VI Labs: Modern U Review

It’s my favorite for practicing. Of course it sounds like an upright. So YMMV.

CyberGene That makes me want it so badly! 🤤Was it David Lai who praised it too? (I invited him but he’s not responding, might be busy)

Yes, David likes it quite a lot. BTW I hope he comes here soon!

Here is another song showcasing the wonderful Modern U. It's an older recording, but it reflects the punch and clarity of the Modern U samples.

God Bless,
David

I never get the Modern U that punchy. Any tips?

Tyr The settings are pretty much the same as in my review video. I sometimes experiment with different reverbs, but my mic selection stays the same. The velocity curve and gain curve I've adjusted more since the review video, but that's more to synchronize it with my N1X.

There is a built-in preset I use for the gain response touch curve that might make a difference if you try it. I'm not going to have access to my computer/Modern U for a few days, so I won't be able to see which preset it was, but I'll let you know when I can.

Try running through the gain touch curve presets and see if any of them make the kind of difference you're looking for. It's one of the presets that boosts bass and midrange a bit.

God Bless,
David

Hello,

A huge Modern U fan here as well -- as authenticity is my main criterium, for wanting an acoustic instrument to learn and study on but not being able to actually have one, Modern U has made me utterly happy. It was @David B who put me on its track.

Here are my favorite settings:

- Mic 1: KM184, 0dB

- Mic 2: PM40, 0dB

- Mic 3: MA200, 0dB (or a little less, to taste)

- Release volume 0dB

- Key noise +6dB

- Silent strike +6dB

- Sympathetic resonance 0dB

- Sympathetic polyphony 40

- Pedal resonance 0dB

- Pedal noise -3dB

- True pedal action On

- Repedal On

- Repetition strikes On

- Stereo width 0%

- Tone 0.0

- Timbre shift 0

- Pedal CCs As required

- Polyphony Def

- Half pedal On, min/max as required

- Soft/Sordino/Muted strikes as required

- Reverb Off (Alt: Wood Room dry 100 wet 10)

- EQ Off

- Midi response Bend -0.21

- Gain response Bend +0.21, Minimum gain 0.00

- Tuning preset Equal temperament with defaults only

- No UVI Workstation effects

- Set the volume in the UVI Multi\Mixer tab as required but no higher than -6dB to prevent clipping distortion.

Inspired by the microphone pairs used in sampling Modern U, I play Modern U through two instances in the UVI player. One goes through my 'upper' amplifier to two speakers L/R on stands at ear level; the other goes to my 'lower' amplifier to four speakers L+L/R+R below the piano. Together, all of this sort-of resembles the sound production of an upright piano.

The upper instance plays mainly the mics 1 and 2 (see above) resembling the strings/details of the sound; the lower instance plays the mic 3 (see above) resembling the soundboard/body of the sound and some pedal noises.

Boy, this is a joy to play.

Cheers and happy playing,

HZ

Hello,

Added to the above:

The volume dials on both amplifiers are at about 1/3 of their scale. In the UVI Multi\Mixer tab, I diversify both volumes to reach the same SPL at the player's ears. So in my case:

- The upper volume is at -12.50 dB

- The lower volume is at -6.00 dB

I measured and set these volumes separately (both at player's ear level) to reach 77--78 dB at level 127 velocities.

Boy, this is a joy to play.

Cheers and happy playing,

HZ

HZPiano Here are my favorite settings:

• Mic 1: KM184, 0dB

• Mic 2: PM40, 0dB

• Mic 3: MA200, 0dB (or a little less, to taste)

That's interesting you have both close mics KM184/PM40 in your settings. I'm going to give that a try when I get home. I've been away for a few weeks working, but I will be back home later today.

HZPiano Inspired by the microphone pairs used in sampling Modern U, I play Modern U through two instances in the UVI player.

That's also interesting how you separate the two instances between the different speakers. I'm going to try that also with the two close mics going through my monitors and the soundboard mics through my N1X internal speakers. I think I can make it work with my mixer setup.

Thanks for the detailed post on your settings. It's great to see you here. I'm looking forward to experimenting when I get home.

God Bless,
David

Hello,

David B Safe journey home, have fun!

Cheers,

HZ

HZPiano: at "PianoClack realm of wonderful greatness", posting pictures is a breeze… You can take a screenshot of your Modern U settings, and just paste it while writing. No upload of anything… Try it.

Hello,

vagfilm at "PianoClack realm of wonderful greatness", posting pictures is a breeze… You can take a screenshot of your Modern U settings, and just paste it

Ok, so following that cue 😄 (and please refer to my previous two messages in this thread, in particular where the numerical values of settings are not visible in the images):

'Part 1' refers to my upper amp and speakers (EQ is off, so not visible here):

'Part 2' refers to my lower amp and speakers (EQ is off, so not visible here):

And here is how they come together in the UVI player's \Multi\Mixer tab:

The \Multi\Settings tab routes both instances to the correct output channels. This depends on the audio device/audio interface you use. (In my case, a PreSonus Studio 68c):

Both instances use the same MIDI settings (I only use the 'bend' knobs):

And both instances use the default tuning/temperament settings:

Again, if needed please refer to my above two posts for background and explicit textual values.

If you can only use one stereo channel (e.g. one amplifier with one speaker pair, one pair of active monitors, or only the line-in of one 😆 digital piano), just merge/combine the 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' settings. Such a situation is reflected in my two posts above, where the settings in text can be found (which do not distinguish between an 'upper' and 'lower' part).

Cheers and happy experimenting,

HZ

I should have written "PianoClack realm of graphic easyness"...

vagfilm Yep, so here it is. Had been planning to share all of this on PW for months already, but was held back by things getting too cumbersome. Glad to have the chance now, hope some people can have nice results with this as well.

Cheers and happy fiddling,

HZ

There is something about the low resonance of the bass notes of uprights (perfectly captured by Modern U) that makes me prefer the grand VSTs... Since everyone praises VILabs newer releases, and Ravenscroft gets mixed reviews in tone, I will wait for a future grand from VILabs before jumping in...

If VILabs brings out a Steinway, NY or German, I will have to buy it. 🤓

Well... I just bought VSL d274, and have Garritan CFX, so I am rooting for anything else...

vagfilm Well... I just bought VSL d274

Start a thread and let us know how you like it. I think there is a short return window if you decide it's not for you. Then you can try and Bösendorfer Imperial. 😀

God Bless,
David

Hello,

A reply in another thread led to thoughts on Modern U that maybe should be here in this thread as well.

So here it is:

HZPiano a lovely full-bodied piano sound.

Cheers and the happiest playing,

HZ

I actually forgot about this upload, but it's also a good example of the Modern U sound. I'll play the song as written and then arranged. At the end of the arrangement I'll share a summery of how the cording technique developed throughout the the Duane Shinn course.

God Bless,
David

As a new owner, I’m wondering if we can share presets by posting files.

Is a “multi” file containing all the settings one makes, so that it can be opened by another user?

If so, I will install a forum extension for posting files (which can also be used for pictures that can be stored on the hosting server instead of Imgur).