Pianos you want Modartt to model? (Page 6 of 10)

How about the Frederick Collection of historic pianos?

www.frederickcollection.org

I've had a chance to play every piano at this piano museum. It's not a museum in the sense of the pianos being locked behind plexiglass panels and ropes, but a museum and study center where we can play and explore the sounds of the instruments. The premise behind their recitals and music programs is the music performed or played must be played on a period instrument around which the composer may have played at the time of publication or composing of the music. So playing Beethoven on the 1805-1810 Katholnig grand is perfect, and Clementi on his piano from 1805 is within the realm.

When I got Pianoteq, I set out to match my presets as close as I could to their pianos so the 1829 Bösendorfer sounds as close as I can get it to the one in the collection. The D. Schoffstoss also sounds close to their Katholnig, and the Conrad Graf is as close as well.

Now if we had the actual pianos here, that would be really awesome. Imagine playing Brahms on the 1871 Streicher, which is very close to his instrument and only a few serial numbers difference.

Definitely like a candy store! I had the opportunity a few times to "piano sit" for the Fredericks while they traveled on museum open days. I sampled all the pianos from 9:00 am until around 7:30 pm. By the time I got done, my arms were ready to fall off! This was much like a box of chocolates like those fancy truffles you get from Lindt. Each piano has an individual personality, and color, ranging from the brightness of the English Broadwood and Clementi pianos to the minty clarity of the Streichers and sweet dark chocolate of the Bösendorfers with their darker sound.

The most interesting thing is comparing the 1829 Bösendorfer, signed by Ignaz himself, to the Joseph Brodmann from a bit earlier since Bösendorfer studied under Brodmann. You can hear the similarities. between the two yet differences as well.

Yes, some companies were switching to duplex stringing. This is something I discussed with Mr. Frederick the last time I was there in 2019. He said, in the case of Erard, and they have a lot of Erard pianos, they made both kinds depending upon the owner's wish. This was also possible too with the Viennese piano companies as well until WWII.

It's important to note that the 1877 Blüthner is missing the extra strings in the upper end (I can't remember what they're called). This abuse was caused by some previous owner who had those removed. The 1907 Blüthner has the strings in place and you can hear them in action when playing some of the works by Debussy. Speaking of this piano, its dynamic range is huge. You can go from a whisper to a booming sound without pushing too hard.

Yeah, we have restrictions now as well with the COVID-19. It's pretty bad now and we're sitting tight. Being retired, I spend a lot of time enjoying my pianos both digital and real as well as my Italian virginal which I am restoring right now. (It's not an antique, but it needs a lot of TLC).

Some day if traveling is allowed, we can travel the 100 km (63 miles roughly) to the collection. The action is quite different than what the digitals can offer of course because even though the sound changes, the touch doesn't. The only adjustment I found that helps is the hardness which I have set way down on my Roland LX-17. Other than that, it still feels digital to me, but there's nothing I can do about it.

What's interesting is trying the Erard action with the double-escapement and comparing that to the Viennese action. On the pianos without the double-escapement, you cannot play as fast as you can on a modern piano. The action is lighter and the keys are a bit narrower, but you have to lift your finger right up like on an upright in order for the hammer to return. This limits the speed even on a regulated piano, but you get used to it and playing on these pianos is an absolute joy. When I got home after the first trip out there, I hated my modern Vogel 177 T grand! I had just got the piano and I then hated it because it sounded boring, brassy, and too loud!

With some adjusting of the D. Schoffstoss, I was able to come close to the Frederick's Casper Katholnig in sound which dates back to 1805-1810. It takes some fiddling around and a lot of concentration to get the adjustment where you want them and I did it from memory because the collection was closed for a bit due to the virus. Anyway, we're opening up and I plan on returning and getting some recordings and videos for my research.

Should the Modartt team model this piano?
On the plus side, there would probably be few licensing or authorization issues.

https://youtu.be/TgUXP63yWkc

Europeans and now Americans appear willing to grant the necessary licenses, while others can just demand first a huge world trade negotiation.  (Seems sad but true.)

Yes, but that is just two pianos together. It has to be piano and Organteq sound pedal, Pianoteq + Organteq sound in bass. You could play Bach with Ptq and accompany with organteq pedals sound And play Mozart combined with some rock bass rhyhm with Organteq pedals. I’d quite like to hear that!

Thanks again Beto!  ”Interesting, classic music and drums can get along”.
Well, many people have tried that and very successful. James Last made a serie vinyl named ”Classics up to date”. Eine kleine nachtmusic, Mozart, was my favorite. Bought many of them late 70s. Drums and all that.
”I'm just not sure if a pedalboard and a "drumsteq" would manage to get all these drumms effects fastly combined, since a person have only two feets”.
Hmm, I have to use a DAW and several tracks and takes…

Well Beto, here we go, back to Pianoteq, now you got me to compose classical music and to use the drum kit. Let’s see if I can come up with some great innovation

BACH: "Little Prelude" in E major (BWV 937) from Six Little Preludes (BWV 933-938). + drums.

https://forum.modartt.com/uploads.php?f...937%20.mp3

It’s such a wonderful prelude (learning this now). I think it is not so little because, to me, it’s not easy, it’s challenging. Like my Bach-playing with Organteq (I think over 100 recordings now) Bach's music is always difficult.
Anyway, we don’t have a Pianoteq with Organteq pedalboard yet, so I tried with some ”drums” to classical music. And, It didn't turn out so well, as I had expected? Or did it……

Maybe this will be seen as a little too similar to the Yamaha CP80 which Modartt offer for free, but how about the Kawai EP308 to add to the electric piano collection?
Or perhaps go to town with an electric grand collection with options for tacked version of this and the CP80? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6iQ_VExSm4

Oddly enough that was one of the things I was going to suggest, along with the top of the line Kawai fully acoustic model; Shigeru SK-EX or whatever it is called now.
Then again that is probably one they would now have to pay a licence to recreate as an official model, but Kawai may prefer to stick to Japanese developers for any physical modelled versions, including doing it in house?
However Modartt could create an electric grand piano collection if they went down the treated/tacked options route amongst the collection of preset sounds.
Alternatively the electric grands could be added to the electrics collection along with the Rhodes and Wurli models, to reinvigorate that package, which could also have treated/tacked options . Such a collection would not need to have an inevitably expensive license attached to it.

The CP80 could remain free in its current guise.

Not a piano, but I reiterate my previously stated suggestion that somewhere somehow they include another, more authentic unfretted clavichord (with at least 61 notes). The only clavichord available is a very anhistorical model.

Well, it’s always nice when Modartt make a new instrument, but in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the Clavichord (Neupert 415). And I want to tell why I like it…..

When recording this little prelude BWV 935 J. S. Bach, I was thinking of Sebastian's eldest brother, Johann Christoph, who had to take care of the then 10-year-old Sebastian alone after the brothers' both parents tragically passed away. The brother owned a beautiful booklet in which he collected several compositions by the masters of the time. The compositions in this booklet Sebastian was very anxious to get to know, something that his brother considered him too immature for as the compositions in the booklet were far too modern!  At night, the brother locked his notebook in a locker where he kept all his other notes. Sebastian, however, knew his advice and managed to smuggle out the notes through the lattice cabinet's lattice door, which he then wrote off during moonlit nights (took maybe six months?). And when he was ready and playing his brothers clavichord, the brother probably took the notes back from Sebastian….( I can imagine Sebastian, 10 years old, sitting at the clavichord and his tears falling on the keyboards keys).
Well, maybe Sebastian was playing this piece on the brothers Clavichord   
This I was thinking/imagine before, and when playing/recording, the piece with the nice old Neupert, same kind of instrument as Sebastian played…?   Thanks to Modartt, I could have this wonderful feeling, thinking, imagination……playing an old instrument like the 10 year old Sebastian played!!       WoW!

https://forum.modartt.com/uploads.php?f...eupert.mp3

I hesitate to venture an opinion, since I haven't tried the Neupert for a long time, but the original on which the Pianoteq instrument is modelled is dated as 1941.  It is doubtful that it is an historically informed copy of an original, as we now understand the term. In 1941 the practice of studying original instruments had not started and - as with Landowska's harpsichords - bore little resemblance to how the original instruments which have survived sounded. (Which of course we cannot absolutely believe is just like the instrument sounded 200+ years ago anyway)  However, I am open to persuasion that the 1941 Neupert is an exception to the general rule.

I was wondering the same thing. The NY D is a very welcome addition, I'm sure a NY B would be excellent too.

I don't think it's a good time for a trip to New York city...maybe later.

It's my understanding that some individuals import the American versions into Europe just as Americans import the European version into America. That said any travel would not be a good idea at the moment, even within Europe.
So Modartt are probably putting brand new models on the back burner I imagine. Unless they can make some more new models from specifications and physical measurements and comparison with extensively sampled examples like they did with the Bechstein digital piano?