Add resonance modeling to old sample libraries using Pianoteq 8

[miiindbullets]

Keyscape is one of my favorite piano libraries. It was meant to sit well in a mix and it does that really well. However, for solo playing, it sounds more like a cleaned-up recording of a piano than sitting at an actual grand piano. This video demonstrates a few ways to bump up the realism in Keyscape (or any other sample library) if you happen to also own Pianoteq 8.

The goal is to add realistic virtual resonance modeling without clashing with recorded resonance present in the samples, to bring some liveliness and realism to the playing experience. When you play an acoustic piano, the strings "come alive", and Pianoteq does an excellent job modeling this resonance with sample libraries, integrated sounds on a digital piano, or technically any sound source. I'm using Bitwig in this video to demonstrate on the Keyscape C7, but this approach works with any virtual (or real) instrument and nearly every DAW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNPVl3ZAsbY

[jamcat]

When you use an instrument that can accept an audio input in Studio One, such as Arturia's Vocoder V, a "Sidechain" menu is available at the top ↓ of the plugin.



But the Sidechain menu is not available for Pianoteq. So it appears that is the fault of Modartt, not a missing feature in Studio One.

Has Modartt responded to this issue at all?

[miiindbullets]

Yeah, I agree this is a weird one. They haven't responded on the forums, but I'll email their support about it. I'd prefer to use Studio One for some projects myself.

[Uncle E]

Sounds great! The resonance reminds me of a fantastic Schimmel I played years ago (my friend worked at the Schimmel factory). I've been chasing that sound ever since.

[miiindbullets]

Modartt responded last night -- it sounded like this might be the first time this issue has been reported through the official support channels, and they filed a bug report with the dev team. Apparently this issue is specific to the VST3 plugin, because it's working fine for their support team, but they're using the AU version of the plugin.

If you happen to be running Studio One on Mac, it sounds like it'll sidechain. Hopefully, a fix will come soon for VST3!

[olepro]

I poste this problem in the pianoteq forum A long time ago.
https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?id=10061

[miiindbullets]

Yeah, I had seen that post, and was a little surprised nobody from Modartt responded. I don't know how close of an eye they keep on their forums, but they've always been responsive when I email them directly at support@modartt.com.

EDIT: Just realized Julien is a Modartt admin, so I guess they did respond. Hopefully, they're at least getting some fresh eyes on it now and can figure out a fix.

[jamcat]

Apparently this issue is specific to the VST3 plugin, because it's working fine for their support team, but they're using the AU version of the plugin.

If you happen to be running Studio One on Mac, it sounds like it'll sidechain. Hopefully, a fix will come soon for VST3!

I’m running Studio One on Mac, but I use VST3 exclusively. I don’t even install AU when given the choice. The sidechain doesn’t show for VST3 on Mac either.

[miiindbullets]

Yeah, sorry if that wasn't clear in my post. I'm hoping they fix the VST3 soon. I don't even have the option to install AU if I wanted to, being on Windows... I just have to use a different DAW altogether.