Pianoteq 3.0 First Impressions (Page 2 of 2)

Coming from version 2.3, what a shock! But a very pleasant one. Thru quality speakers, the sound has attained an impressive level of quality and transparency, as well as integrity across the keyboard. Congratulations to Modartt!

One thing no-one seems to have commented on is the sound of the C3 piano - in particular, what seems to have been modelled from. To my ears, could it be... dare I say it... it sounds rather reminiscent of a Steinway?

Skip,

Can you post an mp3 or wave file in the Files section so we can hear what you're hearing?

(By the way, do you notice the sound at all velocities, playing these chords?)

That is correct, a Steinway D has been carefully analysed during the construction of the C3 model!

incredible good surprise !
i dont have much time now, but i downloaded and the new sound is very beautiful.

  when i try it with some of my songs i have some troubles... wich comes not from Pianoteq but because of HP probls.
   i will need some time for testing all that with headphones, tweak, taking some distences (psychologic : listening as a new, not as what i use to)... and so on...

notice : i found the new by looking in Audiofanzine...

I have played PTQ from v1 which sounded really artificial in comparison to what we have now (but the playability and 'liveliness' did it for me then).

v2 with model C2 was a big improvement, but v3 beats that upgrade big time.

I cannot relate to all the nitpicking uttered here. Certainly there are a few issues, but the same goes for virtually (pun!) every real piano out there, including the often worrisome recording.

The miking option is a revelation on its own. I have been able to recreate many sounds of actual pianos on recordings with relative ease. I think we are at a point where only very few people can tell right away that this is not a real piano.

As for the Erard – I felt it was not quite the real deal in v2 (too direct, brittle and one-dimensional), but now with the miking options it is finally usable. And what a great, emotional and majestic instrument it turns out to be!

In summary, I am extremely inspired by this upgrade. If I were asked, after all I've seen, about 'the best plugin', PTQ would be it. Now more than ever.

Hello Beto,

I'm afraid I don't quite get your wording. Are asking what to adjust in this particular Instrument?

I see.

First, the main difference is to have mics at all! That gives 'air' to the sound and takes away the 'sterile', compressed 'pickup' type sound. Which applies to all models of course.

Actual mic placement depends on the situation. I like the 'Erard close' as a starting point.

I also found that cutting 1.5k a bit helps with this particular model. It gets smoother that way. The Erard is a great intrument for ballads!

Hope that helps

Just ordered it in my music store cause I can't wait anytmore for this . Any sampled piano really doesnt touch the snare that this vst does .

Hope it's available at retail ?

@beto

Just for curiosity: If someone told you that the vpiano is maybe 30% better in that respect, will you go and buy it?

It is OK and certainly interesting to do such comparisons (and I bet the Modartt team do so), but unless I win the lottery, the vpiano is an absolute no-go for me. I'd rather buy a new car or computer.

Hi,
I now have headphones with a more natural response - Sennheiser HD595's, along with a good quality dedicated headphone amp. (Music Fidelity V-Can - nothing esoteric but I think it should be very good) This should be somewhat closer to a "reference" standard than my previous HD570's run off my hi-fi amp's headphone output.   I do not think I would have made any comment at all about excessive bass in the C3 instrument if I had started off with this setup.

Greg.

Now I think they need to add a bit more bass - there isn't quite enough.

Greg.
p.s Just in case my dry humour doesn't travel well over water - I *am* only joking.

I'm having *serious* problems with my new hardware and I'm right back where I started, on my old HD570's run through my hi-fi's headphone output - I now have to withdraw all of the above because I don't trust *any* of the equipment I purchased yet.

Greg.

I am documenting my problems here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/bass-c...ce-246669/

My posts start at #12.

Greg.

Very interesting - I see you have a pair of HD 570's.  I bought a pair a few years ago when I mistakenly thought I had blown out my HD340's.

After using the HD340's for about ten years, I was quite disappointed in the 570 set (they cost a fair bit more than the 340's, and that was at a discount audio store).  The 570's seem too "bassy", and definitely are not as good in the high treble.  I certainly wouldn't describe the sound as "crisp" - muddy would be more accurate.

I have a pair of Yamaha MSP5 powered bi-amp monitors, and I can't tell the difference between these and the 340's when mixing or listening.  The 570's are used for watching/listening to wmv's.

Glenn

this preset (worn-out) has provided me with the most cathartic artificial piano-playing experience, very close to the intimacy i feel through a real piano. and much more substantial than the unemotive sample library pianos.

i am very greatful to be able to finally have that depth available to me in a split-second record-ready environment.

outstanding!!

Now that's just prejudice!

I think "Worn Out" is a bad name for it.  I'd rather call it "Worn In"...
Perfect instruments don't sound good, period.  I don't want my guitar to sound like 6 pure sine waves.  The old analogue synths are so much more in demand because of the smooth distortion inherent in their filters and oscillators.  Being a bit worn-in myself, though, I do wish my back was a bit closer to perfect pitch...

1+ for this Worn-out model. Does it have a different partial structure--are the amplitudes of the partials different from those in the standard instrument?