Pianoteq 8 is here

Mta88 · 2022-11-17T02:46:08+00:00

Pianoteq 8 is here Discounted till the 28th I think Seems to be a big improvement, I haven’t gotten a chance to try it out as yet Phil’s best had a d...

Pete14

I have to say, they nailed “Phil!”

It/he looks exactly like the real thing; uncanny, this level of realism!

Is “Phil” included with the rest of the models?

P.S.

I wonder if a sampled “Phil” would be so realistic!

Del Vento

Pete14 You know, Mta88, I’m beginning to think that this “Phil” guy works for modartt!

Wait what did you say Pete 😮 ? Not praising PTQ anymore??

What's next? Telling us the advantages of the acoustic 😆?

Pete14

I still have some hope for Pianoteq, but ever since version 6 I’ve been noticing a lack of passion, and a fervent adherence to the bottom line (profits); whence they should’ve been concentrating on the lower end.

Surely, they have to make money, but if money is all they care about, and the passion & pride they once displayed dwindles, we will continue getting “upgrades” that are no more than the result of a few tweaks; akin to what Cook has been doing at Apple; incidentally, did Cook buy Modartt?

I still vouch for modelling, but perhaps we’ll need a competitor to really move things forward; because as of now, it seems like Cook might indeed be in charge at Modartt.

As for the acoustic, I still hate it (that hasn’t changed)😆

Khuja Wangtishvili

Pete14

And I just purchased new acoustic (1987 Petrof P115 III) 😆. The piano is ugly as hell by it's construction (looks good painted in some fancy color though), but it was cheap as hell (56 EUR ebay auction, 420 transportation from Germany to Poland, 320 prepration by highly skilled technician) 😃 Paint work - dark oak with open pores, will manage myself, as there are some cosmetic issues to correct, and we don't know with my wife what kind of finish we eventually will want…

Going back to the topic , besides Roland, there is also Viscount making modelled piano Physis, they are still manufacturing it, but either they cannot compete with Roland and Pianoteq in their sound, or just do not have money for better development and marketing. There were also few others trying to make modelled piano sounds, but those all companies or projects are I think not existing anymore.

Frédéric L

MacMacMac should be happy !

EB5AGV

OK, so I checked and updating from 7 to 8 was just 29€, so I did it… Then I have set on my Cubase 12 two instrument tracks, one with PT 7 and another one with PT 8. That way, using same presets on both, can switch really fast from one to the other. And, yes, there is a difference. And a noticeable one!

I have just tried some presets, will try more. But, IMO, it is well worth the update price.

And the future iOS version looks really promissing for my gigging setup. Great times ahead! 🤩

Jose

EB5AGV

Just for the sake of completeness, I have added to the comparison also PT 6 (the first version I bought) and, boy, what a difference with PT 8. Just as a sample, on the higher two octaves, the Steinway D in PT 6 sounds like a toy piano!

Jose

Pete14

Interesting how you mention an improvement in the higher two octaves, yet nothing on the lower two octaves; convenient, some?

Why are we ignoring the elephant in the room (the lower end)?

I simply ask the questions, that’s all!

EB5AGV

Pete14 well, I have just put an example. Lower end in PT 8 is far better also than on PT 6. PT 7 is closer, but IMO also better on PT 8. But it is curious how some models sound almost the same on the three versions… I need to play it more to find out which ones are really updated. For sure Steinways are!. And Petrofs. Not sure on Blüthner, though. Nor Steingraeber. But my ears are tired now, so will let them rest.

Del Vento

From David Lai on PW

I've been keeping PianoTeq on my list of "doubtful watchers" of VST programs for a while. I'm happy to say that version 8 has a huge improvement! The Ant. Petrof and the Steingraeber pianos sound like actual instruments to my ears now, at least through the default midi that you get with the trial version of PianoTeq. However, the rest still has that nasal feel to them that is unconvincing. To their credit, though, PianoTeq is probably the only company that does early keyboard instruments. Whether or not they do it like the actual instruments is another story. But still, good improvements. However, they'll not see business from me anytime soon...

@CyberGene and perhaps @MacMacMac just for curiosity you may want to check if these two have lost that nasalness for your ears too. I don't particularly like PTQ, but then I don't like almost anything else more….

Pete14 Why are we ignoring the elephant in the room (the lower end)?

Increasing the hammer hardness fixes that problem for me. However it does make the midrange too bright. Layering a modified piano with harder hammers in the bass with itself unmodified, with a cross-fading makes it right. I assume you can change hammer hardness note-by-note in Pro and don't have to run two instruments which is more CPU intense. Why we are forced to do this manually rather than having them do that automatically, at least for some presets? I don't know, and it seems absurd. My speculation is that we are all (*) used to hear shorter grand with more "brassy" bass, whereas the PTQ guru is a tuner who may is more accustomed to 9' grand with a "rounded" bass?

The other "too synthetic" objections I have still remain, but I have similar objection for any digital piano sound I tried (even if in different degrees and in different aspects): from the old Kawai CA750, to the Yamaha NU1, to the various VST which I tried or listened to.

(*): in this speculation, yes even you, Pete14 perhaps indirectly from other digital piano sounds coming from shorter instruments

navindra

Pete14 Not sure what you are talking about regarding the low end... I can even feel and hear the same copper coil effect that I do on my acoustic piano replicated on Pianoteq. It's quite remarkable.

Pete14

Please do……play them more….

I wouldn’t want for the placebo-effect of playing a ‘new’ version to color your impression.

Trust me, I’ve been there: Truly believing that the multi-vitamin I took in the morning made me stronger, and next thing you know, I’m trying to lift a car until I hear something snap: my back!

So please take your time assessing, and don’t let “Phil,” or the placebo-effect take hold of you; surely, I wouldn’t want you breaking your back like I did!

CyberGene

Del Vento @CyberGene and perhaps @MacMacMac just for curiosity you may want to check if these two have lost that nasalness for your ears too.

I'll certainly do since I have a lot of respect for David Lai. But I don't hold my breath anyway, I'm perfectly OK with the internal sound of the N1X for practicing and Garritan CFX for recordings and am not in any quest for improvement whatsoever.

Pete14

Whilst I feel that Pianoteq does capture some aspects, perhaps like the copper coil effect you mention, it is still lacking in ‘fullness’ (if that makes any sense).

I’ve gone beyond simply using the EQ, hammer hardness, etc; and even used the spectrum profile (raising the fundamental), and this does make a difference, but still, I feel, something’s amiss.

I also feel that as I get older I want to tweak less, and simply power-ON and play; so you see, it’s not just Pianoteq I’m retiring, but VSTs in general.

I genuinely feel that my on-board CFX gives me more than enough, and I have high hopes for upcoming sound engines from Yamaha. I have a feeling that they’re done playing games, and things are about to get even better for us oldies; fed up with dangling cables, perpetual tweaking, and the eternal search for the perfect velocity curve.

Fleer

ProductionVoices 300 Grand has that CFX beat. It’s just so much better.

Which Pianoteq 8 is too. Compared to 7, of course.

Pianissimo

Well we are here talking about improvements since 2010 with the release of Galaxy Vintage D. But Let's be realistic, there are no real improvements in both modelling and samples. The acoustic piano sounds quite different, more open, more percussive and cohesive than any digital. the only major improvement is in the alien tech used by Dreamtonics for Synthesizer V, vocal stuff, that's alien indeed.

David B

Mta88 Seems to be a big improvement,

I've been duped into updating every time in the hope of seeing an improvement and I've been disappointed every time. I'll pass on updates for now.

I wish Native Instruments would update the Noire to fix the pedaling issue. I really enjoy the tone it it.

God Bless,
David

Pete14

I want to reiterate, I don’t hate Pianoteq with a vengeance, like Mac & CG!😆

I’m just not loving the rate of progress, and the unfettered adulation despite.

I noticed how all posts at the Pianoteq forum are simply throwing praise at P8, yet not one criticism (except for trivial stuff, perhaps), and I wonder, would they get banned if they criticized P8?

Surely, sometimes we must criticize that which we love, or else complacency will set in and make things very awkward; so please, when she asks, “do I look fat in this dress?” tell her the truth, or else she won’t stop eating, and by the time you muster the courage to tell her the truth, “yes!” the damage will be irreversible: 400 pounds and counting! and I tell you from experience, things will then get very awkward.

Yes, P8, you do look fat in that dress!😅

David B

Pete14 I wonder, would they get banned if they criticized P8?

Probably not since they are under new management/ownership and the moderator who banned people is RIP.

God Bless,
David

QuasiUnaFantasia

I think Pete14 is talking about the Modartt forum, not PW. And I have to agree: the way people on that Pianoteq forum are praising Pianoteq is so far, and so consistently into ludicrous territory that it has become tedious by now, after having been quite entertaining (in a Comical Ali kind of way).

There has recently been a thread where someone complained that Pianoteq was aggravating his tinnitus. He might as well have gone into a mosque during friday prayer and announced a new brand of toilet paper named "Allah sucks big-time".

David B

QuasiUnaFantasia I think Pete14 is talking about the Modartt forum,

oops! Sorry for the confusion.

I complained about the Noire Pedaling issue on the Native Instruments forum and nobody seemed to care. Evidently Native Instruments doesn't elicit the level of zealotry that PT does.

God Bless,
David