Even if it’s hard to understand how four pianos can be included in only 605 MB, Velvet sounds really good: it has good dynamics, includes 200 well-designed presets, and you can “feel” the sensations of a real piano, thanks to the various noises. The effects do their job perfectly, there’s full MIDI automation (with free assigning of controllers) and you can adjust Velvet’s response to your master keyboard’s characteristics.

There are however, some flaws and shortcomings: the MKI’s distortion at high velocities is a bit too pronounced, and the Wurlitzer lacks a bit of “acidity”, or “hollowness”. However let’s not forget that, in the real world, each piano had its own sound... More annoying is the difficulty in adjusting velocity settings in order to have both pianissimo sounds and “barking” attacks.

Now, let’s talk about the purchase pertinence: Velvet has a MSRP of $249. If you don’t already have a solution in Pro Tools, you should buy it because it’s better than Native’s Elektrik Piano. There’s also the AAS Lounge Lizard 3, which, if not the most faithful emulation, is undoubtedly the most creative, being way past its rivals in terms of sound design.

If you already own Kontakt, the alternative can be Scarbee’s VKC or KGB, which, if a bit more expensive, offer Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Pianet, Clavinet and the VKFX, an excellent keyboard multiFX plug-in, much better than Velvet’s FX. While Velvet has a lot of character and a kind of “in-your-face” sound, KGB and VKC sound softer. But when you use one of the Scarbee pianos with the VKFX, there is simply no comparison...

So here is the dilemma: Velvet offers seamless integration into Pro Tools (very stable, no bugs or crashes while reviewing). But no way to use it outside Digidesign’s DAW. Regarding Scarbee, some users have issues with Kontakt and Pro Tools on Windows, only a few on Mac, but on the other hand Kontakt can be used in almost all DAWs and in standalone mode...

Having said that, Velvet is a really nice instrument, which is worthy of its famous models. The sounds won’t become dated and are definitely inspiring... You’ll need a very good master keyboard to get the best out of your virtual electric piano. That’s where reality is still superior to software: I still haven’t found a keyboard that gives me the extraordinary feeling of the Rhodes key action, and its interaction with the sound. However, soundwise and simply soundwise, Velvet does the job and holds its own among existing solutions.

Seamless integration within Pro Tools
Global quality
Stability
Nice FX section
Versatility and creative power
Total automation
Quality of presets
Unusual features

Well, Pro Tools only...
Velocity setting
MkI quite agressive
Wurlitzer’s lack of “wurlitzerity”
No global volume for FX section