My pianos 2.0 stable release

Sofia_MZ

Hi,

I uploaded the latest stable 2.0 release of each piano and did some webpage update.

These will be the versions I will maintain from now on. The older ones are still downloadable, but only from the Sourceforge page to avoid confusion.

Cheers.

Sofia

VST-Player

Call me crazy, but I like the sustain effect Sforzando generates when I play the 1.0 versions better than the recorded sustain samples of the 2.0 releases.

amc252

VST-Player I'm a beginner, and often keep the pedal down when I shouldn't. I too find that the 1.0 versions are easier on me because the resulting sound is less mudded. But if I just play the notes right, the 2.0 pedal down timbre is luscious. Anyway, it's nice that we have a choice.

Del Vento

amc252 VST-Player I'm a beginner, and often keep the pedal down when I shouldn't. I too find that the 1.0 versions are easier on me because the resulting sound is less mudded. But if I just play the notes right, the 2.0 pedal down timbre is luscious. Anyway, it's nice that we have a choice.

This comment makes me think that v2.0 @Sofia_MZ is getting it right. Typical digital (and sometimes sw) pianos try to "make it easy" by having the pedal-down sound be nice even if you never release it. If you do that on an acoustic it becomes mudded. In fact there is some controversy on Beethoven's note on his sonata n.14 "Si deve suonare tutto questo pezzo delicatissimamente e senza sordino", meaning with always the pedal down, which is said by some of being impossible on the modern piano without becoming too mudded, whereas others say that he really intended the sound to be that mudded given the "chasms" of both the first and last movement

Sofia_MZ

I'd like to add a section of users recordings to my webpage.
If anyone is interested to contribute some recordings made with my libraries, feel free to contact me at luciphercode@gmail.com

zeldalink

Hi all. For myself, I customized SM_Grand_Piano-2.0 followings.

1) Based on results the loudness per velocity, I generated 127 amp_velcurve_N lines per sample group using MS EXCEL macro. I expect more smoother switching between velocity layers. 2) upper keys without damper. PU only version is avilable(I play it with Pianoteq8 SR effect).

my customized sfz and EXCEL macro

Gunther-D

Hello,

I signed up to this forum only to write this post.

A couple of days ago, I was looking up an Italian location on Google and saw a few references to a grand piano.

I got curious, Googled some more, and came across several posts about Sofia_MZ's piano libraries.

Everybody seemed to praise her pianos.

I checked out her webpage and saw the makes and models listed. Not the garden variety instruments a hobbyist would record.

I read her FAQ. I was intrigued. Who was this kid?

I downloaded her libraries and started playing them in the studio.

I've been a sound engineer for over 35 years, and recorded hundreds of classical concerts and solo artists. And I was stunned.

I already told Sofia all this privately, but since this seems to be the forum she interacts the most on, I wanted to share my feelings with you.

The quality, taste, and refinement of her work are stunning.

It would be noteworthy if it were done in a studio setting. But on location and different pianos?

I'm equally impressed by and envious of her talent, and can only wonder what she will achieve in her chosen profession.

Kudos!

HZPiano

Gunther-D

What a super nice post, Gunther!

Heartwarmingly nice.

Cheers and best,

Del Vento

Gunther-D I signed up to this forum only to write this post.

Welcome and hope you'll stay for the rest

Gunther-D I've been a sound engineer for over 35 years, and recorded hundreds of classical concerts and solo artists.

Wow, what a pedigree! Do you have anything publicly available somewhere on the 'net just so we can get to know your work?

amc252

Del Vento This is great Now, when somebody complains that I never lift my feet from the pedal, I can retort that I'm playing 'Beethoven style'.

VST-Player

Del Vento It is good to have the choice between the two versions, it is a matter of taste. Hmm, I am an advanced pianist, not a beginner, and if I can trust my ears and headphones, the opposite is true about the sustain effect of the two releases. The sustain generated by Sforzando is more noticeable and, thus, more mudded than the samples in the 2.0 versions. So, when I play the 1.0 release I have to be more careful with the pedal than with the 2.0 versions.

Sofia_MZ

VST-Player It is good to have the choice between the two versions, it is a matter of taste.

Quite right. While working on the 2.1 release (yep, how masochist a person can be?) I figured I'd leave the 1.0 version just on Sourceforge. But these posts made me change my mind, and I will include in my webpage links to make them more easily available to those who wish to download them.

The beauty of SFZ, and open source in general, if that it leaves plenty of room for personal preferences and customization.

It is remarkably easy to change the tuning, the timbre, the behavior of the samples, and even to shuffle them any way you like.

zeldalink

I'm talking about the with noise version, I notice it does not sounds noise during pedal up, but sounds during both pedal down. I suppose reason why, sfz containes 4 <master>, but only the last <master> is validated. I guess "#include" is good for this case.

zeldalink

zeldalink I noticed that it could be modified more easily. Just add one line of "<master>" as follows.

After this modification, the description of noise becomes the 5th "<master>" and does not depend on the state of the pedals. Conversely, before the modification, it was part of the 4th "<master>"(if both pedals are down).

I don't know if the resulting sound is appropriate for a piano or not. I don't know much about real pianos.

===============================================

<group> //Release Dampers

volume=-20

ampeg_attack=.005 ampeg_decay=60 ampeg_sustain=10 ampeg_release=0.8

....

VST-Player

I have the Aria player from Garritan CFX Lite and just found out that I can load and play Sofia's pianos in Aria. I just have to click into "preset" on top, then "load", select "any file type" and search for the sfz file I want to launch, Then I get the velocity map from Aria, and I also have better reverb presets.

zeldalink

Thanks.😊 Always I'm wondering if I should buy Garritan's CFX Lite, a little cheaper ( and lite + upgrade < full ) at pluginfox.com.

Any plan CFX will be added in Sofia's piano 2.1?

VST-Player

zeldalink Not sure what you mean by "adding CFX in Sofia's pianos". You can load CFX in Sforzando since SFZ is a precursor to / simplified version of Aria. But that would not really make sense. You get less functionalities You would want to upgrade not downgrade.

zeldalink

VST-Player My apologies. I thought I was looking a discussion about reverb and posted.

MacMacMac

Maybe zelda meant to say "please sample a Yamaha CFX and make it the sixth piano in the Sofia collection" ?

zeldalink

Yes, that's what I wanted to say.

QuasiUnaFantasia

CFX's probably don't hang on trees in Italy. But since there are already fine sampled CFX's out there, why not wish for an Italian Borgato instead?

Pete14

zeldalink My apologies. I thought I was looking a discussion about reverb and posted.

You are forgiven, but keep in mind that we do not take kindly to such digressions ‘round here…

Surely, your newbie status allows for some mistakes, but we are running a tight ship, and those falling out of line will be fed to the sharks!

Good day to you,

Pete XIV