I’m wondering whether anyone has knowledge of an expression map for the BBCSO Piano Core. Thoughts appreciated.
I don’t have BBCSO but generally you shouldn’t need a custom expression map for a piano or similar keyboard instruments, except in some very weird cases like a few Orchestral Tools keyboard instruments where they sampled staccato notes separately from sustain notes.
The “Default” map is all you should need for most keyboard-like instruments.
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Spitfire has a consistent approach so although the map that I am attaching is for SSO, it will work the same for BBCSO. This one is embarrassingly simple, and couples Dorico dynamics to CC1 and CC11 (Spitfire Piano’s dynamics and expression controllers). Rename it from SSO Piano.zip to SSO Piano.doricolib before you use it.
SSO Piano.zip (2.7 KB)
Velocity will still come through if you play the part in.
If you don’t play it in, what Michael @mducharme said might still be the right configuration for the type of sound you want - or you could go halfway between those ideas and switch up either the CC1 or CC11 for velocity in the map I gave.
I’m not meaning to assume too much about how much you already use Spitfire libraries: The most useful thing I’ve found personally is to map a midi controller to the different CC which Spitfire consistently uses.
Expression maps definitely work - but Spitfire is built around a belief and a philosophy of taking advantage of human artistic perception and interaction. I’m not trying to start any debates 
. Just that it isn’t always easy to describe what some of the controls in a Spitfire library do if you think of them purely as playing techniques. Some of them ARE just that - ex: string pizz. But what is “expression?” It is often more about finding a spot where you say, oh that it - that’s the mood or the pianist’s touch I wanted. And then riding it according to the role of a given phrase - especially with CC11. It also crosses the line a bit about “playing in” something like reverb, the amount of hammer noise, or positioning but I don’t think that it is in core?
This the nature of Spitfire if it fits you.
This is very kind of you – thank you for taking the time to give all this background.
My knowledge of Spitfire is elementary. I work almost exclusively with NotePeformer and Hauptwerk. I love NP, and it works brilliantly for my demo needs, mostly in conjunction with Altiverb (usually with the Concertgebouw IRs).
However, I’ve never been totally satisfied with the results from NP’s piano or the piano that came with Dorico’s Hallion sounds. That may be my inability to use them to their best ability, but I don’t think I’m alone.
I decided to buy the BBCSO Piano Core – partly because I know the instrument well as a player. Also, it has good reviews, and the pianist, who performed for the Spitfire recordings, is a close friend!
However, I’m stuck at present, as the Spitfire BBCSO piano isn’t loading properly. I suspect the samples have become disassociated during a recent upgrade. Currently, I can’t get into the Spitfire app to repair the problem, getting an ‘unable to find helper’ error every time I try to open it (all Google suggestions tried). I’m currently waiting for Spitfire to reply to a support request.
When fixed, it will be a pleasure to investigate your message in a practical way.
Thank you again.