Modern D vs Pianoteq vs The People

David Lai And that's the sad part. He can annoy many people, and you can't even do a thing about it. That's very much like a tenured professor.

Only, he's not a tenured professor, so you can still do some things about it, I guess?

I'm just playing around. Anybody can get booted anytime for any reason. This is a privately owned forum and Gene is our supreme leader. Thankfully, he has chosen to create a community where the need for moderating is minimal. Diversity of topics and the flowering of individual thought is the norm here at PianoClack. We rely more on a self-policing community standard and only intervene when there is no apparent resolution in sight.

Pete's affinity with Pianoteq and distain for 100 layers of sampling gold is his opinion. We all know that Pianoteq is the redheaded stepchild in the virtual instrument world. Pianoteq needs an advocate. They've got Pete. Maybe he works for Pianoteq. He is a known associate of subversive agencies. He's been on our radar and we have a tactical team at the ready for a snatch and interrogation and possible reeducation when the time comes. 😀

God Bless,
David

David B Got it. Thanks, David. Then I'll not worry about him anymore. His distain for what's real, sounding good, ETC, is driving me crazy.

David B if one day his reeducation happens, that would be quite the news.

David B Maybe he works for Pianoteq

imagine modartt hired someone to make their product look better and after a year or so, most people (who've been neutral about their product) hate it with passion 😂 firing him now won't do em any good, they should melt him and send the remains to the bottom of the ocean.
excellent job you fat troll.

David Lai if one day his reeducation happens, that would be quite the news.

Someday you'll see a discussion started by Pete, "Which Steinway D Sampled Piano Should I Get?" Followed by, "which external SSD's are best for running sampled libraries?" Followed by, "When is VI Labs going to have their next sale?"

Then he'll finally have the confidence to upload his rendition of "Fir" Elise. 😀

God Bless,
David

David B Then he'll finally have the confidence to upload his rendition of "Fir" Elise.

Haha, I had to say your play on the German "fur" is rather interesting. That said, you don't need too much external SSD space for a VI Labs library. Modern D is 18 GB, which even works on my 512 GB SSD.

David Lai Haha, I had to say your play on the German "fur" is rather interesting.

Actually, I think he jokingly said "For" Elise in his post. Either way, piano sampling will become the Golden Ticket for Pete when his reeducation is complete. I will feel sorry for PianoTeq aficionados once Pete is on our side. 🥊

God Bless,
David

David B I hope Pete at least knows the beauty that is sampled VSTs.

Thanks to sampling, I can get access to a concert grand experience others could only dream of!!! I can put myself in a hall when I'm practicing. That's the cool thing about a VST plus digital setup.

I just drafted a super long post for this thread, but deleted it, since it got verbose.

In short: I read all the hype; thus bought it; am very satisfied with its dynamics and realism.

For jazzy stuff I'll probably still go to the VSL Bosendorfer 280VC.
For piercing through as an accompanist to modern music, I'll use Garritan CFX.
For "just give me a quick piano with quick load time" I'll stick with Pianoteq.

For solo classical type of playing, I'm currently very inclined towards the Modern D.

HeartKeys Happy for you! I would encourage you to explore the tone knob, or different presets like the bright punch or big pop grand. These are very good for modern pop music.

Have fun! You will find that Modern D is very versatile. And it's not that the software package is versatile, it certainly has a part to play. But to begin with, the New York D used for sampling is a versatiley voiced piano.

HeartKeys
that's quite a list you got there
I'm glad there's at least someone around who doesn't pretend we can do it all with just one piano
you always make me smile friend🤍
btw my list is way bigger then yours😂💪

David Lai tone knob, or different presets like the bright punch or big pop grand

Good point! I’ll keep that in mind, as today was just Day 2 🙂

pianow I'm glad there's at least someone around who doesn't pretend we can do it all with just one piano

Yep, true with VSTs as well as acoustics. There’s times I’m in love with a Yamaha CF6, then a Bluthner Model One, other times an upright Steingraeber, other times the two acoustics o have a home.

Of course, if I owned more pianos than now, I’d be both broke and dealing with clutter lol, oh and paradox of choice etc

HeartKeys
i wanted to ask you something since you're one of the very few people here who love the vsl 280 the way i do, how do you compare it to the modern d?

HeartKeys

Finally! A refreshing breeze of pragmatism.

🍃

HZ

pianow I'm glad there's at least someone around who doesn't pretend we can do it all with just one piano

Oh, but we can……do it all with one piano!

But once a person becomes addicted to getting the “newest” thing in town, all sorts of conjectures start to pop up in order to justify yet another purchase……”the VSL-D is good for Chopin, but not so much for Schoenberg, so I’ll get me Imperfect Samples’ bunch of recordings for that…”

And the proof is in the pudding: Sofia!

Yes, a name once beloved ‘round here, yet not so much anymore; after she proved a massive point: it’s all in your head!

For those in the dark, Sofia pretended to go ‘round Italy sampling all sorts of pianos, and many in this community not only bought it (figuratively), but also made similar claims to the above: “oh, Sofia, piano A is just perfect for Jazz, but piano B is my to-go for classical.” This is real, by the way; this actually happened here and at PW!

I bet you that if I came out with my own VST, “Pete’s Huge D,” there will be many who claim, “I don’t know, but there’s a transparency to Pete’s Huge D that’s just perfect for Bach, but for Liszt I’ll stick to the Modern D….”

Heck, I’m gonna get to sampling that D right now, and I’ll sell it to you addicts for $100, and make me some easy money!

P.S.

I will not respond to insults, so, if you want to engage me, do it respectfully and with decor, you know, like you did with Sofia!

If we have the possibility to choose different tools for different tasks, then that is just great! You want to fix everything with a Swiss army knife? Ok, go ahead, no one is stopping you. But for those of us who like to get the best tools for the tasks at hand, the one-digital solution-to cover everything is not all that enticing. As for myself, as long as I can't call an acoustic instrument mine, I will continue to enjoy swapping between virtual instruments, accordingly as my mood changes.

P.S.:

Pete14 And the proof is in the pudding: Sofia!

Yes, a name once beloved ‘round here

It really was not that broadly loved, and some of us could hear that all was not right with the sound of those VI's.

QuasiUnaFantasia If we have the possibility to choose different tools for different tasks, then that is just great! You want to fix everything with a Swiss army knife? Ok, go ahead, no one is stopping you.

I’m not so sure I’d call it “different tools for different tasks” when we’re talking about VSTs; because these VSTs are almost all based on (D) concert grands, and I maintain that there are more similarities than differences between these pianos……

Now, needing a hammer for nails, and a drill for screws, yes, that makes sense; because we can’t screw a nail, nor shan’t we hammer a screw (although some do it)……

If you have money to spare, by all means go and get the iPhone 16, but for those struggling to make ends meet, I assure you that the iPhone 8 is still a powerhouse, and, in a way, a Swiss army knife (if an old one)…..

Pete14 But once a person becomes addicted to getting the “newest” thing in town, all sorts of conjectures start to pop up in order to justify yet another purchase……”the VSL-D is good for Chopin, but not so much for Schoenberg, so I’ll get me Imperfect Samples’ bunch of recordings for that…”

I don't play sophisticated classical music on the piano - although it is a genre in my iTunes library that works its way into my life - and I don't feel one piano is better suited for the simple hymns I play while another piano is better suited for others. My justification for buying virtual pianos is simply birthed out of a natural curiosity and desire to tinker with sounds in my chosen hobby of piano. It adds to the enjoyment of my experience. I've had this same pattern in every hobby I've had.

Some virtual pianos I like and some I don't. I've sold some VSL and VI Labs licenses because I didn't find them inspiring to play. Maybe if I started playing piano as a child my desires would be different now as an adult and I wouldn't have felt the need to try so many digital pianos and virtual pianos. 🤷‍♂️

God Bless,
David

David B My justification for buying virtual pianos is simply birthed out of a natural curiosity and desire to tinker with sounds in my chosen hobby of piano….

This is a valid point, but the notion that piano A is better-suited for Jazz, and Piano B is better for classical, I don’t agree with……

To play devil’s advocate, imagine a classical pianist refusing to play a concert on a CFX because “that instrument is better-suited for Jazzers,” and having the production team running out in a haste to find an actual, physical D to haul up into the concert stage and move the already-there CFX out; now, that would be illogical, but you know what? knowing how full of themselves “classical” artists are, I wouldn’t doubt it if Yujas Wang has actually done this:

“I’m not playing Rach’s third on that thing (CFX); get me a huge D, or I quit right here and now; don’t you know who I am, I’m Yujas Wang, god damn it”! 😁