Native Instruments today announced Vertikal, a new Kontakt 8 piano instrument that captures Nils Frahm’s vertical concert grand, recorded in his very own Saal 3 studio at Berlin’s historic Funkhaus. Created with Galaxy Instruments, the team behind Claire, Una Corda, and Noire, and officially supported by Frahm, Vertikal turns a 4.5-meter, custom-built instrument most musicians will never touch into a playable library with pure and felt versions, deep resonance, and an expanded Particles 2.0 generative engine. The launch underscores Native Instruments’ commitment to preserving rare acoustic instruments, and the stories behind them, as creative tools for songwriters, composers, and producers everywhere.
A PIANO, A ROOM, AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
Vertikal brings together musician and composer Nils Frahm, the enormous vertical concert grand at the heart of his Saal 3 studio, and Galaxy Instruments, the team behind some of the most respected virtual pianos on the planet. Performance and sampling craft meet around a single piano most musicians will never touch, in a room few will ever record in. The result is a portrait of a specific instrument, space, and artist ecosystem, where the provenance is part of the sound.
“The piano is not just something singular, only happening here [Saal 3], but it is turning into a shared experience with the making of this virtual instrument,” said Nils Frahm. “It will be democratized in a way, and I really like that. There was a community behind this and my goal was to give back. I know we’ve done the best we can to give this piano a proper chance to be useful and needful. For me it’s the best possible outcome to just release this into the world, I’m honestly very proud of it.”
THE INSTRUMENT: ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST VERTICAL CONCERT GRANDS
Vertikal is a vertical concert grand unlike any conventional piano. Standing 4.5 meters tall and developed in dialogue with Nils Frahm and Piano Day, it pairs strings up to 3.9 meters long with a massive resonant body and exceptional dynamic range. Notes don’t simply decay. They hang, breathe, and reveal complex overtones over time, so even the simplest chord feels emotionally substantial.
THE ROOM: SAAL 3 AT FUNKHAUS BERLIN
Built as a purpose-made recording and radio production complex on Berlin’s Nalepastraße, Funkhaus remains one of the city’s most important recording environments. Saal 3 was originally a chamber music hall; in 2016, Nils Frahm took over the space and remodeled it into his personal studio, the creative base behind much of his modern work. The vertical grand was recorded there, in the room it calls home, capturing the room’s acoustic identity as an inseparable part of the instrument.
THE ARTIST AND THE SAMPLING TEAM
Nils Frahm is one of the defining artists of modern piano culture, bridging neo-classical composition, ambient electronics, tape-era studio craft, and live improvisation across albums including Felt, Spaces, Solo, All Melody, and Day. In 2015 he founded Piano Day, a global celebration held on the 88th day of the year, with the vertical grand among its earliest dream projects. His score for Victoria won the German Film Prize for Best Soundtrack.
Galaxy Instruments, led by Uli Baronowsky, Achim Reinhardt and Stephan Lembke, is among the most accomplished piano-library creators in the Kontakt ecosystem, with credits including The Giant, Una Corda, Noire, Claire, Piano Colors and the Definitive Piano Collection. With Noire, Galaxy previously captured Frahm’s custom-intonated Yamaha grand in Saal 3. For Vertikal, the team brought that expertise to a far larger, higher-risk source, preserving the instrument’s character while making it immediately playable.
“Vertikal is about capturing the unique sonic character of a truly one-of-a-kind instrument: Nils’s own vertical concert grand, whose distinctive physical design gives it a sound unlike any other piano,” said Tim Adnitt, Senior Director of Product Management at Native Instruments. “Recorded in Saal 3, the room where he has shaped so much of modern piano music, by the people who understand this instrument and space best, it brings together a combination of sound and character that simply cannot be replicated. Extending this unique and beautiful sound with the reimagined Particles 2.0 engine opens up further creative, colourful, rhythmic spaces.”
PREPARED INTIMACY AND PARTICLES 2.0
Vertikal includes pure, felt, and felt-plus-cotton versions, letting players move from clear, direct performance to softer, almost whispered textures shaped by fabric, touch, and mechanical detail. These preparations are central to the instrument’s identity, not decorative variations.
The reimagined Particles 2.0 engine extends the acoustic source into evolving patterns and atmospheric motion. Building on Noire’s original note-cloud concept, Particles 2.0 adds reproducible Rhythm Mode patterns, directly playable sound sources, expanded tonal, percussive, and textural sources, detailed particle and cloud envelopes, independent pan and timbre control, and a redesigned four-slot FX engine. A new Motion system adds LFOs and performance modulation via mod wheel and polyphonic aftertouch, so a simple voicing can become a moving emotional bed for songwriting, scoring, solo performance, and contemporary production.
KEY FEATURES
• PURE AND FELT VERSIONS: Two prepared tonal states, from clear and direct to soft, whispered textures
• DEEP RESONANCE SAMPLING: Captures sympathetic vibration, long sustain, and evolving overtones from strings up to 3.9 meters long
• SAAL 3 ROOM SOUND: Recorded in the piano’s home at Funkhaus Berlin, with the room’s acoustics built into the instrument
• PARTICLES 2.0 ENGINE: Generative note clouds with directly playable sound sources, expanded tonal, percussive, and textural sources, detailed particle and cloud envelopes, and independent pan and timbre control
• RHYTHM MODE: Reproducible rhythmic patterns that turn simple voicings into repeatable, playable motion
• MOTION SYSTEM: LFOs and performance modulation via mod wheel and polyphonic aftertouch
• REDESIGNED FOUR-SLOT FX ENGINE: Built-in effects for shaping everything from intimate close-up tone to wide, atmospheric beds
• KONTAKT 8 AND NKS-READY: Native Kontrol Standard integration for mapped, hands-on control from compatible hardware; also runs in the free Kontakt 8 Player
AVAILABILITY AND PRICING
Vertikal is available November 5, 2026 for $149 USD €149 EUR at native-instruments.com. Vertikal requires Kontakt 8, or the free Kontakt 8 Player.
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