PianoFlex vs Ivory 3

Ivory 3 and PianoFlex start from opposite ends and meet in the middle. Ivory 3 is sampled: concert grands recorded in a concert hall by the team behind Ivory II. But its new engine blends between those recordings so smoothly that Synthogy says it behaves like modeling. PianoFlex is modeled: every note is computed as you play. Both aim for the same thing, a touch that changes smoothly from the softest note to the loudest.

What they have in common

• No velocity steps. Ivory 3's engine gives a continuous change of tone with every strength of touch, which Synthogy calls a first for a sampled piano. PianoFlex has it by its nature, as a modeled piano.
• Modeled resonance. Both model the strings ringing in sympathy and the soundboard's sustain.
• The same piano-player's controls: hammer hardness, the soft pedal's color, half-pedaling and the tuning.
• Their own engines, with no Kontakt, as a program and a plugin on Windows.

Where Ivory 3 stands out

• Grand pianos recorded in a concert hall, each a separate title, with every detail captured, from real una corda notes to pedal noise.
• Ready for MIDI 2.0, with up to 65,536 steps of velocity on keyboards that send them.
• Microphones that follow your touch. Up to four microphone positions, blended by how hard you play.
• Fine touch controls: Dynamic Shift, Equal Energy and Hammer Strength, and tuning tables you can edit.
• Ivory II carried forward: its pianos and presets work in Ivory 3.
• Mac as well as Windows, with AU and AAX plugins.

Where PianoFlex stands out

• Memory. PianoFlex asks for 4 cores or more, 4 GB of memory and 100 MB of disk. Ivory 3 asks for 16 GB of memory at least and recommends 32 GB, with an 8-core processor.
• Size. A 16.6 MB download, where each Ivory 3 grand is 38 to 42 GB.
• Many pianos in one. 34 presets in eight groups, and any of them yours to shape: the strings, the soundboard, the body, the microphones and the room.
• 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, and song videos of your MIDI files.
• No iLok and no account, and a free demo that never expires. Synthogy names no demo for Ivory 3.
• $79, where an Ivory 3 grand is $249 or $279.

Which to pick

• On a powerful desktop, for a meticulously recorded concert grand: Ivory 3.
• With a MIDI 2.0 keyboard: Ivory 3 is ready for it.
• If you already own Ivory II pianos: Ivory 3, which plays them.
• For a piano with no sample library to load, light on memory: PianoFlex.
• For many pianos you can shape, with no iLok: PianoFlex.

Owning both

Ivory 3 suits a studio computer with memory to spare; PianoFlex has no sample library at all. Both chase the same smooth touch, so moving between them feels natural. PianoFlex's demo is here, and Synthogy 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 Ivory 3 is from Synthogy's own pages, checked on 4 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars; sales come and go.

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.

Sources

• https://www.synthogy.com/products/ivory-3-german-d
• https://www.synthogy.com/products/ivory-3-american-concert-d
• https://www.synthogy.com/products/ivory-3-le-uprights-modern-and-vintage
• https://register.synthogy.com/resonate/shop2/index.jsp
• https://www.synthogy.com/support/faqs