SampleScience just put out Compact Acoustic Piano, a free sampled piano plugin that runs straight in your DAW — no Kontakt or separate sampler to mess with. It's only 278 MB on disk, which is tiny for a piano library, and it still manages four velocity layers so soft and hard playing actually feel different. It's a bright piano too, which is a nice change from all the mellow lo-fi ones floating around lately.
You also get the usual SampleScience shaping tools: amplitude ADSR, filter, velocity response and tuning, plus built-in distortion, delay, chorus and reverb, each with its own mix knob. Grab it in 64-bit VST/VST3 for Windows and macOS, plus AU on Mac with native Apple Silicon support.
Get it free here: https://samplescience.gumroad.com/l/compactacousticpiano
Spotted via Bedroom Producers Blog