Topic: The "wood" component
I've just got back from my parent's place and was able to spend a lot of time with an upright and also a grand (mid sized yamaha) that I used for a mini performance. And coming back to pianoteq, I started to tweak my main preset to a much brighter sound.. The yamaha surely had an effect on my, besides I like the yamaha sound anyway.
One thing I can't seem to get right is, though, the "wood" part of the sound. I'm usually quite good at pinpointing what needs to be changed, doing sound design and all.. but for this, I have no idea. It's so subtle, yet is so present in a piano sound.
A good thing I realized though, was how easy it was to transition back to an acoustic from PT3. For the first time, I felt as if the digital counterpart was some distant relative of an acoustic. And so, going from PT3 to an acoustic was sort of like going from one acoustic to another, much like going from an upright to a grand. I was also surprised at how much tweaking PT3 had trained my ears. My ears were so sensitive to the how the grand was responding to my touch, that it was extremely easy to control.
Still by no means a perfect alternative, but what PT3 has accomplished is amazing. Now I want to get me an upright and play more! I think this is the point. Whether PT3 assists in practice, production, or whatever the context, if the end result is that you are more motivated about creating music or bettering yourself as a musician, then the instrument has served (is serving) its purpose.
