Bösendorfer Upright

The Bösendorfer Grand Upright 130 incorporates the experience of almost two centuries of grand piano making. Although physically an upright piano, the instrument surprises with subtle nuances and a powerful bass, and yet with a pure and pristine piano sound, without further tonal colors that are usually added by the large body of a concert grand.

The legendary pure and rich Bösendorfer sound is based on the Viennese tradition of piano making with its complex construction. Bösendorfer uses more than 80% naturally dried resonant spruce wood to build an instrument - more than any other manufacturer. When a note is played, the integrated spruce components become acoustically active, forming a complete resonating body similar in principle to a violin. Its precise mechanics offer optimum power transmission with maximum controllability. The carefully hand-spun bass strings - steel core strings with one or two layers of copper - also contribute to its warm and sonorous sound.

The instrument was recorded using 8 microphone positions. The Standard Library includes 4 of these sections, allowing you to integrate instruments recorded with a stereo Decca tree into your projects using our new Synchron Player software. Adding the Extended Library and thus getting the Full Library expands your possibilities to 5.1 surround and Auro 3D 9.1.

Standard Library

• Close 1 - Condenser (Schoeps 2 MK4 ORTF)

  • "ORTF" setup with a pair of Shoeps MK4 aiming at the perfect representation of the player's listening position.

• Mid 1 (Sennheiser MKH 40 ORTF behind the piano)

  • "ORTF" setup with Sennheiser MKH40 behind the piano for a warm and dark timbre.

• Main/Room Mic - Decca Tree Stereo (Neumann KM 133)

• Main/Room Mic - Decca Tree Mono (Neumann KM 133)

  • Decca Tree array (L-C-R) with three Neumann KM133 mics. Used in a stereo mix, you can easily hear where the piano is placed. In a surround setup, the Decca tree microphones will be the feed for your front L-R speakers.

Extended Library

Even if you're not using a surround setup, you get more ambience variation and spatial depth out of the Full Library by adding the room microphones' signals to your stereo mix.

• Close 2 - Ribbon (Royer SF24 Blumlein)

  • "Blumlein" setup of a Royer SF24 for a fast, direct and vintage sound.

• Close 3 - Condenser Large Diaphragm (Neumann 2 TLM 170 Cardioids)

  • "Quasi AB" setup of a Neumann TLM 170 with broad cardioids. Ideal for producing the typical "pop piano" sound.

• Mid 2 (Schoeps KFM6 over the piano)

  • The KFM 6 Sphere setup aims at the perfect representation of the entire dynamic range of an ideally balanced piano.

• Main Surround - Stereo (Neumann KM 184)

  • Wide A-B stereo setup with two KM184 cardioid microphones. In a surround setup, these signals would be used for your rear speakers.

The instrument Presets also include different mixer presets. By default the classic room mixes are loaded which include the Standard Library microphone positions. These are balanced in the stereo field to represent the respective instrument's position in the Synchron Stage set-up.

Auro 3D is an immersive audio technology that allows for three-dimensional sound perception. The Belgian company Auro Technologies developed this technology based on a special speaker configuration, adding four additional speakers to a 5.1 surround configuration. These speakers (so-called "Heights'') are situated above the front and surround speakers and generate acoustic reflections that are perceived naturally due to the fact that sounds originate from around as well as from above the listener. Thanks to the comprehensive selection of discrete audio channels with the Full Library of Synchron Percussion I you may mix your instruments in Auro 3D as well as in Dolby Atmos.

For designating pitch, the Vienna Symphonic Library uses International Pitch Notation (IPN), which was agreed upon internationally under the auspices of the Acoustical Society of America. In this system the international standard of A=440 Hz is called A4 and middle C is C4. All pitches are written as capital letters, their respective octave being indicated by a number next to it. The lowest C on the piano is C1 (the A below that is A0), etc.

To capture the Bösendorfer Grand Upright 130 with all its subtleties, our engineers developed a highly precise motion-control system based on a solenoid that controls a noise-free "robot finger". The micro-controller moves the finger with super-human precision, providing flexible curvatures for down-strokes and release movements, the latter corresponding with the preceding note length and various release speeds.

• Modern classic
• Clear and uninhibited sound
• Wide dynamic range, rich tone with a powerful bass
• Stellar clarity in each note
• Versatility in sound & timbre with 8 microphone positions
• Recorded at Stage B of Vienna Synchron Stage
• Advanced Release Sample Technology
• Pre-configured Main Presets: Concert, Intimate, Player, Pop, Ambience, Vintage

In addition to the multitude of options from mixing various microphone signals, the Bösendorfer Upright comes with the free Vienna Synchron Pianos software that offers multiple options for shaping your sound and your playing experience. Hosting a high-performance playback engine, the software provides a full-blown mixer with a broad range of effects such as EQ, compressor, saturator, algorithmic reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, rotary, and many more. You may also adjust the volume of body resonances, sympathetic strings and pedal noises right in the main Play window. In the Edit window you can even tweak EQ, volume, tuning, dynamic range, etc. for each individual key!

n the browser window of the Synchron Pianos player you may select from four general preset categories:

Ready-made, resource saving presets with as few microphones as possible. The "Room Mix" Channel contains a mix of all available microphones from the Full Library.

The classic sound of a Decca tree stereo recording features a more slender sound with less diffusion compared to the "Room Mix" Presets.

These presets include all available room microphones with various runtime delays, creating more diversity in the perception of room depth.

Designed to send the microphone signals to your available surround channels.

The Bösendorfer Upright is a "modern classic" with a clear and uninhibited sound that lets you focus on your music. It comes with all the features that will make you pick an upright piano over a grand piano for you music, and our presets show the versatility of this powerful piano in it many facets. Recorded with utmost precision, the Bösendorfer Upright represents this specific category of pianos in the best way.

What's more, the Synchron Pianos player interface offers instant and direct access to seven pre-configured character presets.