Reply To: UJAM Grit Piano Release/Intro

[LinkedMusicians]

CRITICAL MINI-REVIEW INCOMING….+

I just went through this and I can say that even if this was $15, I’m not sure I’d get it. It’s not even as good as what I hoped, and my expectations weren’t high.

UJAM pianos are nowhere near the level of a really good, detailed Kontakt library. You can’t compare their acoustic pianos to a detailed Kontakt library.  But UJAM aims at hobbyists and isn’t attempting to sell to the ultra-demanding serious amateur who is looking at deep-sampled instruments. I think anyone experienced playing electric pianos, and especially those experienced with Wurlys will be very disappointed in the way their library responds and the lack of authentic dynamics, which really are part of the fundamental essence of the Wurly. It’s gorgeous when you’re gentle with it, and when you slam it like Ray Charles did, it barks. They have a “bark” version in here and the effects treatment make it not even easy to identify as an authentic Wurly. It sounds like it’s from some knock-off electric piano; it’s so buried in effects, it losses the character that makes it so special .

I can’t imagine that this sample library has more than 3 velocity layers. It’s really not comparable to good Kontakt Wurly libraries from developers like e-instruments, SonicCouture, and Skybox Audio or the excellent UVI Wurly library from AcousticSamples. Those are all in a different league. As a huge Wurly fan, I have to acknowledge that UJAM really missed the mark on this one, by a lot. If this were a $5 special at Plugin Boutique or Audio Deluxe, I’d grab it. But I’m not sure that I’d pay more than that. Because I would only find it interesting for the sound design patches.

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