Native Instruments has announced Alicia's Keys (www.native-instruments.com/aliciaskeys.info), software that recreates Alicia Keys' personal grand piano. Developed in close collaboration with the Grammy-winning artist, the software is used as the primary instrument on her new album and on the current world tour.

Designed as a comprehensive digital recreation of Key's own custom Yamaha "C3 Neo" grand piano, and based on Native Instruments' Kontakt 4 sampler platform, Alicia's Keys provides a piano sound designed to accommodate R&B, soul and pop styles. The instrument was recorded in Alicia's personal studio by her engineer Ann Mincieli and sampling expert Thomas Scarbee over the course of two years.

Alicia's Keys utilizes 17GB of high-resolution samples with 12 discrete velocity layers per note, and emulation of crucial sonic aspects like key release, sustain pedal functionality and sympathetic resonance. The user interface of the software gives e control over the sound to further adjust it to the specific musical context and personal playing style, and also includes a convolution reverb that provides various authentic room ambiences ranging from a small piano chamber to a large stage or concert hall.

Alicia's Keys can be used on any Mac or Windows computer with the included free Kontakt Player, and can also be loaded into the full-featured professional Kontakt 4 sampler for additional in-depth sound editing. Alicia's Keys will be available in April 2010 for a suggested retail price of US$119.