Bringing Pianoteq into The Real World and Beyond with AIR STUDIOS REVERB Essentials

[@jakeperl5857]

Long-time Pianoteq user here. Every now and then I stray and buy the newest and greatest (Modern D, VSL Synchron, Claire, Keyscape, etc) and I don't know why I even bother because EVERY TIME I keep coming back to Pianoteq Lol! So alive and satisfying to play, and something joyful about it that I so far haven't found with any other plugin. ETA: BTW thank you for hipping me to Blackhole! I hadn't heard of it before but it's the sound I've been looking for for awhile now!

[@sawry1]

Me too, and Pianoteq is getting better than ever. Not only can you adjust the lid you can take the entire lid off for a more direct sound. I found that placing the piano in Piano Room 2, reducing the mix reverb to between 3-4 and lid off and you've got a great sounding piano.

[@magicmulder]

Opposite for me, I find some libraries like Claire, Chroma or Imperfect Samples Fazioli Grand more inspiring than the pianos from Pianoteq (admittedly my last version was 6 and I haven't tried 8).

[@sawry1]

@@magicmulder You should try version 8 because there was a great leap forward on 8.2 with the bass section becoming much more pronounced, and now it's even better on 8.4. The great thing about Pianoteq is it just keeps evolving and attracting names such as Kawai, I don't think I've even seen their flagship sampled but I might be wrong on that. I predict it won't be long until Yamaha allow them to do the CFX as the Bossendorfer Pianoteq have recently modeled are actually owned by Yamaha.

[@magicmulder]

@@sawry1 Thanks mate, I will.

[@Nico-rw2tl]

Pianoteq is becoming the monster that many of us have been waiting for...

[@halvardlundnorway]

Hehe. c") I can imagine Gandalf saying: "Thou Shalt Not Bypass" ;)

[@brentrandall6247]

Ya know, I've played piano for 34 years. Owned Pianoteq since version 1. And never once have I thought about changing the condition slider in order to add some realism and cohesion. It always just was a "instant honky tonk" slider in my mind, so I left it alone. That's brilliant. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@jenstornell]

What a brilliant idea Simeon! 🎉

[@PraiseTracks]

Thanks Jens! Hopefully more Joyful experiments ahead.

[@bobmason1361]

Great content as usual. Just the products I've been considering 👍

[@chasvox2]

Very nice, Mr. Amburgey, Very nice. I do a lot of minimalist noire-ish jazz flavored cues for a music library. I'm going to experiment with this. Thanks! Keep up the good work! I like your joie de vivre......

[@cirisirpula152]

Do you have favorites of Pianoteq, ie if you would buy Pianoteq stage, which two packs would you select?

[@PraiseTracks]

That is such a hard choice. Looking at it today, it would be between the new Kawai, Bösendorfer 280 VC or the Hamburg Steinway. Each has a different character about it.

[@cirisirpula152]

@PraiseTracks Thanks! Luckily there is free trial available! I will test these 3

[@Fernandohe111]

I intend to buy the stage next month, and I have the same doubt... 'C. Bechstein' I am going to get for sure, now the other one not sure, 'Bösendorfer', 'Blüthner', 'Steingraeber'...

[@revp01]

Great job. Always gain something when I view your vids. Have you ever done a tutorial on Pianoteq’s reverbs?

[@PraiseTracks]

So glad you enjoyed watching. Honestly this was a surprising exploration as we tend to take things like reverb for granted but it can make a real difference in the overall impression of the sound. We are just getting started. 😎

[@redalcatel27]

Great!!!! :)

[@halvardlundnorway]

Wow. Missed this Thursday session. Thanks for publishing! Is this AIR Studios Reverb Essentials more versatile for music production than a Lexicon Reverb plugin ?

[@PraiseTracks]

It would be a totally different approach as the AIR reverb attempts to provide a recreation of an acoustic space while most Lexicons are famous for their signature algorithmic sound. It depends on what you are wanting to do. Also AIR Essentials while giving you some control is limited in the parameters you can adjust as opposed to the PRO version but still amazingly useful.

[@halvardlundnorway]

@@PraiseTracks It would be for production of Gospel and Christian Music, but maybe also Musicals - and other contemporary music. Yes, I see the two types of reverb, convolution and algorithmic. Thank you!

[@DavidJohnAshman]

Sounds really good. I think both the Spitfire and Samplicity reverb's will do this piano some justice. Try the Saimplicity next Simeon and we can compare. Would be a good watch. Can you try an upright in both reverbs as well?

[@PraiseTracks]

Thanks David. I have reached out to Samplicity to see about checking out their reverbs. It might be good if you could reach out as well and let them know you would like to see them on the channel. Thanks for watching!

[@DavidJohnAshman]

@@PraiseTracks I have contacted them! Let's hope they get in touch with you. Sound on Sound gave the Berlin studio a good review recently. It would be a good watch!

[@DavidJohnAshman]

@@PraiseTracks Peter from Samplicity got back to me. He was very upbeat about you contacting him. He said you have a license and are going to showcase them! Wow...will be a great show. Looking forward to it!

[@PraiseTracks]

@DavidJohnAshman Yes! Peter contacted me and I have three of his verbs loaded and have already been having a lot of fun exploring. Stay tuned! 📺 Thanks for reaching out to them as well, much appreciated.

[@jotaltas]

Hi! I have a question for you. I want to buy a license for PianoTeq. I've never used it. I've tried the demo version. But now I'm not sure which one to buy; Stage, Standard or Pro. Do you think the most basic version is enough for studio work as a solo pianist? Thanks!!!

[@PraiseTracks]

Pianoteq STAGE gets you in the door and possibly enough for most playing purposes. It does not include the ability to change the parameters of the presets, except for the very basics, (velocity, reverb, eq). Standard on the other hand sort of feels like the sweet spot, as you get a lot more versatility and get to select up to 3 instrument packs. Standard also opens up more versatility with being able to edit more parameters, like the mic positions, layering/morphing, more reverb impulses, it just feels more complete without going overboard. PRO and STUDIO would be for those who wanted to get really deep into having the ability to program each individual note (which is crazy to think about) and be able to produce very high sample rates from the engine (up to 192khz). The beauty is that Pianoteq can be upgraded easily to the higher versions and unlocking additional instruments is also very convenient. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching and let me know if you had any additional questions. Joyfully yours.

[@jonasaras]

Wouldn’t using the “binaural” mode in Pianoteq be better? You eliminate the virtual mics.

[@PraiseTracks]

I hadn't thought about that as I wasn't sure how that might affect things as binaural restricts to listening through headphones. It also raises the question, what side of the piano are you actually listening to; the player position, side, or rear, that was why I was looking for a typical mix position. BUT, since you are taking that signal and running it through a stereo process, it might make that point moot. I will have to try it out and see what happens. Thanks for the feedback.