In this article, I will review the new Augmented Grand Piano by Arturia. As the review proceeds, you will learn about various features, sound quality, creative FX, CPU performance along with other factors that make this plugin the best piano VST of 2022.

Augmented Grand Piano is available on the official website of Arturia for just $99. There is a free demo of the software available as well. The plugin is available in VST, VST3, Audio Unit(AU), AAX, and standalone modes; for both Windows and macOS.

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano Review – A quick opinion

Augmented Grand Piano is one of the best Piano VSTs I have ever come across. Its two sound layers mixed with a series of creative FX and modulations can create beautiful sounds in seconds. Even if you are not a sound designer, you can easily find your ideal sound in seconds using a large preset collection. However,  one thing I would like to point out is that it is CPU heavy. Although the sound of the plugin is second to none, it comes at an expense of heavy CPU consumption.

Unlike other Piano VSTs and sampled instruments that only gives a few options to manipulate the sound, Augmented Grand has tons of creative elements to design different types of sounds. There is a dedicated arpeggiator, modulation, Macro, FX, and more. All and all, this plugin is one of the best VST releases of 2022.

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Arturia Augmented Grand Piano – In detail

Now let us review some important functions and sounds of the Augmented Grand Piano. In this section, we will explore various options, functions, and sounds of the plugin.

User Interface

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano has a clear division of working space. Whether you are a sound designer who likes to play with the sound or a producer who likes a simple workspace, this plugin fulfills the need of both. The main user interface has the preset browser, 8 Macro controls, Global, Preset, Midi, and MPE settings, and plugin tutorials.

However, if you are a sound designer or want to further modify the preset, you can go to the advanced section and play around with the effects, modulations, arpeggiator, macro controls, and more.

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano also has a well-managed preset browser. The presets can be sorted out by category, tags, sound character, and type. You can also mark the presets as favorites and add custom tags.

The sound collection and sampled instruments

The main sound engine of the Augmented Grand Piano has 2 layers A and B which are further divided into 2 samplers. Each sampler has 21 real pianos, 10 processed pianos, and 20 additional samples.

The 2nd layer as well consists of 2 synth layers, the samples in each synth layer are divided into four categories – Analog, Granular, Harmonic, and Wavetable.

Each layer A and B have filters with 6 filter types – SEM, Multimode, Surgeon, Comb, Phaser, and Formant. The filter supports, high pass, low pass, bandpass, and bandstop filter curves. Each filter also has a dedicated modulation envelope with Velocit>Time control.

These 4 sources together build the main sound of Arturia Augmented Grand Piano.

Modulations

Another great feature of Arturia Augmented Grand Piano is the dedicated modulators. The plugin has

• 2 LFOs with Envelope and Keyboard Tracking option. Each LFO can control 4 parameters.
• 2 Free Function modulators capable of creating any shape. Each modulator can assign 4 parameters.
• 2 Random LFOs with Turing and Sample and Hold(S&H) modes. Each random LFO can control 4 parameters.
• 4 Keyboard-based modulators – Aftertouch, modulation wheel, Keyboard Tracking, and Velocity. You can customize the curve of each modulator.

These 4 modulator options provide a great source to further modify the sound and add expressions. There are also 4 sound macros for Color, Morph, Time, and Motion; and 4 Effect macros for 2 FX, Delay, and Reverb.

Apart from LFO modulation, there is a dedicated Tremolo and Vibrato control that can be assigned to Layer A, B, or both.

Arpeggiator

Augmented Grand Piano by Arturia has an interactive and easy-to-use arpeggiator. This arpeggiator can create the most simple as well as complex arp sounds in a matter of seconds. The main window is divided into 4 parts – Step, Chord, Velocity, and Gate.

There are 5 arp modes – Up, Down, Up/Down Exc, Up/Down In, Random, and as Played.

Apart from that, it also has swing, chord selection, Tempo sync, and Hold option.

Effects

Arturia has done a really good job implementing the effects in the Augmented Grand Piano. The effect section is divided into 2 parts – Layer FX and Main FX. While Layer FX is applied on individual layers A and B Main FX is applied on the final output.

Although you can only apply 2 effects on each layer, there are many effect modules to choose from. In total, there are 14 layer FX namely-

1. Multi Filter
2. Parametric EQ
3. Compressor
4. Distortion
5. Bitcrusher
6. Chorus
7. Chorus JUN-6(Juno 6)
8. Stereo Pan
9. Phaser
10. BL 20 Flanger
11. Reverb
12. Digital Delay
13. Pitch shift delay
14. Tape Delay

While the Layer FX has many effects, the main FX only has Delay and Reverb effects. The delay has 3 types – Tape, Digital, and Pitch Shift. The reverb has Convolution and Digital/Algorithmic reverb. The convolution reverb has many high-quality IR impulses for realistic reverb devices.

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano – System Requirements

Mac

• macOS 10.13 or later (Intel / M1 Apple Silicon supported) (64-bit only)
• 4 GB RAM
• 4 Cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
• 3 GB free hard disk space
• OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
• Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS

Windows

• Windows 8.1 and later (64-bit only)
• 4 GB RAM
• 4 Cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
• 3 GB free hard disk space
• OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
• Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano – Price, Free Demo, Offers

Considering the potential of the Augmented Grand Piano, Arturia is very generous with the price. The official price of the Augmented Grand Piano is just $99. You can also buy it as a part of the Augmented Trio bundle for just $199.

Furthermore, you can get a decent offer from Plugin Boutique where you get rewards and a free plugin with the purchase. Get the deal now.

There is also a free demo version available for this plugin. The Demo version is limited to 20 minutes for each section with Import/Export and preset saves disabled.

Final Thoughts

Arturia Augmented Grand Piano is definitely one of the best Piano VST plugins of all time. It has all the good features a producer, sound designer, or composer needs. The only problem is the heavy CPU consumption, but that can be easily fixed by bouncing the patterns. For $99, this plugin is definitely worth it.

I hope that you like my review of the Arturia Augmented Grand Piano, thanks for reading!