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Modart Summer Sale


cclarry

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Yep. Do get Standard. I’ve got Pro and love it, but Standard is perfect as it is. And choose your instruments  wisely. I recommend the Blüthner, Bechstein, Steingraeber and Steinway B, as well as the electric pianos. You’ll be playing in heaven. 

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48 minutes ago, Fleer said:

Yep. Do get Standard. I’ve got Pro and love it, but Standard is perfect as it is.

Are there any advantages to Pro? Looking at the version grid, there are two differences I don't fully understand: Thousands of editable overtones, and Note-per-note edit; that sounds to me like it can make a really unbalanced piano - detune some notes, and make some sound richer. Fun maybe, but it doesn't sound useful; am I missing something?

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3 hours ago, antler said:

Are there any advantages to Pro? Looking at the version grid, there are two differences I don't fully understand: Thousands of editable overtones, and Note-per-note edit; that sounds to me like it can make a really unbalanced piano - detune some notes, and make some sound richer. Fun maybe, but it doesn't sound useful; am I missing something?

Pro allows you to actually create your ideal piano, just the way you like it. Think thundering Steinway D bass, subdued Blüthner mids and angelic Bechstein highs. Or anything in between and beyond. 

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2 hours ago, Fleer said:

Pro allows you to actually create your ideal piano, just the way you like it. Think thundering Steinway D bass, subdued Blüthner mids and angelic Bechstein highs. Or anything in between and beyond. 

So can you mix pianos in the Pro?  It's just kind of pricey for how much I forget I own it. 

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I wouldn’t call it mixing, it’s actually changing note per note, not only to create your own piano, but even to go as far as sound design. Couldn’t say it better than Brian Eno who apparently only recently discovered and got Pianoteq:

«I bought Pianoteq 6 a couple of weeks ago. I think it is the most well-realised and intelligently constructed piece of music software I've ever had the pleasure of using. It is an absolute milestone. Aside from its incredible power as an emulator of pianos, the possibilities that unfold when you start to edit the models are astonishing. I've been lost in it since I bought it, and keep dragging friends into the studio to show them this miracle. The randomisation possibilities are so intelligently constructed and are a great help in understanding the enormous variety of possibilities this instrument offer. I don't think I've ever been so impressed by a piece of software design and I just wanted to thank the team who put this together.»

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The nice thing about Pianoteq is that because it is modelled and not sampled, you get access to all 127 midi velocities. I think it's the only VST piano that does that. What it means is there is a very responsive feel when you play it. It's very responsive to touch. NI's pianos have somewhere between 12 and 18 velocity layers. There is a massive difference when you are comparing the two in relation to directly playing, for example if you are learning to play piano or want to sharpen your technique.

However, when it comes to playing back midi files for piano and mixing them in, there is less of a difference because you don't need many velocity layers in order to mix in the pianos (unless it's by itself, which is advantageous). Ultimately you are going to even out the velocities through compression anyway to fit it in the mix. I tend to use velocity layers as a sort of psuedo compression anyway. If some notes are sticking out, I even it out through manipulating velocity values a bit before applying compression and having 12 - 18 layers is fine for that, compression mops up the rest.

Playing Pianoteq as a Psuedo piano on a midi keyboard by itself or with a sparse mix is very nice, it sounds and feels good. But in a busy mix, I can swap it out with other piano's and they will suit just as well. I tend to use other pianos more because they are easier to quickly adjust. Pianoteq is a tweakers delight for the dedicated single instrument piano player but is way overkill for just putting a piano in a mix. I don't want to spend the rest of my life working out how everything works, it's just GUI filler for me.

Edited by Tezza
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