The Honky Château Piano Comes to Your Laptop

London, UK (August 5, 2025)—Every country has its legendary studios, and in France, the Château d’Hérouville is revered for the music it has hosted over the decades. Albums by Elton John, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and The Bee Gees—to name only a few—brought the facility’s acoustics to millions of ears, and one of the most familiar sounds those records had in common was the studio’s 1901 Steinway B Grand Piano. Now Spitfire Audio is recreating those 88 keys with its latest plug-in, Château Piano.

The piano was recently restored by piano technician Bastien Herbin and recorded for the plug-in inside the ‘George Sand’ live room at Château d’Hérouville. According to Spitfire Audio, the Steinway B is notably bright and punchy when played fortissimo, yet but reveals “a delicate, intimate elegance under a lighter touch.” For variety, the plug-in offers users a selection of virtual microphones to use and a variety of built-in effects as well.

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The piano is not alone in being revived to make music again—the entire studio has been undergoing restoration in recent years. While the building was erected in 1740 outside Paris, in the 1970s, the site became a legendary residential studio founded by film composer Michel Magne, where albums like Elton John’s Honky Château and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage and David Bowie’s Low were recorded. Nonetheless, hard times followed, and the studio was abandoned for 30 years before it was reopened in 2016 by musicians Jean Taxis, Thierry Garacino and Stephane Marchi.

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Château Piano runs $159, with a 20% discount at Spitfire’s website until August 18, 2025.