Toontrack EKX: Cinematic Grand
Expansion Pack for EZKeys 1 & 2
Prepare For The Unexpected
Unique fabrics of sound, tailored for ambient soundscapes, soundtracks, and creative sound design.
In simple terms, EZkeys Cinematic Grand is a prepared piano – a traditional instrument that’s had its sound altered by objects placed on or between the strings. But in this case, that's simplifying too much.
EZkeys Cinematic Grand presents an all-new hybrid instrument where perfect fidelity meets altered harmonics and layered textures to form never-before-heard piano timbres.
Based on a classic Bösendorfer from 1891, this one-of-a-kind instrument was recorded in four individual configurations – one where horsehair was used as a bow on each piano string (‘Bowed’); one where the strings were struck by hand (‘Plucked’); one where various preparations were added to generate a muffled tone color (‘Damped’) and, in opposite, one where the overtones were exaggerated, producing an ambient and soaring timbre (‘Harmonic’).
These four configurations were then saturated with various chains of sound-shaping effects and used in different combinations to form unique fabrics of sound. Welcome to a piano that goes well beyond the tradition, ready to serve as sonic backdrop to virtually any mood, narrative or audio scene you can imagine.
This is the ultimate “grand piano” for out-of-this-world compositions, just as perfect for soundtracks as it is for any stripe of modern music production or sound design.
Features
- Ideal for ambient soundscapes, soundtracks, and creative sound design
- Based on a classic Bösendorfer from 1891, recorded in four octaves and in four different configurations (to be used individually or together in preset combinations)
- 40 mix-ready presets, offering creative instrument blends of never-before-heard hybrids of sounds
The Presets
EZkeys Cinematic Grand includes 34 unique, mix-ready presets involving one or several of the recorded configurations in combination with various chains of sound-shaping effects.
'80s Dream
The ‘Dream’ knob is layered with different types of diffusion, and by cranking this control you travel through time back to yet unexplored, mysterious audio realms reminiscent of the 1980s.
Abyss
A majestic and reverberant sound with a dystopian touch. Heavily based on the ‘Bowed’ piano with a touch of added distortion, chorus and a lot of plate reverb.
Ambient String Pluck
This one is perfect subtle ambience, but it also works great upfront in the mix.
Amped Church
The ‘Bowed’ piano going through two guitar amps panned hard left and right, combined with a church-like reverb.
Blair
A lot of space, pitch, and chorus in this one.
Cloudy Sky
This preset is at its best in the lower octaves with long, eery single notes. In this one, we used octave processing, a rotary effect and, of course, a bunch of reverb.
Dark Celtic
This preset has a big emphasis on the ‘Bowed’ piano, making the texture from the horsehair come to life.
Distorted Sky
The angry cousin of the ‘Cloudy Sky’ preset. Its working title was ‘Demogorgon’, for you who have watched “Stranger Things”.
Drama Plate
Utilizes all pianos except the ‘Bowed’. Perfect for slow, creepy notes in the borderlands between drama and horror.
Dream Organ
A pad-like preset largely based on the ‘Bowed’ piano. Uses two different reverbs as well as an octave effect.
Dream Organ Les
A darker version of the ‘Dream Organ’ preset. Perfect for adding that suspense feeling! The ‘Rotor Speed’ knob provides interesting stereo effects.
Dream Organ Trem
Based on the ‘Dream Organ’, but with an added tremolo effect.
Dream Pad
Huge warm pad with lots of reverb and harmonizers going on!
Eastern Harp
This preset is focused on the plucking of the piano strings and can, with the right MIDI, get you a roundtrip ticket to Asia. The delay is quite intense, so use it with caution!
Explorable Depths
A lot to find here since each sound has a separate treatment. Turn the knobs to find out more!
Intimate
The intimate sound of the hammers of the grand piano and the bowed strings seem like a perfect match for the intimate feel this preset sounds like.
Key Noise Deluxe
A lot of keystroke sounds blended with the ‘Plucked’ and ‘Harmonic’ pianos and a touch of an ambient reverb.
Keys Quartet
This preset uses all four pianos, panned in different ways. The ‘Plucked’ and ‘Harmonic’ piano has some delay processing, while the ‘Bowed’ uses a rotary effect, giving this preset a subtle organ feel.
LFOd String
In this preset, we combined all the four main pianos, but only put a filter LFO on the strings.
Lighthouse
Imagine being close to the water, it’s raining outside and the sea is rough. This preset is cozy and harsh at the same time.
Lonesome
Like the name applies, a single piano! There’s a lot of hammer sounds and warmth in this one.
Medieval
A big one featuring chorus and hall reverb!
Modulating
Wet, lots of delays, vibratos, pitch FX. Sounds like a harp extracted from a dream scene!
Mostly Strings
A blend between the ‘Plucked’ piano and the ‘Harmonic’ piano, but also a lot of bowed strings.
Nostalgia
‘Nostalgia’ is perfect for adding a sentimental tone to your songs. You can control the bounce back of the inverted reverberation with the ‘Inverse’ knob.
Organize
In ‘Organize’, all the mics and recorded samples are routed through an Hammond-type amplifier. By turning the ‘Organ’ knob, you can adjust the rotary effect level, making it either very subtle or making the piano sound almost like an organ.
Original Mix
All four preparations of the piano on equal levels, without any added effects.
Plate Stringable
Just a beautiful preset with many layers. It sounds almost like a harpsichord, but with lots of ambience, depth and character. Try it yourself – it’s magical!
Rising
Beautiful pad sounds with panning, LFOs, distortion, pitch FX. What more could you wish for?
Shimmer Plate
For that scene with a touch of romance and hope! The ‘Plucked’ piano has a high-end boost to get a more shimmery overall feel.
Small Fluid
Small, beautiful and fluid, with a plate reverb to die for.
Soft Indie Film
Very personal and straight-forward, with delay and a good base sound. This sound really brings character without taking up too much space.
Space Accordion
With its almost pad-like sound, this preset is amazing for long notes.
Stargazing
This one is enormous and can make you feel small, in a beautiful awe-inspiring way. The sound was inspired by the organ in Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar score.
Strange World
Strange World is, quite frankly, a strange preset, but in a good way. it is focused on making the recordings of the key noise sound great, but if you don’t want one single sound on every key you can turn upp the ‘Tonality’ knob.
String Pads
A soft pad sound made up by filters, phaser and delays.
Summer Breeze
A reversed reverb with a touch of the ‘Plucked’ and ‘Damped’ piano gives this preset a scent of a summer breeze.
Synthetic
This one has artificial pitched layers added under the ‘Detuner’ knob to make the sound less ‘authentic’ and more sampled. You can also control the dynamics with a lowpass filter.
Unpleasant
As the name applies, this one gives you a feeling of unease and is pretty mystical-sounding.
Windy Fields
A beautiful pad sound with bowed horsehair and lots of space.
System Requirements
- Toontrack EZKeys 1.2.5 and above (sold separately)
- MacOS 10.10 Yosemite and above
- Windows 7 and above (64-bit only)
- Intel, AMD, or Apple Silicon CPU
- 4GB RAM or more (8GB or more recommended)
- 760MB free storage space