The moment we heard Mattias Krantz’s new experiment — replacing every single hammer on an upright piano with real, metal hammers — we knew we’d found something truly unique that could inspire musicians around the world. It’s not quite like anything you’ve ever heard before. The sound is reminiscent of a particularly powerful and full-voiced harpsichord, with the dynamic responsiveness of a regular piano and the percussive nature of a hammered dulcimer.

While it’s a fun conceptual experiment, we think you’ll find that Hammer Klavier is also beautiful and a delight to play! Mattias worked with us to record his instrument in great depth; it has been carefully sampled to the fullest so that it’s every bit as playable and realistic as a standard piano. We created it with the same love and care that makes our Pearl Concert Grand a staple choice for many composers.

Think of this not as a sound design toolbox but as a custom upright piano with a unique voice. While Mattias might have destroyed a piano to get this great sound, we think you’ll agree it was worth it.

What is the Engineer Series?

Mattias Krantz is a guitarist and YouTuber known for his wild, imaginative experiments with pianos and guitars. We are collaborating with him to bring his unique instruments to composers and musicians around the world. Hammer Klavier is the first instrument in this series, but it won’t be the last!

Console: Modular FX Rack and Mixer

Console is a fully-featured mixer, modular effects rack, and pedal board, designed to give you full control over your mix. Effects include multiple EQs (digital and analog-style), compressors, spatial FX, modulation FX, amps, distortion pedals, reverbs, and more.

Each mic channel can be loaded with up to 8 FX in any order, plus another 8 slots on the master channel, with support for send routing as well. The new “Galois Reverb” added in Kontakt 6 Player sounds fantastic as an alternative to our included custom IRs.

Download the Console manual here to learn more!