Bigwood extensively puts Ivory 3 through its paces, exploring in almost forensic detail the capabilities of the RGB engine. His conclusion? “The Continuous Velocity feature does indeed stand up to scrutiny… smoother transitions being closer to acoustic piano behavior”.
He also praises Ivory 3’s Hamburg Steinway D at length, calling it “a great piano sound, oozing class,” and “captured with glorious detail and focus.” He also found it “very versatile… equally well suited to pop, jazz and classical genres” stating further that he found the “sound quality and responsiveness… addictive.”
Bigwood himself is a working musician, and in perhaps the ultimate test had occasion to work several days with a real, well-maintained Steinway D, during the review period. Of this experience, he writes: “it’s to Synthogy’s credit that they’ve captured so much that is appealing about the real thing, in all its six-figure cost, 500Kg glory.” He further describes the manner in which a real Steinway D is “so controllable, delicate one moment and then so singing, commanding or even thunderous the next, and with a vast range of character ready to be teased out with just small changes in touch. Synthogy have got this dynamic response aspect spot on.”
No wonder when posing the question “what is Ivory 3 like to actually live and work with?” Bigwood states, “Simply, I think it sounds and feels absolutely superb.”
High praise indeed!
For the full product review, please see the August 2023 issue of Sound On Sound Magazine.
