I have to ask, and I’m serious (CG), could we give “Sofia” an award of sorts; because, IMHO, this is more than just a simple prank, and the genius behind it got many “seasoned experts” talkin’ out their respective asses!
P.S.
As of lately I’ve been a little bit down; even pondering a leap from ten stories high, but “Sofia” has shown me that it’s still worth hanging around, and I truly can’t remember the last time I had so much fun!😆
You can argue that it is a matter of semantics, but I would not call it a prank. I would call it a deception (and my gut tells me it's not over yet).
Pianoteq Trial Terms and Conditions:
"Sound produced by Pianoteq can only be distributed within a musical context, and not in forms that allow the sounds to be used as sample based instruments or sample libraries."
“Thanks for making each of your amazing pianos into the larger versions. Outstanding job!” 🤣🤣🤣
Okay, I need to take a break, because, whilst it’s true that “Sofia” pulled me back in from the edge (ten stories high), I might still die, not from suicide, but from laughing so hard that my lungs could collapse.
I’m in tears as I write this; rolling on the floor thinking about all the “expert opinions” on Sofia’s samples, which, of course, “Pianoteq can’t hold a candle to.” 🤣
This is a great prank, although Modartt might not agree. I hope this kind of activities doesn’t lead to less generous demo policy’s among software companies.
In retrospect, the story of a young, female psychology student traveling across Italy on their own in order to record privately owned grand pianos with a custom made robotic arm and professional recording equipment, for no other purpose than to create a gift for their father, seems almost laughably absurd. 🤣
I remember the logistics of it all striking me as incredibly complex at the time, but I guess I assumed this was an immensely privileged person with the time and resources to pull something like this off.
In any case, perhaps "Sofia" has a potential career as a fantasy fiction writer to aspire towards. 😉
MacMacMac We could also ask: Isn't your English too perfect? 🙂
Hehehe 😋
MacMacMac I agree. I said in another thread that these are the best amateur pianos I've ever tried. So ... yay for sampling!
Most importantly, let's not forget that this entirely blind prank was able to fool even the most stubborns of PTQ haters... Kudos...
Jokes aside, this is a clear case of IP piracy, and I don't think that Sofia should be expelled, but I am not sure if these threads shouldn't be removed from PC once all the laughs are done and dusted.
Pete14 Here (a crowd of Pianoteq haters), an Italian “chick” shows up with a bunch of “sampled” pianos that have made some so excited that they’ve even questioned the need for an expensive VSL;
I was surprised by people on PW saying it was on par with VSL's F308 or it's what VSL's F308 should have been. That's why I wanted to try it out. I'll quote my impressions from other threads after trying Sofia's F308.
David B In my opinion, comparing it to VSL's F308 is ridiculous. VSL's F308 is lightyears ahead of this in terms of playability (yes all those layers really makes a difference), consistency, tone, realism, etc.
David B I'm not trying to be mean, but Sofia's did not seem very smooth…Maybe compared to other free libraries Sofia's layering/mapping is good, but it is nowhere near to being on par with VSL.
I did not suspect a deception but I know I did not care for playing it and did not consider it close to being an equal with VSL.
God Bless,
David
I agree, well-deserved imo.
johanibraaten This is a great prank, although Modartt might not agree.
Or they might hire "Sofia" as a marketing consultant, given how well "her pianos" have been received.
Edit: Seeing David's post above, well received by almost everybody I guess 🙂
MacMacMac We could also ask: Isn't your English too perfect?
You have a point here... That would be the ultimate prank: Sofia is CG (hint: where does CG lives???) 😀
I wouldn't be surprised if Sofia is actually Pete14.
I also think @Pete14 might have something to do with the prank 😉 I have not followed these sample discussions here on our forum closely, but nevertheless, I usually glimpse through every single post on the forum just to be sure it's all under control (OK, kidding but not too much) and I don't think I've seen any universal praise. Actually I remember how harsh @David B was (and deservedly so, as it seems in retrospective) and I thought, poor girl, what was she thinking doing some amateur sampling sessions, of course she would get eaten alive 😀 Maybe there were more people who got deceived on PW and Pete keeps posting some testimonials that are not from this forum IMO, so back to my initial thought: he's hysterically making more fuss about how great that prank is, than what I really see here. A coincidence? 😉
BTW, I've been monitoring some traffic surge in the last few hours. Apparently this "drama" attracted people towards our small community, so thanks 😉
David B David B In my opinion, comparing it to VSL's F308 is ridiculous. VSL's F308 is lightyears ahead of this in terms of playability (yes all those layers really makes a difference), consistency, tone, realism, etc.
David B I'm not trying to be mean, but Sofia's did not seem very smooth…Maybe compared to other free libraries Sofia's layering/mapping is good, but it is nowhere near to being on par with VSL.
I did not suspect a deception (if indeed that is true) but I know I did not care for playing it and did not consider it close to being an equal with VSL.
God Bless,
David
Well in fairness, I never considered Sofia's pianos equal to VSL or other top-tier VSTs like Garritan or VI Labs, and said as much, but in comparison with other free amateur and even quite a few mid-tier professional pianos, I do think they are indeed impressive - particularly in the playability department. And who doesn't like free things? Managing expectations is 90% of the game here.
And I have to say the reaction to the (fake) Fazioli was also somewhat revealing in that quite a few seasoned players preferred its basic tone to that of the VSL Fazioli. If anything, this just goes to show how polarizing that particular VSL instrument is.
I'll freely admit that Sofia's "Fazioli" was the first sampled Fazioli I'd played on where I didn't feel like the tone was essentially one-dimensional, but as it turns out, it wasn't a Fazioli at all. 😐
I just looked at her/his "buy me a coffee" page. Seems that people tipped Sofia for the copied work. Hope they have a sense of humor about it.
Some traffic might have come from VI-Control. Once someone linked post from there containing example recordings I've shared my suspicions there as well.
At first I thought 'Sofia' was posting only here, but learnt later it's PW and VI-C as well. I don't know about Keyboard Corner or Gears***z. It's probably forbidden to share anything like that on Modartt forum, but that would be another level of 'evil' 😃
Also, "Sofia"'s "project" has attached several new members over the last few weeks, if I'm not mistaken.
Cheers and a happy 'Clack,
HZ
Hotel Zulu Papa, I'm afraid some of those "new members" might be 'Sofia' incarnations, unfortunately.
Cheers
ABCharlie 😉
