I have the version 6 and the feeling of playing it with a digital piano, is truly amazing. It´s something I could not describe, and found that Mike described perfectly at the end of the video. Simply amazing.
I've had Pianoteq for years and years and I'm embarassed to say I have never gone in and tweaked anything other than the velocity curve. With your clear and simple explanation I must adventure forth! Many thanks.
The "Condition" slider is the secret sauce here! A number of the models can sound a little bit too perfect with the Condition slider all the way on "Mint". It's the piano uncanny valley. Nudge it to right just a tick mark or two, and suddenly they start breathing.
I compared Pianoteq 7 with those of Native Instruments and there is simply no competition - Pianoteq 7 is way ahead of the pack. I haven't tried Keyscape as yet but I heard that Pianoteq 7 and Keyscape are the top 2 VSTIs for acoustic piano. I bought Pianoteq 7 and I get lost in playing the acoustic pianos. My favourite would be NY Steinway Classical.
The best thing is, their trial system of Pianoteq is really good. No time restriction, only some note unplayable (and those are only some low and hi black keys which you could avoid to play if use C), all preset are available, no annoying hissing white noise. It is really playable if you don't play classical and avoid low and hi black keys.
The modeled plugins like this and say Modo drum/Bass I suspect are the future of instrument plugins. Because although memory is getting cheaper for bigger and bigger sampled instruments. these plugins are actually more flexible than "real" sampled instruments.
Tip: If you want to dive deeper into the world of physical modeling, have a look at the sim-series of plugins by Quilcom, programmed by our Creative Sauce group member Rex Basterfield. They are also very deep and tweakable. And they are free.
Wish they had a proper demo version for say 14 days rather than disabling certain notes. This restriction really hamstrings your ability to get a real feel of the piano. I don't just play in the key of C 😂
Sorry, but I'm not convinced by the sound of Pianoteq. Lots of really cool customization, but it sounds too synthetic to my ears. Samples are not perfect, but VI Labs has done a tremendous job shrinking that gap between sampled pianos and real acoustic pianos with their libraries. My personal favorite library right now is Embertone 1955 Walker D. It lacks dry sympathetic resonance, but the sound itself much more faithfully represents the qualities that make up a NY Steinway D. Pianoteq's modeling technology has improved dramatically over the years, but they haven't gotten rid of that "plasticy" sound yet.
I agree. I've wanted to like modeled pianos for years because I believe modeling technology is more fascinating that samples. Tried Pianoteq since its version 5 as well as Arturia and I just don't dig them. They are "lifeless".
big money is all relative. they have differently priced tiers. I may be incorrect but believe pro is still les expensive than kontakt with a quality piano library.
Thanks for yet another excellent video. Your channel has become one of my favourites. I'd like to share my experience.I'm far from being a fine pianist but I'm a gigging musician and I've tried both Pianoteq and Arturia pianos as I'm really fascinated by the modeling technology and all the fine tuning features that they offer. I guess this is especially important to producers, but when it comes to playing music with modeled pianos, they just feel lifeless to me. I've been going back to the Pianoteq website quite a lot in the last few years, trying out their latest updates but I don't really dig it. I haven't tried the version 7 yet. I'll give it a go. Thanks Mike.
Natural in different ways then samples. Both have pros and cons, and not just referring to customization. Sampling itself wont give you the interaction between strings.
I know what you mean by unnatural. On critical listening I can occasionally detect a synthetic tone not found in the sampled pianos, but only when I’m listening for it side by side, which no one does when listening to music! The thing about Pianoteq is that it feels SO much more like a real piano when you actually play it that pianists (like myself) can’t help but get hooked. And because it feels so real, it makes me play better, the net result being a more natural performance. So, ironically, it can end up sounding more natural than when using a sampled piano. If I was only playing MIDI files or mixing a song I might prefer a sampled piano. But for playing there’s no contest. And the more I mix with it the better it sounds and the more my sampled pianos collect virtual dust.
Thanks for using my piece Mike, I'm glad it came in useful. 😎
My pleasure thanks Nick :)
I have the version 6 and the feeling of playing it with a digital piano, is truly amazing.
It´s something I could not describe, and found that Mike described perfectly at the end of the video.
Simply amazing.
Thanks for watching Carlos.
I've had Pianoteq for years and years and I'm embarassed to say I have never gone in and tweaked anything other than the velocity curve. With your clear and simple explanation I must adventure forth! Many thanks.
Thanks James! I think that may be true for many :)
It's my go to piano as well and I got a _boatload_ of other VST pianos before having settled on it.
Pianoteq has been my go to piano for the past 4 years, even though I got Keyscape, I still find myself keep going back to it
Great tutorial!!! Cool plug-in. Thank you for sharing this!
The "Condition" slider is the secret sauce here! A number of the models can sound a little bit too perfect with the Condition slider all the way on "Mint". It's the piano uncanny valley. Nudge it to right just a tick mark or two, and suddenly they start breathing.
Agree!
Ashamed to say that I wasn't aware of this until seeing your video. Small footprint, massive possibilities. I'll keep it on my radar.
This has to be the best damn piano plug in I have ever seen or heard...PERIOD!
I compared Pianoteq 7 with those of Native Instruments and there is simply no competition - Pianoteq 7 is way ahead of the pack. I haven't tried Keyscape as yet but I heard that Pianoteq 7 and Keyscape are the top 2 VSTIs for acoustic piano. I bought Pianoteq 7 and I get lost in playing the acoustic pianos. My favourite would be NY Steinway Classical.
The best thing is, their trial system of Pianoteq is really good. No time restriction, only some note unplayable (and those are only some low and hi black keys which you could avoid to play if use C), all preset are available, no annoying hissing white noise. It is really playable if you don't play classical and avoid low and hi black keys.
My go to Piano plug
The modeled plugins like this and say Modo drum/Bass I suspect are the future of instrument plugins. Because although memory is getting cheaper for bigger and bigger sampled instruments. these plugins are actually more flexible than "real" sampled instruments.
Tip: If you want to dive deeper into the world of physical modeling, have a look at the sim-series of plugins by Quilcom, programmed by our Creative Sauce group member Rex Basterfield. They are also very deep and tweakable. And they are free.
Oh, I didn't know about this thanks!
I just want an emotional piano. Something like is featured in evanscence type songs. Any tips?
great review! I wonder if it's easy to install for cakewalk?
I'm gonna answer to myself... I downloaded the free version, clicked on install and... everything went by itself! And the sound is... WONDERFULL!
:)
Wish they had a proper demo version for say 14 days rather than disabling certain notes. This restriction really hamstrings your ability to get a real feel of the piano. I don't just play in the key of C 😂
Hopefully they'll see this, and re-acces that.
Mic please link me to some good physical modeling tutorial or please make one, please.
Does he not mention the morphing?
Good! Hello ^^
Sorry, but I'm not convinced by the sound of Pianoteq. Lots of really cool customization, but it sounds too synthetic to my ears. Samples are not perfect, but VI Labs has done a tremendous job shrinking that gap between sampled pianos and real acoustic pianos with their libraries. My personal favorite library right now is Embertone 1955 Walker D. It lacks dry sympathetic resonance, but the sound itself much more faithfully represents the qualities that make up a NY Steinway D. Pianoteq's modeling technology has improved dramatically over the years, but they haven't gotten rid of that "plasticy" sound yet.
I agree. I've wanted to like modeled pianos for years because I believe modeling technology is more fascinating that samples. Tried Pianoteq since its version 5 as well as Arturia and I just don't dig them. They are "lifeless".
Sir, is this a free plugin or does it cost big money? Thanks
Costs Money but it's Great I had the 6 version
big money is all relative. they have differently priced tiers. I may be incorrect but believe pro is still les expensive than kontakt with a quality piano library.
It sounds very unnatural. If you are not pianist, you probably won't notice how bad it is.
Honestly, it's highly referred by many fine pianists.
Thanks for yet another excellent video. Your channel has become one of my favourites. I'd like to share my experience.I'm far from being a fine pianist but I'm a gigging musician and I've tried both Pianoteq and Arturia pianos as I'm really fascinated by the modeling technology and all the fine tuning features that they offer. I guess this is especially important to producers, but when it comes to playing music with modeled pianos, they just feel lifeless to me. I've been going back to the Pianoteq website quite a lot in the last few years, trying out their latest updates but I don't really dig it. I haven't tried the version 7 yet. I'll give it a go. Thanks Mike.
@@CreativeSauce pianist here, it sounds very natural. it’s not bad at all, the best i’ve ever heard.
Natural in different ways then samples. Both have pros and cons, and not just referring to customization. Sampling itself wont give you the interaction between strings.
I know what you mean by unnatural. On critical listening I can occasionally detect a synthetic tone not found in the sampled pianos, but only when I’m listening for it side by side, which no one does when listening to music! The thing about Pianoteq is that it feels SO much more like a real piano when you actually play it that pianists (like myself) can’t help but get hooked. And because it feels so real, it makes me play better, the net result being a more natural performance. So, ironically, it can end up sounding more natural than when using a sampled piano. If I was only playing MIDI files or mixing a song I might prefer a sampled piano. But for playing there’s no contest. And the more I mix with it the better it sounds and the more my sampled pianos collect virtual dust.