By johnrule
On 18th May 2009
Version: 2, 3
Read all reviews by
johnrule
4 of 4 people found
this review helpful.
Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No |
| | 
GUI
Sound
Features
Docs
Presets
Support
VFM
Stability |
This is a solid piece of work. Pianoteq is a model of an acoustic piano that can replace sample based instruments. This point may be arguable, but in my opinion, I believe this is the best modeled piano to date. The first version I experienced was version 2, which is very low on resource usage like memory and cpu. I used this from my PC, Mac, and Receptor (1st gen) with great success. Next, they released version 3 that totally blew me away! The new version has mic modeling included that allows you to place virtual microphones for different effects. There was already a wealth of tweaking tools for controlling dynamics and characteristics (including hammer tone!).
The built in reverb is quite good, and really adds to the reverberation qualities of the piano (sympathetic resonance and overall reflections), and the new soundboard is excellent. You also have built-in eq that is very good...good enough to actually use (compared to some 'tone' eqs that are built-in). The included presets are very usable, but you can tweak until you find what you like. Version 3 uses a bit more cpu than version 2, but you can always disable the reverb to regain some power. I have used this quite extensively in conjunction with Kontakt, Reaktor, SampleTank, and many other VSTs from within Cubase, energyXT, V-Stack, and a few other hosts. It has never crashed on me.
For those of you who are sold on sample libraries, I would say that you should check out the 'Recording' presets, and then play with the mic placement. Eventually you should be able to find the sound you are looking for, but the advantages that you will gain by moving away from samples is well worth it regardless. The new version does include some harpsichord (not bad), and there is an excellent electric piano expansion. They also just released a native Linux version too!
User Interface:
This can be strange at first, but it is logical. And eventually you will find that it is just fine. Could it be better? Sure. But it is not different enough to warrant a bad mark.
Sound:
Superb! I see no reason to ever use sample based pianos again.
Features:
More than you will ever use...
Documentation:
I have never used it (so maybe the UI is better than I thought!), but it looks adequate.
Presets:
Wide variety of sounds and characteristics, but I always tweak my own.
Customer Support:
I have never required their support, but the forum is active, and there does seem to be a fast response to anyone that does need help (not just from other users either).
Value for Money:
Since I purchased version 2, they have released version 3, and the native Linux version all for free...so I would give them 11 if I could! Overall, it is the best value for my money I have received in a very long time.
Stability:
It has never crashed, and I use it on a daily basis (standalone for practice, and VST in Cubase). |
|
  |
Last edited by johnrule on 19th May 2009
|
|
By Jake Jackson
On 15th August 2007
Version: 2.1
Read all reviews by
Jake Jackson
6 of 7 people found
this review helpful.
Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No |
| |
GUI
Sound
Features
Docs
Presets
Support
VFM
Stability |
PianoTeq is astonishingly good, but you must be willing to spend time learning to understand it. If you know nothing about the various elements that contribute to the sound of a piano, you may find the many parameters overwhelming. Often, since each parameter is added to the effect of another, one must edit several of them in small increments to achieve the sound you want--increasing the hammer noise, for example, you may also want to decrease the hardness of the hammer.
The interface is in many ways excellent: you can see almost every parameter easily. However, for a new user, the layout may discourage an understanding of the ways in which the parameters interact: often, you may want to make changes in several windows to gain a specific sound. To increase the length of the sustain, for example, a single edit in one box will almost certainly require edits in another.
And a suggestion from the Pianoteq users' forum: Try setting Dynamics to somewhere between 30-40, instead of the default 60. The result will be louder soft velocities that retain the harmonics of soft hits. Then experiment with various other edits. You will be better able to hear the changes, and be able to hear how velocity affects each parameter. |
|
| |
Last edited by Jake Jackson on 20th May 2009
|
|
By pethu
On 21st September 2006
Version: 2.1
Read all reviews by
pethu
18 of 19 people found
this review helpful.
Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No |
| |
GUI
Sound
Features
Docs
Presets
Support
VFM
Stability |
(August, 2007: The review has now been substantially revised to be relevant to version 2 of Pianoteq.)
PIANO SOUND
First off, all those looking for the Pianoteq to jump out of the box emulating their favorite piano will be disappointed. The company clearly states that instead of trying to nail a particular make of piano, they tried to integrate a bit of the best of everything into the sound. I would say they more or less succeeded (and it probably was a smart move, too, considering the amount of flak anyone claiming to perfectly replicate a Steinway Model B in code would take!) As of version 2, there now are two "modern classical" piano models -- C1 and C2 -- with C2 being the one in active development. Each 2.x version has brought something new to Pianoteq's sonic arsenal, primarily on display through the C2 presets.
You can alter almost each and every aspect of the sound to your liking. You can change everything from the tuning to the size of the piano to the stiffness of its hammers and soundboard. In one small 10MB application, you have access to an almost infinite variety of piano-like instruments. Try that with modern day samplesets, and you wouldn't be close even after packing a couple of harddrives full of samples.
As with all physical modelling, giving the user control over every little parameter would be both overwhelming and probably not musically useful: In addition to the parameters available for tweaking through the user interface, there are also underlying, hidden parameters that define the basic characteristics of the piano (whatever they are) that can't be tweaked by the user. These are defined in "models" -- some of which are built into the main program, and some which are freely downloadable from the Modartt website. So when designing your own presets, you should take some time to choose the most suitable model to base your new sound on.
SOUND DESIGN
There is a vast difference between the sound of version 2 and the original. Whereas version 1 only sounded acoustically credible if you got your head around thinking of your monitor speakers and surroundings as part of the piano casing(!), version 2 sports an all-new soundboard model that brings the wooden box into the sound. This gives the sound a true "recorded in a room" air, making it more familiar to those used to ambience-recorded sample sets. I'd even go so far as to say they might have overdone it a bit: Depending on you personal preferences, you may just think it sounds a bit woolly now. Still, heaps better then the "ears right up against the strings in an anechoic chamber" feel of the original, and nothing a bit of proper, room-adapted EQing doesn't fix in most cases. (A multi-node graphic EQ is included in the price of admission, by the way, as is a functional, but not top notch, reverb.)
PLAYABILITY AND "SPECIAL EFFECTS"
This is where all the competition can pretty much pack up and go home. The last crop of sample players, like K2 with its scripting and convolution abilities, are only just beginning to nibble at the edges of the features already tightly integrated in the Pianoteq: The way each repeated note changes in timbre depending on its state when it is re-struck, the way you can pedal-catch notes, and half-pedal etc. (given a progressive sustain pedal and -capable controller). Not to mention that there is no such thing as velocity-dependent samples involved - everything is smoothly gradual, all the way from note velocity 1 to 127! Still no sign of slackening lead here: While you still struggle to find even a half-decent progressive sustain implementation in the competition, these guys are tweaking away at things like half-pedalling sympathetic resonance. Kudos.
The actual mechanical noises representing the piano action may not be to everyones liking, however - but all can be switched off or at least very much attenuated.
STAND-ALONE APPLICATION
While version 1 was only available as a plug-in, version 2 can run as a stand-alone application, which is very convenient for this type of solo instrument. An extra bonus is the 1-track MIDI recording/playback sequencer. (When you get tired of doing all the work yourself, just load one of the thousands of piano-roll MIDI files available on the net, sit back and enjoy!)
FINAL CONCLUSION
To sum up, let's put it this way: I may well use sampled piano sounds in final studio productions in the future (although the need is radically less than it was with version 1) but I can hardly see me going back to samples when practising piano playing, or even when recording piano parts. And that's from someone who is perhaps an experienced, but not even a good piano player. Only good enough to feel the difference between a living, breathing instrument and something just trying to be. |
|
| |
Last edited by pethu on 15th August 2007
|
|
|
Latest 3 reviews from a total of 3 |
All KVR Audio news items relating to Pianoteq.
MODARTT Pianoteq
