- Recorded in a large auditorium soundstage
- Microphone positions from close to far, floor to soundboard, mono to stereo
- Designed for intimate and blendable sound
- Integrates into Addictive Keys engine
Best for
Best for producers and composers needing an intimate upright piano sound that blends easily in mixes, especially for jazz, pop, and singer-songwriter tracks, offering versatile tone shaping through multiple mic perspectives without the expense of a grand piano’s character.