Drew-r analyzing spectrograms of digital / midi / VI piano resonance sounds, do you use ( do they even exist / available for the DIY public?) specimen / benchmark spectrograms (or similar waveform snapshots) from actual APs/GPs that you compare, or is the digital sound arena its own separate beast for which such comparisons are not applicable or relevant?
They don't exist - you really have to own the library, and render a MIDI file of specific keys or key combinations into a wave file and then analyze. Rendering a midi file is basically the same as recording with microphones, it yields a wave file to inspect. We have to rely on community, and each other to compare each VST we own, which makes it difficult for one person to analyze without really owning many VST's unfortunately. Luckily VSL has a 30day evaluation period, and the Pianoteq demo can be used.
CyberGene Most probably a well-crafted generic LFO beating would be enough to sound like string resonance without being exactly the same.
That's exactly what I spent this weekend doing. It has promise, even if I didn't tune the beating to exactly the correct beating frequencies.
vagfilm @dore_m Since you have both the mics, the MH, and the expertise, it would be interesting to have a real world resonance test done and recorded in an acoustic. Are you up for that?
I've been noodling about this, and here's my strategy: I mocked up the garritan resonances by doing three things:
- I use a low velocity sample of the open string to simulate some of the harmonics of that string (I think these are the frequencies that make Garritan "muddy")
- When there are overlapping frequencies between the struck note and the open string, I use sampled sine waves to ala Pianoteq to reinforce those frequencies. I basically made a Kontakt group of sine waves and trigger them by Midi note number according to resonant frequencies. Note, getting the stereo image right is a chore because I have to phase change the L and R channels to match the microphone character. Also, getting the ADSR envelope right also is challenging, but I can get close enough to be encouraged.
- EQ filtering - for 1, the primary frequency seems to be too strong, so I EQ'd out the fundamental so the sound is more "ethereal". For 2, I used the LFO to simulate the beating effect.
I know this is a long answer, but in doing 1, 2, 3, I think I can simulate any piano's sympathetic resonance with some recordings used as example. I just need analyze the spectrum in the recordings and simulate the relative energy with 2, and adjust 1 according to how much of the open string adds to the sound.
I'm currently negotiating/planning to sample three instruments hopefully before the end of the year. But coordinating this activity has fallen through many times in the past, which is why I'm coordinating 3 at the same time. I'm trying to figure out what sympathetic resonance conditions I should record on THEIR pianos as one of them might come up pretty quickly (I have a few friends with Steinways that I saw at a party on Saturday).
I may get to OPP (other people's pianos) first. Recording my own piano would mean tuning it again. I'll be doing that, but its not my priority right now since I might have to tune OPP soon. Gearing up to sample someone else's piano means I have to do the mic setups on my own piano and pre calibrate before I go. It's more efficient to get the mic settings, cables and stands angles pre-setup so I can be more efficient in the target piano's home. 12 mics is no small number.
So the short answer is yes, I can do it on my own piano if OPP falls through.
(sorry to be so wordy and detailed - I'm using this post as a change log in case I have to put down the testing for whatever reason)
