Virtual piano comparison

CyberGene try these, I think a setting was off

midi21.flac

midi11.flac

A couple more with Logic's new piano and XLN Addictive Keys

xln.flac

logic.flac

Got to have the Modern D in this thread.

midi1.flac
midi2.flac

God Bless,
David

David B
the timbral quality, the weight, the attack, and the general tonal realism are unbeatable, the MD is a true bext gen virtual piano❤️

dikrek try these, I think a setting was off

Not bad. Where I can hear the Pianoteq character is in the note sustain where it becomes slightly zingy and metallic. Also there's this typical nasal quality that I wonder if it is due to EQ, or due to the Pianoteq engine, or even due to the original piano sound being nasal, since some Steinways are like that. But as I said, you did great at reducing PT artifacts it as much as possible 👍🏻

dikrek A couple more with Logic's new piano and XLN Addictive Keys

I like the Logic one more although the pedal noises are annoying. I have Logic and tested that new piano when it was released and I like its sound. However I remember it was buggy with some unexpected behavior, clicks, noises, cut-offs, etc. Hopefully they will fix it.

David B Got to have the Modern D in this thread

Wow, that's great! Have you posted your preset somewhere? It's really good, I may use it myself. Enjoyed it a lot. Going back to my very first post in the discussion, I think I still like my original Garritan CFX export (the second file) more but it's just a matter of taste for piano character rather than an issue with the corresponding software (I just seem to like CFX pianos more than Steinways but I love both of them).

CyberGene Wow, that's great! Have you posted your preset somewhere?

Here ya go.

David B

Hi David,

can you please explain about the different MIDI and Gain responses, what is the objective behind this.

_sem_ I can’t speak for David’s patch in particular, however on a general note, the left (velocity) curve would map the incoming MIDI velocity to a particular sample layer. If we imagine that they sampled 127 velocity layers, each of those layers will have a slightly different timbre and a different volume. So, when you map, e.g. incoming MIDI velocity 100 to trigger value 110 instead, you will hear both louder and brighter sample. Here comes the right curve which can apply a separate gain mapping. The default straight diagonal curve means it’s unaffected. However, you can apply a different gain (compared to the embedded one in the samples). In the above case, you can make it so that the incoming MIDI value of 100 will trigger layer 110 but then apply negative gain corresponding to 100, so there will only be a timbral shift and no volume change with the two curves for that value.

_sem_ can you please explain about the different MIDI and Gain responses, what is the objective behind this.

Gene's explanation is spot-on. I decreased the gain response slightly just to make the piano a bit more mellow and intimate sounding. A concert grand can get pretty overwhelming in volume fast.

God Bless,
David

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/montagem/index.html

I think this is the first 2022 Yamaha CFX model in software form.

Is the playability of hardware CFX in Montage or P525 better than Noire or Garritan CFX or VSL CFX?

pipAT Cool! The demo however sounds a little so-and-so to my ears. Hopefully we'll se new great sounds in Yamahas future pianos.

pipAT Is the playability of hardware CFX in Montage or P525 better than Noire or Garritan CFX or VSL CFX?

I think one thing that built in sounds do better than software instruments is some per key damper behavior (smooth release and damper position). However, I don't know if one get the same function when those sound engines are used with MIDI. Other than that I think the playability of VSL CFX s just as good as any built in sound. Unfortunately I have no experience with Garritan or Noir.

By the way, I saw from a video and found the CFX Concert Grand in Montage M 1.0 has 8 main layers +1 layer key off; CFX2 in v2.0 has 8 main layers. CFX2 sound is more direct like punch-in-face. The Bosie pack is around 400MB. Is the capability of chip the reason that limits the sizes of hardware sound packs. SSD is now much cheaper now.

pipAT

To put it bluntly: Piano hardware manufacturers live under the proverbial rock as to what is possible nowadays.

They sure could design and produce excellent, excellent instruments that would make our kind of players super happy.

Unfortunately, so far, they don't. The surface of what is "easily" attainable nowadays is hardly scratched.

Cheers,

HZ

Here are the MIDI files with the Pianoteq Kawai SK-EX, and some in-DAW processing. I used the player preset, removed the limiter, lowered the volume, increased the dynamic range, condition to 0.5.

pianoteq-kawai-midi-2.flac

pianoteq-kawai-midi-1.flac

And here's Pianoteq's Bosendorfer 280VC

pianoteq-280vc-midi-1.flac

pianoteq-280vc-midi-2.flac

dikrek @CyberGene curious if you hear the Pianoteq character with the Kawai as I have set it up

I think this is my first post here. I'm doing a lot of comparisons for myself and trying to get a sound that I'm happy with. Here is a recording I did yesterday of a Brahms Intermezzo (116 no. 6 in E):

Brahms 116-6 N1X external (Tascam)

Brahms 116-6 Modern D

Brahms 116-6 Garritan CFX

I shared the external recording as a reference. That was what I was hearing when I was playing. I have another piece with the same comparison that I might share soon if this one's useful.

(I couldn't figure out how to upload so I went with soundcloud links)

Pathbreaker you can’t upload files as a newbie, which is a protection against spammers. I made you a regular. You should be able to upload now. You can edit your post now and upload the files directly.

That makes sense, thank you @CyberGene ! They are a bit over 30mb so I will adjust them down and then share when I get a chance.