Modern D vs Pianoteq vs The People

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”! 😁

AFAIK, the only regular member (who otherwise hates Pianoteq) and said he liked Sofia’s pianos (samples from Pianoteq) is Mac. I needed 5 seconds to hear it was Pianoteq, for instance 🙂

All others were newly registered users on the forum. Maybe puppets used by Sofia to make her point because very early on people discovered it was Pianoteq sampled. It was a failed experiment and the insistence with which Pete is misrepresenting the story tells me he might be behind the hoax? 😉

Okay, CG, I’ll give you this, Sofia was more prominent with the gullible crowd over at PW, and she did get a few people to buy (figuratively) what she was selling……

No, I’m not Sofia, but I wonder if Mac believes I am; because that would explain a lot!

P.S.

Sofia hinted that some people even asked to help her ‘round Italy; you know, to sample them pianos real good! 😆

Pete14 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……

I was fully committed to the Christian worldview by age 22, and since then I've only been inspired to play music - whether on guitar or piano - that speaks from the spiritual reservoir of my experiences. Therefore, I've not had to consider the notion of one piano being better suited for one genre and another piano for something else.

Since we are not dealing with size and geometry variants like with guitars, and we're dealing mostly with sound - provided the actions on concert grands are similar - then it seems like a subjective preference to me. Are you saying you disagree with an individual musician's preference?

Pete14 Sofia hinted that some people even asked to help her ‘round Italy; you know, to sample them pianos real good! 😆

This proves some men have a soft spot for young girls, maybe they liked her in the picture (AI generated, since it was some old man behind that hoax if I recall correctly).

If they were so stupid and thinking with their other head, they may have said they liked her pianos only to impress her. Which is another proof that this was maliciously cunning and manipulative experiment.

Pete14 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!

If you are like that scam Sofia by resampling Pianoteq, then you won’t be hearing impressions and reviews from me. “She” lost me as a customer when I heard the demos and realized what “she” was doing.

So come on, challenge me with an audio demo, and I’ll make my decision!

Pete14 Oh, but we can……do it all with one piano!

of course we can, when that "one" is an acoustic (especially grands), it has all the different colors for any kind of music. (abd that's why I'm saving money for the future, maybe i can buy a second hand yamaha c7 in 2026)

but vsts are different "recordings" (they're a slice of the piano, not all of it)
some of them are bright, some are thinn, some are warm and most of them don't have all the necessary features, so we need a few of them to do the job (especially for music production),
most guitarists have a few different guitars for different genres.

Pete14 And the proof is in the pudding: Sofia

that was over a year ago, and you still use it as a reference, you know pete? I'm starting to think that sofia is nothing but "yet another" one of your fake accounts here, idk...

Pete14 Yes, a name once beloved ‘round here, yet not so much anymore; after she proved a massive point: it’s all in your head!
i wasn't there you know (not interested in amateurs doing sampling at all - no offence btw), but i can hear pianoteq (modeling) robotic timbre from a mile away, even if it's subtle, that's why i never purchased ivory 3 even though it's a good instrument.

Pete14 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….”

another bitchy comment, but alright you can bet on anything you want, but if i was you...

Pete14 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!

first of all you probably don't even know how to set an amplifier gain level to avoid clipping so don't talk about sampling, thank you.
secondly... a sampled piano from a modeling cultist is probably the scam of the decade, so nobody would give a single dollar for it IMHO😀

Pete14 I will not respond to insults

how sad is that...

Pete14 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

To give you a realistic perspective, big concert halls have several concert grands of different companies, and international competitions have a day or two for competitors to choose their favorite pianos for their performances. Moving these pianos are not easy, but unlocked wheels and other things I cannot see would help the movers in the process. Even in universities there are different pianos to choose from. So what you say is completely within doable context and don’t involve another side of town.

There was once a pianist who broke a string on one of the higher registers of the piano at National Center for the Performing Arts in my country few years ago, and another piano rose from mechanisms from the bottom of the stage, or something like that. The piano change took only minutes.