Please have a look at my post from March 19th, last question 6.:
"The number of samples per key (approx. 480) [VSL YAMAHA CFX] seems to be much lower compared to the recorded samples per key (up to 1.200) for the "VIENNA IMPERIAL".
Because of that information on p. 21 in the "VSL Catalog 2018" I asked : "Will there be a Standard-Library and a Full-Library or Special Edition/PLUS Volume for the "YAMAHA CFX" with more recorded samples per key and more velocity layers?"
Behind this is my assumption that the new VSL YAMAHA CFX library will probably have significantly fewer layers than the VSL VIENNA IMPERIAL library from 2009 with its 100 layers.
So, I'm completely with you. But the BÖSENDORFER IMPERIAL 290 is not my grand piano. I've never played an Imperial with which I was happy with. And I've played a lot. But I don't like this model. In contrast, I immediately found that the sound and the action of the old model 280 - which is actually a not so old model, in fact it was introduced in 2001 as the successor of the model 275 - is just fantastic. The same with its successor, the new model 280VC, which debuted in 2015.
BÖSENDORFER had a lot of bad luck with very questionable decisions in the past. For that they finally got their receipt in 2007. YAMAHA receives the "crown jewels" in piano making from BÖSENDORFER. For this, BÖSENDORFER gets the right to survive from YAMAHA, but just like a dog on a short leash. So, whether his master will allow it to be on stage of the major international piano competitions in Warsaw and Moscow? Cause their new concert-grand-model 280VC is of course absolutely fantastic and at eye level with STEINWAY & SONS, SHIGERU KAWAI, FAZIOLI and YAMAHA.
And what do i have of 100 layers of a model which I do not like?!? And more than 127 layers...? With normal MIDI-programming? Don't understand exactly what you mean...
On the other hand, the 1024 dynamic levels on a reproducing grand like the BÖSENDORFER 290SE - the digital reproducing technology, the so called SE-system, was developed by genious American engineer Wayne Stahnke in the late '70s, first delivery to a private customer in June 1978, and was then licensed to BÖSENDORFER, who built 37 SE-grands from 1984-1986 - played in a total different league than the CEUS-system from the same company. And again, BÖSENDORFER's CEUS - which was introduced to the market about 30 years later in June 2007 - with its 250 reproducing levels is (better say was!) an inferior reproducing system in terms of timing and precision. Maybe for private use it was more elegant in terms of handling - for professional use it had several serious disadvantages. BTW, from 1991 to 2001, Wayne Stahnke worked for YAMAHA as a member of the Disklavier PRO design team, which was the answer to the Stahnke Engineering BÖSENDORFER SE. Funny!
To make it clear: Look at the technical specs and you will see, that the CEUS-system was a step backwards to Stahnke's SE-system. And CEUS was much to expensive. Does anyone remember the CEUSmaster-project? Years over years of configuration with 3 prototypes at a total. Even in February 2007 you could read: "The 'CeusMaster' is to be established in the medium term as a profit center for BÖSENDORFER." In the end, no profit center but a cost grave and no CEUSmaster, no digital BÖSENDORFER. YAMAHA finished that long-time-drama in 2008 and the two "leading heads" of that project left BÖSENDORFER. Short time after, who would have thought that, in 2009 YAMAHA'S AVANTGRAND hybrids as the successor to their former GRANTOUCH hybrids from the '90s debuted to the market.
Back to the actual topic: For sampled layers in combination with editing the recorded session, the old MIDI with its 127 levels are the maximum at the moment. Even YAMAHA/STEINBERG is not able to deliver a software editor for its high-resolution XP data (XP for "eXtended Precision"). In the past there was such an editor in the market, called RePerform from ZENPH Sound Innovations, the genious Dr. John Walker. With that editor for the YAMAHA Disklavier PRO you could edit its 1023 layers. But since all that - Stahnke's LIVE PERFORMANCE LX system and Dr. Walker's ZENPH - was sold to STEINWAY & SONS, where it was a clever move to motivate non-players to buy their totally overpriced player-grands, called SPIRIO. Since then the retrofittable and affordable (!) LIVE PERFORMANCE LX and the RePerform-software disappeared from the market and it was not possible to edit the once recorded high-resolution XP data from the YAMAHA Disklavier ENSPIRE PRO anymore. Editing YAMAHA's XP data went on just with normal low MIDI-resolution. What a success for STEINWAY to send back YAMAHA to the stone-age! And without irony, because of STEINWAY's stroke of genius the YAMAHA ENSPIRE PRO-system has only a conditionally/restricted professional usability.
But to avoid misunderstandings, the ENSPIRE PRO-system as an evolution of the PRO-technology, which debuted in 1998, is a much more accurate system - in terms of precision and timing - in recording and playback than the CEUS-system ever was.
Finally, I really would like to see (and of course to buy) a "Special Edition/PLUS Volume" for the VSL YAMAHA CFX with about 100 layers, as I've asked for in my post. And in addition, later on it would be pretty logic for a viennese company to see a VSL BÖSENDORFER 280VC with about 100 layers too, cause it is a fantastic sounding concert grand. And as far as I know there is no 280VC sample library on the market.
Both could be reference-products for a long time - an industry standard. But now I hope that - as a first step - the "team" VSL YAMAHA CFX / VIENNA SYNCHRON PLAYER will be THE reference-product in the near future.
In the moment the Oscar goes to GARRITAN CFX. Sure that will change.