Pianoteq vs. Petrof

[28jadufer]

Los pianos acusticos, por muy buenos que sean los digitales, siempre serán preferibles , salvo por la cuestón de poder estudiar a cualquier hora. Despues, sin un piano acústico, nunca encuentas la obra y la sonoridad en su  totalidad con uno digital.

[horncomposer]

i bought pianoteq 3 about a year ago and really love it. there's no way i can have a real piano in my apartment.

lots of people seem to try comparing it to the real thing. sure, it's a physical modeling synthesizer, but you can do so much with it. for example, just change a setting and you're in a different temperament. you don't need to spend the hours and hours retuning a piano. for example.

but the biggest problem to pianoteq is the speakers....they never really give the right sound...

[Lemon77UG]

Hmmm, 10MB, 10GB, or 10 tons. Tough choice.

[luigiperso]

I was a rock guitarist (well, I still am sometimes, eh eh) and we have the same problem, i.e. getting the big ,warm sound of the distorted sound of a great tube amplifier.

They tried to recreate the same thing digitally with digital amplifiers, but as good as they sound, they can't match the sound obtained with a real tube amp.

Pianoteq is a very impressive product but it's just not realistic to expect it to to substitute real pianos. But for recording and practicing quietly it's a monster

[luigiperso]

very interesting , hughsung, I tried pianoteq and it's great, but I think I would kill for a real piano, even an upright

[pianogirl13669]

there is no comparison. How I wish I had a Petrof!!

[OSanBrazil]

Of course, acoustic pianos (the real ones) will always sound better than the digital ones. Imitation will never, ever be like the real thing. I see technology as something to add to traditional music and instruments, not a substitute! But it's very useful in terms of cost and ease. And it's also an alternative for amateurs like me who don't have enough money to buy a high quality acoustic piano. Have you experimented Pianoteq 3? It sounds much better now!

[rositadog]

acoustic is and will never be replaced

but who cant afford an acoustic-pianoteq is a good and only 20 mb alternative.

[mcvspam]

@rositadog It will be, believe me. Just like 35mm analog photography was. It's just a matter of processing power and work to do. But to be honest, I'm sad about this. :(

[MLAOTNMCC]

This should be a blind test. Now there's lots of people who claim they hear the difference when they probably don't.

Anyway, though PianoTeq may sound as good as a physical piano the work involved in speaker placements and mixing to make it sound like a "real" piano in an acoustic space would cost money and take lots of time. Same as if you're recording the recording technician for an acoustic piano will cost money and take lots of time. Ran out of space but acoustic+electronic sounds -> pnoteq

[tunglour]

The grand sounds much more "alive" to me, more real. Pianoteq sounds synthetic sometimes.

[Nebelvir123987]

@tunglour I agree and I must say, that even though pteq sounds good, the real grand is still better

[Wagerfilm]

I have a Fazioli grand and a Yamaha digital. This Petrof is being graciously recorded. I've played Petrofs - most of them are disasppointments. But at this early stage, so is Pianoteq. It is most useful for laying a soundtrack under a Youtube film. I have never been able to get the right equipment and a decent recording of any piano I've played other than a digital one. It's unfair, sad, but true. This will be the standard for popular recording. For musicians: we still want the real McCoy. pax

[dstorfer]

The way I see it is that #1 I cannot afford a grand piano. Thus #2, I would much rather play a Pianoteq grand than an upright piano. Besides, it's also very easy to record.

[slowstar19]

Unbelievable!!

Petrof sounds like s..t compared to Pianoteq!!!

How anybody can say that Petrof is better? it must be a joke!

Petrof sounds like harpsichord....

[elementc]

"Never" is quite a bit longer than a lot of people seem to think. I don't doubt for a minute that we'll eventually have a simulation good enough to be indistinguishable from the real thing.

You underestimate the advance of technology to a fault. (However, I still prefer a real grand as of now. :D)

[GoblinInventor]

one of the biggest problems is that the cost of mic-ing a grand is... well... at least close to the cost of buying pianoteq (or ivory or The Grand). That's assuming you have a grand to play with. I don't unfortunately, I have a rather unhelpful upright, but I can't afford to mic it, while I can afford a digital 88es with pianoteq. Sad, but unfortunately the way things work sometimes.

[Bramborail]

omg, she speaks czech . . . . :-D

[lonelagranger]

There is no comparison. The acoustic is considerly better. I have Pianoteq and for its purpose its fun. It is not, however, of the quality that can be compared to a good acoustic instrument. I like Pianoteq and use it often, but I would never confuse it with, forgive me, a real piano.

[thphaca]

I agree. Technology will never be able to replace an acoustic instrument. This isn't to say Pianoteq sounded bad- It's a great cheap alternative- but if I was to choose between acoustic and digital, based purely on sound, I'd go with the acoustic. At the same time though, the physical action is important as well. I don't want to have to spend a few grand for realistic action. Cheap digital pianos just don't have any feedback at all, while acoustic feels like an appendage.

[OMERTA011]

I'll have to disagree.. look at mr sax t and the trumpet.. they sound so amasingly real.. nevertheless, I don't like this "test".. much reverberation. you cant compare these two tings..

and yeah Petrof still sounds better

[JELmusic]

The only sad thing about digital piano replicas is that they will unavoidably sound 'the same'. On acoustic instruments you get a specific 'personality' which belongs to that specific instrument. Digital instruments are like being married to 10 women that look exactly the same; it becomes a bit spooky... and perhaps even dull in some way :)

However, for those of us without access to grand pianos, with personality, it can ofcourse enhance our sound very much to have a good digital instrument :)

[euphoniumxplayer]

I'm a piano player myself, and have never played on one of these electric pianos before we own a techniques electric piano, and I prefer playing on our Samic Grand. I don't think any electric piano could change my mind about like acoustic pianos better.

[dx9s]

Listened a few times, came the the conclusion that Pianoteq offers more acoustical control. The Petrof was harder to record on the open (room) mic due to it's indirect nature (sound from the board lid/floor). Contrast that to the Pianoteq which used directly focused sound (sitting on floor facing listeners / usually suspended 4+ feet, BTW). This offers more control over the sound which is hard for a real piano. Be interesting to tinker with speaker placement (facing floor and a lid).

--Doug

[n0rad]

I also like Pianoteq very much. It's a magic compared to the other VSTs...

But Hugh, I've got a question: Despite the fact that you are a Pianoteq-advertiser, what do you 'hate' in the Pianoteq as it is now? What do you think, what needs improving?

For example, I don't like the high and low-end notes, but I'm sure that will be improved later...

Thanks, David

[hughsung]

Hahaha - i've never been addressed as a "Pianoteq-advertiser" before! I'm just a musician who really appreciates the amazing potential of a good digital instrument. You pose a really good question - i'm not sure if "hate" is the word, but i do recognize that at first blush the Pianoteq still sounds "synthetic". If they could overcome the tonal qualities and have it match the expressive capabilities, they'd have a hands down winner. That and the fact we need a better speaker system!!

[n0rad]

Yeah yeah, I couldn't find any other word for that :P

I placed 2 medium sized, dark and mellow sounding Hi-fi speakers behind my keyboard, and now it nearly sounds and feels like an old Upright

[Agricultordechips]

The piano is extremelly expressive due to the large dynamic range, and i do think Modart has it he spot: recreating a piano sound instead of sampling everything in massives libraries.

[Agricultordechips]

From what i can hear the piano teq has an enourmous progression in terms of digital pianos. This said i can comment in one caracteristic: the medium-high frequqencies are over-enhanced and the reverb installed is also putting more dB in this region of harmonics.

[jerseyrayashley]

Despite some of the limitations of the audio recording, I can still hear more depth and expression from the acoustic instrument. For pop, rock, and jazz though, the digital instruments are just fine. For the Debussy I think there is no contest - the Petrof wins.

[hughsung]

I still think the Pianoteq gives an impressive demonstration with regard to its own range of expressivity, particularly with delicately nuanced compositions like the Debussy.  Some folks in the audience actually preferred the Pianoteq over the Petrof! Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but i would maintain that the Pianoteq technology demonstrates an amazing advance in the use of digital pianos as artistic tools.

[jerryaltman]

You need to hear the Grand piano of the music schoold where I study piano... barely worth for a barbecue, what about for a audition... If I found fine speakers and take Pianote there, it would certainly kick far away the Grand piano in quality. It's not bether than a real Bosendorfer or Steinway in fine shape and tuned. But for a for cases like that, specially this up coming version, used by Hugh Sun in this video, it's a great gift.

[jerryaltman]

The room reverberation was quite distracting. But his performed was very good. Nice comparison, depite reverberation problems.

[hughsung]

You're absolutely right about the reverb - unfortunately, i only had the audio input from my camcorder to work with. Normally, i try to set up a separate audio recording source, but having to travel overseas made me limit the equipment i could bring along. Next time i'll have to try to find a more portable microphone solution for videos. Thanks for the comment!

[jerryaltman]

I wish I could play half of what you play. :-)