Pianoteq

[josh93248]

So, I'm curious to know how people feel about Pianoteq.

I've just got the Stage version and it seems great so far, I was able to fix the latency to the point where I don't notice it at all and feel like there's immediate feedback, the only real disadvantage is that I have to rely on my Roland, which is good but not quite as good a touch as an acoustic (the return is a bit lousy too)

I've gotten to the point that after a disastrous recording session where I was convinced that a pedal clicking sound wouldn't be noticeable (and it turned out to be insufferable) I feel like until I can actually operate at the level where I can have a great piano, a great set of mics, a great engineer and a lot of time maybe it's better to just make my music with Pianoteq.

I can edit and create it so much more easily, it's a technology that will only get better, I don't have to pay for tuning, I don't have to really worry about maintenance at all. A lot of elements are quite excellent too, the quality of the sound is really good and leagues above any piano I've really been able to play. So, really, I ask myself, what am I missing with acoustic? Perhaps there are some minutiae that get missed and perhaps there is a slight fakeness to the sound. Perhaps also purists might object (those who know me can take a guess how much I care) but honestly, weighing up all the pros and cons, it feels like this is the best thing for me, especially right now.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with how Pianoteq sounds, you can check some recordings on the site, I recommend the Grotrian. https://www.pianoteq.com/instrument_list

Thoughts, feelings, accusations of heresy? Let me know.

[bronnestam]

How did you fix the latency? It has been a big problem since I got a computer with Windows 10. I cannot use Pianoteq for live play anymore, but I make recordings (with the Pianoteq sound muted so I don't get bothered by the latency) and then I can post-edit them. The program as such is excellent and I love the sounds.

I like the Blüthner sound the best.

[hfmadopter]

I've had a lot of problems over all with windows 10, not so much to do with Pianoteq, though I will say that latency has suffered a little bit since some of the later Windows 10 upgrades came on board. I jsut haven't gotten around to messing with it because I've been on the acoustic grand piano more lately. The thing is, I didn't ask for windows 10, I had 8 on a relatively new computer at the time, that worked just fine, including Pianoteq. The wife and I went out to breakfast and upon returning to the house my computer now had 10 on it. Videos run terrible , online shows are terrible with losing downloads etc. etc. It's awful, it totally bogs down the computer, it doesn't process wifi worth beans, my 2011 windows 7 is now better by far.

Pianoteq is a good product though, I've done several recordings with it and sounds better to me than trying to do it with affordable equipment on my acoustic grand. But I use both Pianoteq and also Mixcraft 7. I think Mixcraft has better mixing control and overall recording capability and you can run Pianoteq in Mixcraft, it does limit some instruments and some Pianoteq controls though. I have several grand pianos I worked up in Pianoteq Stage, probably the most powerful and maybe my favorite is the C.Bechsteins I did up. I have both programs on the 10 computer and the 7 computer. But the 10 which was 8 was bought to run Pianoteq and record with, Microsoft screwed that idea up. It's a smaller Asus machine that I can keep right on my digital keyboard. i have the latest update notice coming up for Pianoteq lately, I almost hate to install it, who know what will happen next.

[thrstn]

Pianoteq is a great piece of software. Even though the sound is arguably not 100% there yet (the "percussion" is still a bit lacking), the latest updates (Grotrian, Steinway B) are truly amazing. All the tweaking and the resonance modeling really helps expression and avoid getting bored with a digital sound (which inevitably happens with sampled pianos).

Concerning latency issues, I have had no problems with a quality external module (steinberg/yamaha), but even internally it should be fine if you use Asio4ALL and not the internal drivers. I havn't used ptq since the latest win10 updates, but before that I used to run it with the internal soundcard on asio4all when travelling (on a tablet+portable keyboard) and had super low latency.

[perfect_pitch]

Thought I would throw in my 2 cents...

I was in the same situation, but I'll admit - I couldn't go past Kontakt's 'The Grandeur' when looking for a synthesizer program.

If you want a sample of what it's like, I've got over a dozen samples on my SoundCloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/epic_piano_arrangements

Tell me what you think of the sound quality... although they are 320Kbps MP3's. The original software records them at 96Khz Wave files (about 20x the size)