SampleScience releases Cozy Piano, a FREE intimate upright piano plugin

SampleScience is a name we know very well around BPB, and their latest release is the Cozy Piano, a FREE intimate upright piano plugin for macOS and Windows.

We’ve covered many SampleScience releases over the years, including VHS Noise Generator, Virtual Handpan, and the Sega Master System sound chip emulation.

If the mention of a retro 8-bit games console piqued your interest, you might be interested in checking out our Commodore 64 synth plugin, BPB 64 (a collaboration between Tomislav and SampleScience).

If you’re not looking to relive your youth through retro-gaming-inspired plugins today, SampleScience has something a little more grown-up for you, in the form of a virtual Remeau upright piano.

One of the best things about a SampleScience instrument is that they come in various formats. In this case, Cozy Piano is available in AU, VST, and VST3 formats for macOS (10.14 and newer) and Windows (8.1/10/11).

Additionally, you can download Cozy Piano for Decent Sampler, Sforzando, Soundbox, ReFill for Reason 12, or the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt.

I’ve never played a Remeau piano, but I’m not sure the common description of being a Schimmel under a different name does it justice.

There is something special about the collaboration between French craftsmanship and German engineering (Renner action – used by many top manufacturers). Any Remeau piano I’ve heard has that warm, dreamy tone that’s a perfect match for anything from the late Romantic era.

Alternatively, in modern times, it’s ideal for intimate storytelling.

SampleScience captured the sound of a Remeau piano in a spacious living room setting for a natural yet intimate tone.

The developer recorded the piano with a Tascam FR-AV2 and a pair of Rode NT5 microphones in an XY configuration.

I really like the natural sound from Cosy Piano; it’s perfect for intimate singer-songwriter material or subtle media scoring.

If you’re familiar with SampleScience, you won’t be surprised to hear that there’s more on offer.

To add to the romance and nostalgia of the old French piano, you can venture into lo-fi territory.

The typical SampleScience-style interface has various adjustable parameters along the top and bottom.

Starting at the top, we’ve got an amplitude envelope, Preamp and Glide controls, Modulation, Amp Range, Filter, and master Volume and Tune.

The bottom row offers Distortion, Delay, Chorus, and Reverb.

As with any warm and lush piano, you have to be careful with reverb and pedaling to avoid becoming too washy.

But, with a tiny bit of Drive, a slight tweak of the Mod Depth/Rate, and subtle reverb, you have a gorgeous lo-fi sound that doesn’t lose the character of the real piano.

Of course, if you want to make it more of a distinct character piano, you can push those onboard FX a bit harder.

All in all, another nice release from SampleScience!