My pianos *DEBUNKED*

Sofia_MZ Funny how someone finds the time to write long posts but couldn’t be bothered answering Buy Me a Coffee client service emails.

I’d like to reassure Taushi that his donation (as well as all the others, totaling $55) has already been refunded.

His Christmas is saved.

Please do not behave as if it’s such a bother and as if you’re somehow being virtuous by returning the money you stole from people through misrepresentation and fraud. And please don’t behave as if you were even ever going to give people their money back if I hadn’t called you out on it, because it was ten (10) days ago that you said the donations “could be returned” but made no effort to do it.

You might have two or three people with obsessive vendettas against PianoWorld patting you on the back for this, and you may think that that somehow excuses what you did, but it doesn’t. Ultimately, the fact of the matter is you stole someone else’s intellectual property, plagiarized it as your own, misrepresented yourself as an identity you claim you “modeled” off some poor unknowing woman, and then crossed the line into financial fraud when you accepted monetary donations for that misrepresentation.

And trying to frame it as some great psychological experiment or some white-knight effort on behalf of poor unfortunate samplists doesn’t pass the smell test. You got more than enough compliments on these “instruments” in the first week that you could’ve wrapped it up there and said “Ha, ha, Pianoteq haters!” Instead, you continued for nearly two months, introduced “new pianos” with new tales, continued developing your backstory, and tried to cater to your base. And you would not have stopped if it hadn’t been pointed out. And it moved well beyond a harmless prank when you took money from people under that representation and even got into private conversations with some of these people as that false identity. I suspect your motivations were far more personal and self-centered than you want to reveal. But on the remote chance you did do all this because a few people on the internet don’t like the same software you like, you have a lot to work through. And that work starts by acknowledging that this was not a good thing.

And yes I did donate. As a full-time artist, I know how much it costs to be an independent artist and even to do art-related things. I have been very lucky to have people and organizations support my work through purchases, grants, philanthropy, and fellowships, and I always pay it forward when I can. Seeing what I perceived to be a passionate young person pursuing their own independent artistic endeavors AND doing something that helped other artists encouraged me to support. Your manipulation of that feeling in me and others does not make you clever: it makes you duplicitous. (And, by the way, I made my donations from a throwaway account with a throwaway email & name and a one-time use virtual card. I always do that whenever I’m donating or supporting via smaller charitable platforms which don’t offer the full security of a GoFundMe or a Kickstarter. So don’t expect much there).

And, the timeline doesn’t support your statements. I, and another member who also donated, reached out to Buy Me A Coffee on December 3rd. We both were told that BuyMeACoffee reached out to you on December 4th. I made my post here on December 7th, only after my name was mentioned by two members. For the record, I never intended to post here or say anything and only reached out to BuyMeACoffee to try to quietly move you to give back what you took from people so as to do what was right and to avoid potential further problems. BuyMeACoffee says the refund was sent through on this morning, December 9th, shortly before you made this post. So, again, please don’t behave as if you had some noble plan in mind all along. I don’t believe you ever had any intention of giving people their money back, and you only did it when we raised the alarm to BuyMeACoffee.

You didn’t save my Christmas by giving the money back; you can be sure that if I had it to give charitably, then it was of no major cost to my pocketbook. You gave it back BuyMeACoffee had been alerted.

I have no desire to pursue things further, or even beat you up about this. I would never have even posted here if my name wasn’t mentioned. We all make mistakes. I said what I said on the subject and I moved on. We all deserve another chance. Nobody should be locked into a mistake, or even be judged by it. But please, do not behave as if what you did was right or even what you claim it was. It is much better to just take stripes in silence, heal what’s broken, and do better in the future.

Taushi Ultimately, the fact of the matter is you stole someone else’s intellectual property, plagiarized it as your own, misrepresented yourself as an identity you claim you “modeled” off some poor unknowing woman, and then crossed the line into financial fraud when you accepted monetary donations for that misrepresentation.

Hear, hear!

There is no virtue in anything this person did. There is nothing to applaud he/she/it/them/they for. Call it for what it is, fraud and deceit. As a Christian I'm called to forgive those who sin against me (I don't actually feel I was personally sinned against in this hoax), but it doesn't mean I have to trust them afterwards. The person(s) posting under "Sofia" is not (at this time) a trustworthy person. They should fade back into internet oblivion or reintroduce their actual self with an attitude of contrition. Then maybe a community can accept their participation. Of course, this is just my opinion. Carry on.

God bless,
David

I’d just like to make some things very clear:

No, I don’t have a vendetta (big word) against PW, and very rarely do I even mention it, and if I do it’s mostly in jest; like the one time I challenged James to a face-to-face meeting, or else I’d infiltrate PW to kidnap him and bring him here by force to pay for his sins!

To believe the above, one would have to believe that PW is an actual, physical place whence James shows up to work everyday; hence, giving me the opportunity to snatch him when no one is looking!🤣

I’m not saying this spitefully, but perhaps PW should come to terms with what it is they actually do and/or represent; which, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that important….

Get a grip, PW, you’re not holding the codes to our nuclear arsenal; so to think any single sly, joke, or even insult a vendetta, or that certain people that have been banned are out to get PW is ludicrous, at least as it concerns me, Pete14, the one person who mocked, teased, and annoyed PW whilst being a member.

Regarding Sofia, yes, I found the whole thing hilarious, so sue me, but keep in mind that we live in a free country and should be allowed our own opinions, and as it turns out, a few others found it funny, too, and for those who didn’t find it funny at all, fine, go ahead and sue Sofia, but don’t expect everyone to get behind you, “or else!” because that is the very definition of a dictatorship (big word).

Now, let’s get back to what we really do ‘round here and at PW: talk about pivots, samples, actions, etc…not quite rocket science, now is it?😁

If lucy's site were still up, then I'd buy lucy a coffee as well. Or softdrink etc. And this is after the bubble bursting.

That's because lucy got on the road to demonstrate my idea of generating samples from 'physical' models for using in sample playback pianos. And lucy did a pretty good job.

I think Taushi said it right. The whole affair was a fraud. And it ended with a false cover story and with no apology.

There are no bans on Piano Clack. But if there were I think we found a winner.

MacMacMac There are no bans on Piano Clack. But if there were I think we found a winner.

The spirit in which this forum was created, for the most part, precludes bans. However, that doesn't mean a user can't be banned. Banning is reserved for the most egregious of offenses. From the welcome page:

"However, insults, vulgar language and hate speech are not allowed."

If a user persists in those areas they'll get the proverbial boot.

God Bless,
David

I think the whole affair is sordid. The desire to catch people out shows a very unpleasant side that some people have. Is being kind and decent to others really harder than trying to embarrass or humiliate them?

It's hard to say if it is malice or not. It probably isn't malicious, as lucy had the decency to come 'clean'. And for people that possibly knocked pteq before, it was probably an education thing. Otherwise, hard to say when they will realise that piano music and music isn't necessarily about best sound and best clarity and 'best' piano etc.

Johnstaf absolutely! And when you take in mind it was not about endangered living creatures or some real world issue, but rather about some software that somebody believed should not be criticized, and went to such lengths to teach others a lesson and made sure he would score a win by exploiting their kindness with that story about the young and innocent amateur girl preparing a gift for her father, and put so much energy and time into creating a website and preparing sample libraries… it all becomes ridiculous. To me it’s on the verge of being psychopathic.

P.S. Re-reading my last post above, I really started wondering if Modartt could be behind this 🧐 It’s the only logical explanation for why someone would waste so much effort on proving some silly point in the first place. Otherwise, it would be worrying that an unrelated individual would do it.

I’m not so sure about the “evil” plan theory….

Keep in mind that once figured out, Sofia quickly came clear, and even apologized if some people were hurt by her actions, and, also, promised not to tell……🤫

Also, it has very rarely been mentioned that, yes, this was a bit of an accomplishment despite, and perhaps we should be looking at further re-sampling instead of giving our wallets to the likes of VSL whenever they release a “new” Fazioli…

Also, some have implied that Modartt has been “used” both literally & figuratively, yet also at the same time hinted at Sofia being Modartt, and I truly don’t believe we can have our cake and eat it too:

She’s either Modartt or not, but not both, for that would be a mind-bender that not even quantum entanglement can approximate.

“I’m here, I’m there, yet I’m also elsewhere; I’m everything, everywhere all at once,” said a group of rebel particles!

P.S.

“The joker might annoy you, but the self-righteous can destroy you,” By: Pete XIV!

The weakest point for modelled pianos is natural tone, and almost like a scientific project. Of course, fewer developers have that required knowledge.

Sampled pianos have more issues to overcome like consistency, dynamics, pedalling and usability in addition to tone. The most common problems are inconsistency and limitation.

I know there is so-called sampling and modelling combined stuff. But, isn't that based on a higher level of coding?

“higher level of coding….”

Now, there’s a good title for a movie:

“A Higher Level of Coding,” soon in a theater near you!

“You can’t handle the code!”

If you’ve not noticed it yet, I don’t take anything too seriously, and perhaps that’s because I’m 101; I’ve been around the block, and I’ve seen people die from starvation despite having a robust agriculture; children walking for miles to/from school with nothing in their bellies but dirty, parasite-infested water, and then being expected to do their homework in the dark (no electricity) and getting their lazy asses on to the cornfield to plant, grow, harvest, and pack the corn so that others never run out of popcorn whence watching a movie in an air conditioned room whilst complaining about the seats not being comfortable, and gossiping about “them lazy migrants takin’ our jobs.” Oddly enough, “them lazy migrants” are doing the jobs “we” don’t want, or do any of you fashion yourself a janitor, meat-packer, quasi-servant!

We, “the victims,” oh please, do grow up, or take a hike to Somalia; where the real victims live!

SouthPark Otherwise, hard to say when they will realise that piano music and music isn't necessarily about best sound and best clarity and 'best' piano etc.

Music is about what makes someone happy or feel whatever they want to feel. It's completely subjective and that means for some people it IS about the best clarity, sound, and piano according to their perception.

God Bless,
David

Pete14 Also, it has very rarely been mentioned that, yes, this was a bit of an accomplishment despite, and perhaps we should be looking at further re-sampling instead of giving our wallets to the likes of VSL whenever they release a “new” Fazioli…

If anything it did just the opposite for me. It affirmed that VSL is king of the hill when it comes to virtual piano libraries. Pianoteq (or whatever it was) tried to sneak surreptitiously to the top only to get knocked back down. 🤕

God Bless,
David

Can we meet in the middle, People?

What if we hire Sofia (occasionally) to re-sample our favorite VSTs, but we should not discriminate as to whether the re-sampling is from a modeled or sampled source, so long as it sounds/plays good.

Is it illegal? I don’t know, but I do know that rappers have made a fortune re-sampling; here’s an example of a re-sampled bass line:

https://youtu.be/rog8ou-ZepE?si=z5nC41qpkLide4Vm

Yes, Vanilla Ice is a rapper, and if you believe other wise, you’re a “rappist,” for the color of your skin should not define who you are, or how you feel inside, and he most certainly is a rapper on the inside!😆

I think "Sofia's" more obvious career choices lie in politics, journalism, and marketing for multinational corporations operating above the law.

Pete14 Can we meet in the middle, People?

https://youtu.be/B1FX6bluRrQ?si=CsvAbOMDPk-GZdq9

Johnstaf I think the whole affair is sordid. The desire to catch people out shows a very unpleasant side that some people have. Is being kind and decent to others really harder than trying to embarrass or humiliate them?

Right? Respect people’s own taste, expertise, and sense enough to let them like what they like.

CyberGene absolutely! And when you take in mind it was not about endangered living creatures or some real world issue, but rather about some software that somebody believed should not be criticized, and went to such lengths to teach others a lesson and made sure he would score a win by exploiting their kindness with that story about the young and innocent amateur girl preparing a gift for her father, and put so much energy and time into creating a website and preparing sample libraries… it all becomes ridiculous. To me it’s on the verge of being psychopathic.

I suspect the ultimate angle, or perhaps a concurrent angle, may also have been to ultimately make money. Remember these were all in “beta” form, ultimately leading to the actual releases, which I suspect may have had a cost associated. This may well have started as a way for this person to save money by making a playable version of the Pianoteq demos, but what it was to become was, in my opinion, more than a mere prank.

Hopefully, this person uses their expertise for good things in the future, because they clearly are very smart, talented, creative, and inventive. That can be applied to so much better for themselves and for others.

David B Music is about what makes someone happy or feel whatever they want to feel. It's completely subjective and that means for some people it IS about the best clarity, sound, and piano according to their perception.

This. And some also need to learn that when other people like something different from them, or have a different standard, or think something else is better…it’s not a personal attack against what they like, their standard, or what they perceive to be better.

I have an indecent proposal for T-GPT:

Bring us James by any means, even if for a brief moment, and I will personally bestow you with the “AI of the year” award; show us what you got, T-GPT!

Many have tried, including yours truly, to bring James here to answer some questions, but no one has succeeded, so there’s only one option left, and that is the persuasive power of AI!

“Calibration-Drift,” is it real, or is it a myth?