Native Instruments Noire

Native Instruments Noire: The Dark Cinematic Piano

Native Instruments Noire is a deeply sampled Yamaha CFX concert grand piano captured in collaboration with pianist Nils Frahm — a dark, intimate, cinematic piano designed for scoring, ambient production and modern songwriting. Two main modes deliver contrasting characters — Pure captures the piano as recorded with pristine detail, and Felt places a strip of felt between hammers and strings for the muted, close-mic’d sound Nils Frahm became famous for. A dedicated Particles engine adds evolving textures generated from the piano samples themselves.

What’s Inside Noire

• Yamaha CFX concert grand: fully sampled at Nils Frahm’s Berlin studio Saal 3
• Pure mode: the piano captured cleanly with detailed articulation and dynamic range
• Felt mode: felt strip between hammers and strings for the muted, close-mic’d Nils Frahm sound
• Particles engine: evolving cinematic textures generated from the piano samples themselves — sync-locked, tempo-aware
• Playback controls: half-pedalling, sustain resonance modelling, key noise, mechanical noise per performance detail
• Reverb section: convolution reverb captured in the recording space for authentic ambience
• Mic positions: multiple mic positions for tonal shaping from intimate close-mic to wide stereo
• Runs in Kontakt Player: free Kontakt Player is enough — full Kontakt not required

Who Is It For?

Film and TV composers scoring emotional cues where the piano character carries the emotion. Modern songwriters and producers building intimate arrangements around a piano hook. Ambient producers using the Particles engine for evolving textures that connect musically to the underlying piano performance. Lo-fi and neoclassical producers who want the specific felt piano sound Nils Frahm brought to modern classical music. Anyone tired of bright, aggressive concert grand samples who wants a piano with genuine character.

System Requirements

• macOS 11 or higher, 64-bit, Apple Silicon native
• Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Formats: VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone (via Kontakt Player)
• Approximately 18 GB disk space

How Producers Use Native Instruments Noire

Film composers set Felt mode on melodic themes for the intimate, close-mic’d character that fits emotional scoring. Songwriters use Pure mode with subtle Particles for piano-driven ballads that need the piano to stay warm but not sterile. Ambient producers hold a single chord in Felt mode and let the Particles engine generate evolving textures for cinematic scoring. Lo-fi producers add tape saturation after Noire’s Felt mode for the Instagram-friendly bedroom piano sound. See our Kontakt libraries collection for related tools.

Why Buy From VST Vault?

• Instant download: installer link within a minute of payment
• Mac and Windows: both installers included
• Priced in pounds: transparent GBP pricing
• Real support: within six hours by email or WhatsApp
• 3-day refund: if the plugin doesn’t work and we can’t fix it

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the full Kontakt to run Noire?

No. Noire runs in free Kontakt Player. If you already have Kontakt 7 or 8, Noire loads there as well. Full Kontakt is not required — Kontakt Player is a free download from Native Instruments.

What’s the difference between Noire Pure mode and Felt mode?

Pure captures the Yamaha CFX cleanly with bright, detailed piano character. Felt places a strip of felt between hammers and strings for the muted, intimate sound Nils Frahm made famous in modern classical music. Producers scoring epic themes usually pick Pure. Producers scoring emotional close-mic’d moments pick Felt.

How does the Particles engine work?

Particles generates evolving textures from the piano samples themselves — grains of recorded piano notes are triggered rhythmically and sync-locked to project tempo. The result is ambient content that connects musically to the piano performance rather than existing as a separate pad layer.

Explore Una Corda for another intimate piano collaboration with Nils Frahm.