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PianoFlex vs CFX Concert Grand

The Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand is one concert grand, recorded in Studio One at Abbey Road by the studio's own engineers, through its collection of microphones. PianoFlex takes the other road: no recordings at all, a piano computed as you play, in rooms from a dry studio to a cathedral.

What they have in common

Nothing else to buy. The CFX comes with its own ARIA Player, and PianoFlex is its own program, so neither needs a separate sampler.
From the player's seat. The CFX's Player perspective is recorded with a dummy head where the pianist sits. PianoFlex mixes microphones at the player's head, inside the piano, at the side and across the room.
Pedals and touch: partial pedaling, the soft pedal and sympathetic resonance in both.
No internet needed to unlock. The CFX's keycard can be carried to an offline computer on a flash drive. PianoFlex's license key is typed in once.
A program and a plugin on Windows.

Where the CFX Concert Grand stands out

The room. Abbey Road's Studio One, where orchestral and film scores are recorded, with a reverb time of 2.3 seconds.
Three microphone perspectives, Classic, Contemporary and Player, each with close and ambient microphones to mix.
Twenty velocity layers, with a Timbre control, an EQ and a convolution reverb.
Tunings and lid. Presets for alternate tunings, including Scala files, and for the lid's position.
A compact install of 24.5 GB for smaller drives.
Mac as well as Windows.

Where PianoFlex stands out

Size. A 16.6 MB download, where the CFX needs 133 GB free for its full install.
Many pianos and rooms. 34 presets in eight groups, and the Space list puts any of them anywhere from dry and close to a concert hall or a cathedral.
The piano itself is yours to change: the hammers, the strings, the soundboard, the body, with seven settings drawn from bass to treble.
The Character generator. Generate gives the piano a new character, drawn from nearly a billion, and its Strength runs from a subtly different instrument to one unlike any real piano, suitable for film and cinematic music. Variation makes close relatives of one you like, and a preset keeps it.
Four pianos at once, as layers.
Song videos of your MIDI files.
A demo you can live with. PianoFlex's demo plays 20 minutes a session and never expires. The CFX, before it's activated, stops sounding after five minutes.
$79, where the CFX is $199.95.

Which to pick

For one concert grand recorded in Abbey Road's Studio One, for classical or film work: the CFX Concert Grand.
For the choice of microphone perspectives on a recorded piano: the CFX.
On a Mac: the CFX.
For many pianos and rooms you can shape, at a small size: PianoFlex.
To try it properly before you buy: PianoFlex.

Owning both

The CFX is a single, carefully captured concert grand; PianoFlex is a piano for every room and every mood. Keeping a reference concert grand alongside a flexible piano is common. PianoFlex's demo is here, and Garritan has audio demos on its site. This page doesn't compare how they sound. That's for your ears.

The facts side by side

Every fact about CFX Concert Grand is from Garritan's own pages, checked on 4 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars; sales come and go.

	PianoFlex	CFX Concert Grand
How it makes its sound	Modeled. It computes every note as you play, from a model of the hammers, strings, soundboard and room. It plays no recordings.	Sampled: one concert grand, recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
Price	$79, one-time	$199.95
Download and disk space	16.6 MB download, 34.5 MB installed	133 GB free for the full install; 24.5 GB for the compact one
Memory the maker asks for	4 GB, with 4 cores or more and 100 MB of disk (the requirements)	4 GB minimum, 8 GB or more recommended
Runs on	Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit	Windows 8.1 or later, 64-bit; macOS 10.12 or later
Forms	Standalone and VST3	Inside the ARIA Player: standalone, VST, AAX; AU on Mac
Needs another program	Nothing else	The ARIA Player, included
Copy protection	A license key, entered once. No account and no online activation.	A keycard file made in your MakeMusic account; it can be carried to a computer with no internet
Computers per license	No limit on your own computers	Not stated on the maker's pages
Demo	Free and never expires: 20 minutes a session, with eight keys silent; song videos are in the full version	Installed but not activated, it stops sounding after 5 minutes
Pianos included	34 presets in eight groups, and four slots to layer pianos	One piano, with three microphone perspectives

More: virtual pianos compared, a table of 28 pianos, and all about PianoFlex.

If something here is out of date, write to [email protected] and we'll correct it.

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