My Desert Island Piano VST - VI Labs Modern D

pianow Yeah, for sure some VST pianos sound better in certain contexts… I really like the sound of the Steinway from Pianoverse, but the playability leaves a lot to be desired, at least in my opinion.

What I love most about the Modern D is that by adjusting the microphones and other parameters, it becomes a super versatile instrument. Today I rehearsed with a rock band, and I used only the hammers and a bit of EQ… and it sounded amazing, my bandmates even commented on it. Then, with the slightly modified “Complete Classical” preset, I played some Chopin and once again got totally lost in the experience.

As for the resonance, I almost always end up maxing it out… not sure if it’s the most realistic, but it behaves more like pianos like the Garritan CFX, for example.

rodrigopv

great, what i don't wanna do now is to buy something that's gonna be another dust gather in a month or so...
not because 200$ is too much for a good vst, but because I'm tired of collecting virtual pianos for no reason
it just makes the next buy harder and harder (in fact that's the reason it's difficult for me to buy modern d now, because i spend a significant amount of money on a lot of pianos that I'm not even looking at anymore, like... i didn't know i have the walker steinway in my collection but i do💀)

i wish they'd allow people to demo their pianos, that'll be a lot easier

pianow i wish they'd allow people to demo their pianos, that'll be a lot easier

Finally, you’re making some sense!

To buy a VST because someone else makes it sound great is a risky proposition, and having the ability to try-before-you-buy is a must….IMHO!

Pete14
i always had this opinion bro nothing's changed
yea i don't wanna buy it cause someone else's having fun with it.
and if i didn't think so i would have bought it on its release day,
and one more thing, i think nobody made it sound so great yet (at least for my taste)

and that's why a demo license is a must, i should see if i can shape it into what i like, and that's why i didn't buy most of the Synchrons cause most of them couldn't sound even close to what i wanted them to

pianow I completely understand you, I’m honestly in a similar situation… after buying Ivory III and being disappointed, I decided not to buy any more pianos—after all, Ravenscroft was giving me what I needed. However, knowing ViLabs’ reputation, plus David’s demos, my willpower caved.

That said, I totally agree that it would be great if more companies let you try their products before buying, like VSL does… in my particular case, it’s not just about whether I like the sound, but also because, being blind, I use a screen reader and not all software is accessible. Too many times I’ve spent money on plugins that I can’t use without help.

Anyway, and to make your life more difficult, the Modern D is really versatile, and with patience, it could definitely be adapted to fit your needs.

Oh, and by the way, I also have the Walker… such a great sound, but I just can’t connect with it… in my opinion, it responds really poorly.

Cheers!

rodrigopv I completely understand you, I’m honestly in a similar situation… after buying Ivory III and being disappointed, I decided not to buy any more pianos—after all, Ravenscroft was giving me what I needed. However, knowing ViLabs’ reputation, plus David’s demos, my willpower caved

thanks for the support and yea, it's hard to spend any money on something without being able to run some tests on it, i don't even know if the modern d can improve my work or not, a different piano sound isn't enough for me at this point.

rodrigopv That said, I totally agree that it would be great if more companies let you try their products before buying, like VSL does… in my particular case, it’s not just about whether I like the sound, but also because, being blind, I use a screen reader and not all software is accessible. Too many times I’ve spent money on plugins that I can’t use without help

yea they really should make their software more accessible for you❤️

rodrigopv it responds really poorly.

yea, it's a little sluggish unfortunately, which i think has something to do with its rounded tone (the attacks aren't very fast so it's hard to play anything on it)

rodrigopv but also because, being blind, I use a screen reader and not all software is accessible. Too many times I’ve spent money on plugins that I can’t use without help.

Are you also a screen reader user? Hello! You are just like me, I'm also blind.

Are you a Mac or PC user? And how are you using Modern D if you're on a PC? If you run into any questions or need any help, please let me know. I might be able to help you, especially if you're on PC.

when the Simeon is gonna drop the review then?😐

pianow I believe his Joyful Journey is either Thursday Or Friday during the week, but I'm not sure when he's featuring the Modern D. On VI Control, he mentioned probably Thursday. But I can't promise anything, though I do know him and have talked with him. 🙂

David Lai
two days from now, ah... damn

thanks David, it's a shame that stu Harrison doesn't do vst reviews anymore, but thankfully we still have Simeon

pianow when the Simeon is gonna drop the review then?😐

I really enjoy watching Simeon but it's hardly reviews as he loves everything he tries😀

pianow thanks David, it's a shame that stu Harrison doesn't do vst reviews anymore, but thankfully we still have Simeon

Yes, and we're all grateful for him! 🙂

johanibraaten True. But at least you could hear the sound and be like "this isn't my cup of tea." 🙂 I've done this with a lot of the pianos he featured.

pianow and one more thing, i think nobody made it sound so great yet (at least for my taste)

Let’s agree to disagree here, for I think David Lai did indeed make it sound great!

Now, to be clear, just because David made it sound great doesn’t necessarily mean the VST is great (there is a difference, you know). 🙂

Pete14 Let’s agree to disagree here, for I think David Lai did indeed make it sound great!

No Pete, I didn't make it sound great. The VST has to sound great first. Then, I just did a good curve, selected the mics I want and mix to taste, and then, that's it! Only a couple of steps. But the most important and the most difficult is for them to first make a great product… Then the rest would follow, but these steps on the user end are not hard to achieve, especially when you know what musical genre you're playing and after.

David Lai

David Lai Oh wow, I love finding another person who uses a screen reader in the most unexpected places. I use VoiceOver on Mac, and pretty much the whole UI of UVI Workstation is accessible, though it’s not super easy to navigate. The only tricky part, but doable with OCR, is the browser where you load the soundbanks. Other than that, I think almost everything is accessible.

Do you use a PC? Which DAW do you work with? I use Reaper and find it really comfortable.

I’d also be happy to help with anything I can.

Once again, congrats on those beautiful demos!

rodrigopv Well, lucky you on Mac! I've heard a lotout how UVI is workable with Mac. Not so much on PC. I use Reaper. I'll post more in a private discussion soon.

johanibraaten
yea it's a play through
which i like better cause i can hear the actual thing instead of someone telling me how it sounds (so many audio product reviewers are like this : 10% audio demos 90% talking about it without any proof, that must be the opposite imo)

Pete14 Now, to be clear, just because David made it sound great doesn’t necessarily mean the VST is great

nope, when someone can make a vst sound great especially with so little tweaking, it means that the vst itself is great and it has great potential.
🔨

pianow i would like to know if we can get close to the grandeur with the modern d

I played around with this a bit. It's best to start with the hammer mics. They're the closest in sound to the Grandeur.

After that, I tried using the built-in three band EQ to sculpt the sound a bit. I ended up boosting the low end below 300 Hz by a few dB, cutting about 3 dB around 1kHz using the band filter (with a Q of around 2), and adding around 3-4 dB above 7 kHz using the high shelf. It's not an exact tonal match, but it brings the two closer.