IK Multimedia launches Pianoverse

[telecode 101]

"The only piano instrument you’ll ever need"

but what am I now gonna do with the other 99 piano VIs I have on my DAW?

 

 

[kitekrazy]

 I wish developers would move away from bigger is better unless it's something like a bag of Doritos.   IK seems to do well at modeling and I thought this would be the direction instead of weighing in 20GB each.

 You have to wonder how important the sound of a piano is if it is not the featured instrument.  A listener probably doesn't really care.  I've got plenty and use them for sketching so it's more about loading time.  I probably use FL Keys more than anything since I'm sketching. 

 This is another attempt at the sub model.  This one I can't see it working.  Maybe if it were $2.99 a month it would take off.   The dub mode can be dangerous for the enduser if they don't keep track of all of their subs. 

 I hope sound developers come up with a compressed format to reduce file size. 

Edited September 28, 2023 by kitekrazy

[chris.r]

2 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

I hope sound developers come up with a compressed format to reduce file size.

That would be a true, real, ground-breaking, earth-shattering, cutting-edge, industry-leading development from IK!

[DeeringAmps]

8 hours ago, Sander Verstraten said:

wait for the next Group Buy...

Good advice that!!

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

8 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

 I wish developers would move away from bigger is better unless it's something like a bag of Doritos.   IK seems to do well at modeling and I thought this would be the direction instead of weighing in 20GB each.

 You have to wonder how important the sound of a piano is if it is not the featured instrument.  A listener probably doesn't really care.  I've got plenty and use them for sketching so it's more about loading time.  I probably use FL Keys more than anything since I'm sketching. 

 This is another attempt at the sub model.  This one I can't see it working.  Maybe if it were $2.99 a month it would take off.   The dub mode can be dangerous for the enduser if they don't keep track of all of their subs. 

 I hope sound developers come up with a compressed format to reduce file size. 

Sometimes bigger is better, though.  We took a no-compromise approach to our Tape Machine Collection, for example, where they do use resources for sure but also sound incredible so there is a payoff.  We are also known for some groundbreaking physical modeling as well as component modeling so if we felt that was the direction to take for Pianoverse rest assured that we would have.  For these beautiful instruments we were able to exceed the very high standards we set out to achieve in the best possible way with our robotic-assisted sampling coupled with making sure the instruments were as well-maintained and prepared by someone who took even those "maintenance" tasks to the level of an art form.

We knew people would ask "do I need another piano virtual instrument?" and frankly the answer is "Of course not, you need one - you don't need them any more you'll only need one and that's Pianoverse".  Check out Simeon and others who have demonstrated Pianoverse or take the subscription for a month-long stroll for less than a cheap meal since all cheekiness aside it really is for you to decide.  I hope you love it.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Peter - IK Multimedia

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

I'm not seeing why I should shell a grand on this when Komplete 14 Standard is 600 bucks and Ultimate is 1200. Standard comes with 6 pianos, Ultimate comes with 8. And those are known to be high quality. Things like Alicia Keys, Noire, Una Corda, etc. If you only want pianos, Pianoteq Studio comes at 900 bucks and you get 12 pianos plus other instruments.

1 hour ago, Peter - IK Multimedia said:

Sometimes bigger is better, though.

While you are right in a sense, we're currently facing a scenario with sample based libraries where they get exponentially larger without noticeable improvements in sound quality. Sure, there's no dispute that high samples, sample rate, longer samples, etc. are better quality from an objective point of view. But, there's a reason Native Instruments still bundles things like Alicia Keys in Kontakt despite it being a very old library.

1 hour ago, Peter - IK Multimedia said:

We are also known for some groundbreaking physical modeling

Which IMO would have been better invested in making MODO Drum also simulate cymbals and not have to rely on samples anymore. But I don't think that would've make IK as much money as this piano library can potentially do, what with the subscription plans and the questionable price.

[Simeon Amburgey]

I just touched the surface during the livestream earlier today. You can check out the replay below. IK has been a great supporter over the years and sent me Pianoverse with the four available pianos. I always want to represent myself with the highest level of integrity so you will not hear overinflated claims or hype, just my honest first impressions here are some of my takeaways from today.

These pianos were captured what I would call bone dry and in this case, it is what makes them not only work inside of Pianoverse but also in some rather unexpected applications (VSL MIR and immersive audio applications I am pondering exploring).

The SPACES for the most part can come across as gimmicks and some definitely are while others grab you and put you there. I need to definitely spend some time learning more but I am finding this very interesting.

The playability reminded me of what I enjoy when playing Keyscape (I purchased my copy), you open it up and play and it sits right there in a comfortable place without having to do much to it. You can hear at the opening and closing jams during the livestream that I used the dry stereo AB mics for the most part and they sat quite well.

I was also concerned about the sterility that using the robotic approach might bring but I was pleasantly surprised to hear some nonperfect aspects of how the notes interacted.

Storage speed. Loading times seem to take a little longer than I would have liked to see and it seemed that the audio engine was interrupted near the end of loading a patch. I installed the content on a few different SSDs, even trying one of my NVME m.2 drives during the livestream.

At first, I was bummed about the lack of mic positions but after getting into playing it more, I found that I did not miss them and stayed on the stereo pair.

Using the Timbre Shift on the upright was beautiful, it took the tone in a very warm and dynamic place for me.

I felt like I went into today’s stream so underprepared but that is the fun of exploring on my Joyful Journeys. I can tell you this, there will be more, so please let me know if you have any questions or suggest things to try and I will do my best.

Joyfully Yours,
Simeon

Into PIANOVERSE | CUBE Canopies | News and More

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Simeon Amburgey
clarity

[記念パピコ]

vienna recorded with lots of microphones and robotic equipment. Pianoq or EZkey sound source with light operation. I'm satisfied with the NI and kontakt libraries, so I don't think I'd want one right now. I might have wanted it if it was compatible with NKI2. I might buy Pianoverse MAX when it comes out. I already have multiple subscriptions, so I don't want to pay any more running costs.

[GoncaloL]

At the end of the day it is really just another piano library. Cant see this becoming the essencial go to piano to most.

However im certain that some of us will end up buying these in one of those ik bundles, and they will get to sell them quite well

 

[simon]

I don't want to spoil the party but can I point out this....

 

 

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Yes, a previous version had a false positive (submitted and verified as a non-threat) and the new one shouldn't trigger anything at all.  What a scandal!

[Jason Neudorf]

Always so much more impressive when Simeon has enthused over it  

If it's equally inspiring to other pianists, IK will have a winner.  They probably just need to avoid drowning on the ocean floor or being eaten by mansion ghosts.

[Simeon Amburgey]

57 minutes ago, Jason Neudorf said:

Always so much more impressive when Simeon has enthused over it  

If it's equally inspiring to other pianists, IK will have a winner.  They probably just need to avoid drowning on the ocean floor or being eaten by mansion ghosts.

Thank you Jason.
Yeah, I have to tell you that I was not expecting "THAT" kind of mansion ;^)

I have to say there is so much more to be explored here and I will do my best to try and cover more aspects in the coming days.
I am also working on an edited segment from the live stream so stay tuned for that.

[Release]

Wow, it sounds REALLY good to my ears!  Much better than I expected actually.  Not surprising though, I really enjoy a few of the ones in SampleTank (The C7 and Shipwreck Piano in particular).  Simeon's video really showed what it's capable of, so thanks for that!  

But IK has conditioned me to just wait and maybe pick it up a year down the line when they basically give away everything they have for something silly, like 29 bucks.   

[PavlovsCat]

From Simeon's video and the demos at IK, I really do think these IK pianos sound really good. And, frankly, despite the SampleTank pianos not being very impressive, I don't find it surprising. IK did an excellent job with modeling bass and drums and it makes sense that they'd be able to create excellent piano libraries if they focused their resources on it, and it appears they did just that. I'm likely to eventually pick up at least one of these pianos.

I think IK would do well to offer a free trial version of one of the pianos so that we could get a feel for the sound and playability of this piano series. 

[PavlovsCat]

19 hours ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

IK has been a great supported over the years and sent me Pianoverse with the four available pianos. I always want to represent myself with the highest level of integrity so you will not hear overinflated claims or hype, just my honest first impressions so here are some of my takeaways from today.

@Simeon Amburgey, in the spirit of integrity -- and I hope you receive this as intended, because, as you know, I enjoy your videos and have sent developers your way because I knew you could increase awareness for their products. So, as someone who appreciates what you do, I hope you will consider this. US FTC regulations -- the regulatory body that covers advertising and promotions (what people often somewhat incorrectly refer to as marketing, but it's just the promotion component of marketing) -- require all influencers to make disclosures about the relationships they have with the brands they talk about in their videos and in text. That means disclosing the obvious, such as getting free product in order to make a video (yep, while most people realize that you got a free NFR copy of the library or plugin, it's supposed to be disclosed), affiliate relationships, advertising and sponsorships relationships and any fees taken from the brand (not the amount you were paid, just that you were paid), family or financial relationships with anyone employed with the brand, etc. Basically, the regulation -- which I think is really minimal and should be done by ethical influencers even if the regulations didn't exist -- but it's a good regulation -- and historically, I've been pretty critical of some FTC regulation, as they've historically been very weakened due to lobbyist influence (yes, I had that position when leading digital marketing at major brands). The basic idea of the regulation is that influencers need to shoot straight with their audiences and let them know if they received free product or any form of compensation for making content about a product -- or if they have any kind of relationship with the brand (e.g., a family member, a business associate, a company I own stock in, etc). 

Okay, so I am a strategist, so here's my business case for your brand to comply with the FTC regulations -- going beyond that you can be penalized by the FTC for violating regulations.  An influencer's brand is built on two things: being an authority in a certain subject matter and being trusted by your followers. They have to believe that you're shooting straight with them. Your followers like you and enjoy your videos -- and ftr, that includes me -- but if many of those followers discovered that you were being compensated in various ways and you deliberately hid that, it could potentially damage the trust they have for you. Of course, a lot of the public realizes that influencers are getting things of value -- including cash -- for featuring products in their videos, but especially when an influencer decides to hide how s/he's being compensated, it can erode their credibility. 

Anyhow, I hope you'll consider it. As someone who really enjoys your videos to the point of sending developers your way, I'd love to see it. Here's a really simple guide for influencers that the FTC put together, no attorney is required to translate it: 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-guide-508_1.pdf
 

Edited September 29, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[Simeon Amburgey]

2 hours ago, PavlovsCat said:

@Simeon Amburgey, in the spirit of integrity -- and I hope you receive this as intended, because, as you know, I enjoy your videos and have sent developers your way because I knew you could increase awareness for their products. So, as someone who appreciates what you do, I hope you will consider this. US FTC regulations -- the regulatory body that covers advertising and promotions (what people often somewhat incorrectly refer to as marketing, but it's just the promotion component of marketing) -- require all influencers to make disclosures about the relationships they have with the brands they talk about in their videos and in text. That means disclosing the obvious, such as getting free product in order to make a video (yep, while most people realize that you got a free NFR copy of the library or plugin, it's supposed to be disclosed), affiliate relationships, advertising and sponsorships relationships and any fees taken from the brand (not the amount you were paid, just that you were paid), family or financial relationships with anyone employed with the brand, etc. Basically, the regulation -- which I think is really minimal and should be done by ethical influencers even if the regulations didn't exist -- but it's a good regulation -- and historically, I've been pretty critical of some FTC regulation, as they've historically been very weakened due to lobbyist influence (yes, I had that position when leading digital marketing at major brands). The basic idea of the regulation is that influencers need to shoot straight with their audiences and let them know if they received free product or any form of compensation for making content about a product -- or if they have any kind of relationship with the brand (e.g., a family member, a business associate, a company I own stock in, etc). 

Okay, so I am a strategist, so here's my business case for your brand to comply with the FTC regulations -- going beyond that you can be penalized by the FTC for violating regulations.  An influencer's brand is built on two things: being an authority in a certain subject matter and being trusted by your followers. They have to believe that you're shooting straight with them. Your followers like you and enjoy your videos -- and ftr, that includes me -- but if many of those followers discovered that you were being compensated in various ways and you deliberately hid that, it could potentially damage the trust they have for you. Of course, a lot of the public realizes that influencers are getting things of value -- including cash -- for featuring products in their videos, but especially when an influencer decides to hide how s/he's being compensated, it can erode their credibility. 

Anyhow, I hope you'll consider it. As someone who really enjoys your videos to the point of sending developers your way, I'd love to see it. Here's a really simple guide for influencers that the FTC put together, no attorney is required to translate it: 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-guide-508_1.pdf
 

Yep, for the most part, I do not click the "Paid Promotion" box unless I have been compensated monetarily in some way. Thursday's live stream was one of those occasions where Lunacy Audio sent a token of financial support to feature the new artist pack and Paid Promotion or Endorsement was checked, you can see the YouTube notification when the video begins. I also work on including acknowledgments in each of the video's descriptions regarding NFRs, affiliate links, and compensation when relevant, there of course can always be improvement to remove any suspicions. Woody's Piano Shack addressed this in a video a few months ago and I appreciate his approach to some of these same issues.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. I have had the "s" word (similar to shell) tossed at me a few times and this is absolutely something that I am definitely not about, so your reminder helps a lot. Being on YouTube does not pay the bills as there is actually very little that actually comes through, realistically on average under $200 a month, and that is including those who are channel members.

My thing is I am an in-the-moment person who loves being a musician, loves helping other musicians any way I can, and attempts to let the instruments speak for themselves. I will never sell my soul for an NFR, nor will I take payment to present something in a deceitful way, or deliberately hide anything,  the cost is much too high and I am not willing to sacrifice my beliefs, name, and integrity to pay such a price. I would much rather shut the channel down and be done with it and focus on producing more personal and client projects.

Thanks again for the kind and thoughtful support. I will take a look at the link to see how I can improve things and I look forward to continuing to take more Joyful Journeys with all of you.
Joyfully yours,
Simeon

* I just read over the PDF in your and will work to incorporate the suggestions going forward. Thanks again, my friend.

Here is Woody's video:

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Simeon Amburgey

[Craig Fowler]

Simeon, I just want to hear you make a piano VI sound bad 😉

Would make like a lot easier!

[PavlovsCat]

29 minutes ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

Yep, for the most part, I do not click the "Paid Promotion" box unless I have been compensated monetarily in some way. Thursday's live stream was one of those occasions where Lunacy Audio sent a token of financial support to feature the new artist pack and Paid Promotion or Endorsement was checked, you can see the YouTube notification when the video begins. I also work on including acknowledgments in each of the video's descriptions regarding NFRs, affiliate links, and compensation when relevant, there of course can always be improvement to remove any suspicions. Woody's Piano Shack addressed this in a video a few months ago and I appreciate his approach to some of these same issues.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. I have had the "s" word (similar to shell) tossed at me a few times and this is absolutely something that I am definitely not about, so your reminder helps a lot. Being on YouTube does not pay the bills as there is actually very little that actually comes through, realistically on average under $200 a month, and that is including those who are channel members.

My thing is I am an in-the-moment person who loves being a musician, loves helping other musicians any way I can, and attempts to let the instruments speak for themselves. I will never sell my soul for an NFR, nor will I take payment to present something in a deceitful way, or deliberately hide anything,  the cost is much too high and I am not willing to sacrifice my beliefs, name, and integrity to pay such a price. I would much rather shut the channel down and be done with it and focus on producing more personal and client projects.

Thanks again for the kind and thoughtful support. I will take a look at the link to see how I can improve things and I look forward to continuing to take more Joyful Journeys with all of you.
Joyfully yours,
Simeon

* I just read over the PDF in your and will work to incorporate the suggestions going forward. Thanks again, my friend.

Here is Woody's video:

 

You made my day, Simeon! I'm so glad that you received that in the intended spirit. Like everyone else here -- and you already know this -- I have a blast watching your videos. I can't play like you, but I had a mother and two siblings who could (the reason I started playing drums!) and it brings back fond musical memories to see you just play whatever you feel inspired to play. That kind of joy -- really the joy of a child -- is what, IMO, makes your videos fun to watch. Your videos reflect that love for music that we share. To me, that's the strength of your brand that can't be easily duplicated.  Seriously. I see you as kind of like the Bob Ross of the sample library influencer world. Yes, you're not teaching people how to play, but the very inspired joy you get when playing is one of those pure things in life, and there's an innocence and sweetness about it that I love. 

Thanks, and have a great day! 

Edited September 29, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[PavlovsCat]

22 minutes ago, Craig Fowler said:

Simeon, I just want to hear you make a piano VI sound bad 😉

Would make like a lot easier!

It would save us a lot of money to watch videos where the pianos sound terrible and Simeon is saying things like, "Wow, that just doesn't sound very good, does it?"  But then Simeon would need bodyguards from angry developers after a while. 

Edited September 29, 2023 by PavlovsCat