Joannchr Can you try
I don't want to sound harsh but I've tried so many tips and recommendations with Pianoteq that never worked, I really have no time to experiment with Pianoteq anymore, at least nowadays when I don't even have enough time to sit at the piano for 10 minutes... 😕 Pianoteq is at the bottom of my list of "giving a chance for the millionth time to something I hate".
QuasiUnaFantasia Now I believe that Pianoteq is simply created with these essential sounds missing from the outset. In other words: Pianoteq lacks high-frequency material that the ear needs to find the sound pleasant, IMO.
That's an interesting theory and I tend to agree. There's something nasal in Pianoteq and we've used that word for ages but if you go back to what makes something "nasal", it's the mid-frequencies. And we should all agree that Pianoteq has high-frequencies. So, it's not nasal because it lack high frequencies, rather it lacks something in the high-frequencies, it lacks life, if you will, and so the mind is pointed at the mid frequencies, hence nasalness.
Moddart/Pianoteq can forbid what they want, it doesn't make doing it illegal.
CyberGene Pianoteq ... lacks life
So, what you are saying is that Pianoteq is like a dead fish which Dr. Frankenstein is running high-voltage through, and it wiggles, but it's still not right? 😄
I'm not going to claim I ever made the Pianoteq connection when I was playing Sofia's pianos, however the model I played the most was the Bechstein (probably because of the very pleasant added reverb) and I always noted this odd, synthetic buzz to the basic tone that I could never quite explain. I assumed that in order to get the noise floor so low, the samples must have gone through some heavy post-editing, and the synthetic sounding artifacts were introduced then. It was the only explanation that made sense at the time.
It's amazing what your brain can get you to accept with the proper conditioning. 😄
CyberGene usually when a sentence starts with ´ I don’t want to sound harsh ‘ the likelihood that it will actually sounds harsh is very high . No worries , not a big deal . Peace ☮️
CyberGene I don't want to sound harsh
I'm sure Pianoteq doesn't either. 🤣
Joannchr usually when a sentence starts with ´ I don’t want to sound harsh ‘ the likelihood that it will actually sounds harsh is very high
Absolutely, which is why I am not saying that I won't sound harsh, but that I don't want (because I don't want confrontation) but it's inevitable that I will sound harsh 😀 So, in other words, it's an excuse why I will inevitably sound harsh: not because I seek it but because there's no other way around it. Or, I am trying to be polite 😉
CyberGene I am just reminded of a problem I have encountered with mp3's of too low bandwith: they make piano sound particularly bad, the low bandwith having a more pronounced effect on piano than anything else, IMO, and I am beginning to suspect that the problem with mp3's (in this respect) is similar to the problem with Pianoteq.
QuasiUnaFantasia there has been a speculation that Pianoteq is not about modeling the piano as an object that produces sound but rather a clever sound compression which works with samples as an input and will then analyze the partials, their amplitude curves with the time, etc., and then when the sound is generated, sine waves will be summed and their amplitudes will be controlled by following the analyzed curves. That's based on the only patent that Modartt have published many years ago. They have recently stated that it's old and they are doing better modeling, however they have never uncovered what that means.
I think many people get confused over what modeling actually is. They imagine that the computer holds a virtual piano model in memory and the mechanical system is modeled with its geometry, materials, moving parts and ultimately we have a virtual hammer striking virtual strings that produce audio. That's called finite analysis and it's been stated that it's so difficult to do it in real time that (if I remember correctly) to produce 1 second of audio from such a model would require 24 hours of intense computation by a very powerful computer. With that in mind, I think the term "modeling" is used pretty vaguely nowadays and in the case of Pianoteq most certainly means (IMO) that they model input audio samples rather than the actual piano object as a mechanical system. Or, in other words, it's more a synthesizer with parameters that allow it to behave like a piano better than a conventional sampler would do. But it's definitely not a physical model the way most people imagine it.
CyberGene I don't think they have gone that route (which is what I would have done, and probably will do). I think they have to simulate the hammer hitting the string, because they have explicit parameters for specifying that part of the process. These parameters would be meaningless if they simply started with a seed waveform.
QuasiUnaFantasia I think they have to simulate the hammer hitting the string, because they have explicit parameters for specifying that part of the process.
That doesn't mean they don't have a glorified sampler underneath. Maybe those parameters are programmed to affect the partial summing, so that it emulates different hammer hardness, etc. As a very simple example, closing the lid is usually just rolling off the high frequencies. Many digital pianos from 20 years ago have that in their parameters and they don't model a lid 😉 Or should we say they model a lid? 🤔 It's just an EQ. Same with those modeling parameters that seem like controlling a finite model underneath. But I highly doubt if that's actually the case.
David B We learn how to overcome (with Divine power) the destructive characteristics of our sinful nature so that the body is slave to the mind and not the mind to the body. The same diligence must be applied to overcoming the corrupting influence of Pianoteq.
The devil is among us, and he is called Satan.
And he is called Lucifer.
And he is called Beelzebub.
And he is called Sofia. 🙂
CyberGene Yes! I've always experienced the same phenomenon with Pianoteq. There's a new version and I am usually a hopeless optimist (sure, I want to believe that modeling is better than sampling because the theory says it should be) and I start playing it and for a few minutes I think wow, that's actually not bad at all, much better than before. And then the fatigue kicks in mightily and irreversibly. You said it well, once heard it cannot be unheard 😕
All of this is exactly as it goes for me, with every next release (demo version).
Largos Many software have licenses which disallow many thing.
This is enforced by the law which forbids non approved copies. And running a program like Pianoteq involves a copy. Then you mustn’t run Pianoteq without complying to the license. If you run Pianoteq in a unwanted way, it is a counterfeit.
Copying the result is not copying a copyrighted artwork (the sound is not provided directly by Modartt), but may be considered as concealment since the result comes from a forbidden task.
Wow, y’all went from loving Sofia to calling her the Devil overnight, and all because she confirmed that you’re all closeted Pianoteq fans!
Come out the closet:
We’re not in any closet. Sofia is!
“She” came out, fooled us all, and went back in. 😉
MacMacMac We’re not in any closet. Sofia is!
“She” came out, fooled us all, and went back in. 😉
She is not a She 😆
Hi,
Just a few clarifications.
I removed the Sourceforge files and took down the website voluntarily. Nobody asked or forced me to do so. Hoax notwithstanding, the 2.1 release was getting downloaded by the thousands.
I’m indeed 16, and did this alone. There are no ulterior motives or big conspiracy behind my actions, except the initial curiosity about what piano enthusiasts would say, and the subsequent fun as the mavens started to preach (which apparently they keep doing, no lesson learned there). Ego being what it is, I understand the denial.
Also, people seemed so happy, and I was reluctant to bust the bubble.
I didn’t create fake accounts or post under pretenses to stir approval. I didn’t need to. In fact, Sofia received dozens of emails every single day. She was proposed (partnerships), offered jobs, asked for expert consulting, showered with praise, the whole nine yards. I thought… is this what being Billie Eilish feels like?
I might be young, but I’m not naive nor immature. My intentions were never to belittle anyone or anything. I won’t disclose any information that might embarrass anyone who confided in Sofia privately.
I’m also not a venal person. Profit was never my goal. I’m a detail-oriented person, and the Buy Me Coffee bit was meant to add a touch of realism. The few donations were never even claimed and can be returned.
I’m not a psychology student, but certainly a keen observer of human behavior. And I was a bit disappointed by the VST community as a whole. Here were guys who wouldn’t think twice about blowing hundreds of dollars on expensive VI, but only a handful bothered to spare a few bucks to support a selfless and gifted amateur. My heart went out to the real samplists.
To end this last post on a happier note, the girl I modeled (no pun intended) Sofia after is indeed brilliant, and could probably pull off something like this for real. Have hope in the new generations.
Sofia_MZ And I was a bit disappointed by the VST community as a whole. Here were guys who wouldn’t think twice about blowing hundreds of dollars on expensive VI, but only a handful bothered to spare a few bucks to support a selfless and gifted amateur. My heart went out to the real samplists.
LOL... Real sample developers doing this for a living charge good money for their products, and I'm happy to pay them to support their livelihood.
New life lesson: if you voluntarily give away a product for free, don't be surprised if people take you up on it.
🤣