Native Instruments Una Corda piano plug-in: features and spec-based rating

Native Instruments’ Una Corda is a piano instrument plug-in that contains a custom upright piano with only one string per key. It has three sound banks, including two tones with felt or cotton placed between the hammers and strings, and you can adjust noises and pedal sounds.

A piano instrument plug-in lets you play the sound of a piano on a computer.

In this article we compare Una Corda with 10 piano instrument plug-ins and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.

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Summary

Among the 10 piano instrument plug-ins, Una Corda is rank A. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and A is second from the top. Averaging the scores for each criterion (out of 5, with the one criterion that matters most for the purpose counted double) gives 3.5.

Strengths

• Realism and depth (5 points): it aims for a realistic sound through large recordings and fine adjustment.

Things to keep in mind

• Help with composing (1 points): it has no feature that helps with composing.

Who it suits: people who want a quiet, warm piano sound that includes its noises.

Main features of Una Corda

A piano with one string

This is a detailed recording of a custom upright piano with only one string per key. The manufacturer explains that it captures the clear, resonant sound of the hammers striking the strings directly.

Three sound banks

Besides the sound of the hammers striking the strings directly, you can choose a soft sound with felt placed between the hammers and strings, and a noisy, percussive sound with cotton placed between them.

Noise adjustment and effects

You can add cloth, mechanical, pedal and room noise to make it more realistic or to make an unusual sound. Vintage-gear hiss, compression and saturation are also available.

Video: “Introducing UNA CORDA – a new prepared piano | Native Instruments” (official Native Instruments YouTube channel; narration in English) Watch on YouTube

Where it is useful

• Making a quiet piano piece or an ambient accompaniment
• Making a soft intro with the felt sound
• Adding noise to make a sound with texture

Rating by criterion

Realism and depth: 5 / 5

We look at how extensively it was recorded and whether you can fine-tune things such as resonance and pedal sounds.

It is a 10 GB recording, and you can add or reduce the sounds of cloth noise, mechanical noise, pedals and the room.

Help with composing: 1 / 5

We look at whether there are features that help you make accompaniments and chord progressions.

It has no accompaniment or chord suggestions and no MIDI phrase collection.

If “help with composing” matters most to you, EZkeys 2 (5 points) is a better fit.

Variety of pianos: 3 / 5

We look at the number of pianos you can switch between.

You can switch between three sound banks (Pure, Felt and Cotton) of the same piano.

How we score (Piano instrument plug-ins)

Criterion	Basis	5 pt	4 pt	3 pt	2 pt	1 pt
Realism and depth	Scale of the recordings, and fine adjustment of resonance, noise and so on	Recordings of 10 GB or more, plus fine adjustment of resonance, pedal, hammers and so on	Modeling that lets you adjust resonance and ambience, or recordings of 10 GB or more	A few GB of recordings, plus microphone and ambience adjustment	A small library	—
Help with composing	Features that help you make accompaniments and chords	Accompaniment suggestions, chord suggestions and a MIDI phrase library, all together	Two of those	One, such as creating new sounds from what you play	—	No feature that helps with composing
Variety of pianos	Number of pianos you can switch between	10 or more	5 or more	2 to 3 (including different tones of the same piano)	One	—

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: making piano accompaniments for cover-song arrangements and your own songs. Scores follow the conditions in the table above, and the rank is based on an average in which "Realism and depth" counts double. The basis is official manufacturer information. Sound quality and CPU load are not measured, so they are not scored; reviews from trade magazines are introduced in the articles for reference. Price is not part of the score. Features that cannot be confirmed from the manufacturer's or a retailer's description are scored as if absent.

Una Corda system requirements and getting started

Operating system	Windows / Mac
Plug-in formats	An instrument used inside the free KONTAKT PLAYER (or KONTAKT)
Other	10 GB. It includes 100 snapshots and 3 NKI files

Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on September 27, 2026.

Compared with other piano instrument plug-ins

Click a heading to sort. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.

Read next

• Noire: features and rating (rank A)
• Piano V: features and rating (rank A)
• EZkeys 2: features and rating (rank B)
• The Grandeur: features and rating (rank B)