I'm also very fond of Modartt's own K2, an imaginary ideal piano rather than one modeled from an actual acoustic piano.

I just rediscovered that one tonight. I was seeing how Pianoteq 8 sounds compared to the Pianoteq 9 audio demos and it had me playing around with K2, which I realized is a very nice sounding piano that I should be reaching for more...

thanks, Ken, for the question
Its some years ago that I did that, but I had a quick look into my Cubase project, where everything is documented.
I had configured a triple piano-layer in PT7 out of three sounds:
- Steinway D New York Jazz slightly modified
- plus Steinway D NY B-Gentle (mod)
- plus Bluethner StudioRec AB.
With this "Triple-Jazz-Piano", as I called it, I recorded the main pianotrack and then I have added another track with just the Buethner going to the effects only, which was a "Live Wooden Church"-room in Cubase..

So it is a complicated setup, but it shows how detailed I can taylor the sound I want to have. Not to mention the in depth mods in mic positioning, hammer position, etc.
It is a huge playground and I love it.

I must say it is beautiful and the quality of the arrangement is superb .

thanks, Ken, for the question
Its some years ago that I did that, but I had a quick look into my Cubase project, where everything is documented.
I had configured a triple piano-layer in PT7 out of three sounds:
- Steinway D New York Jazz slightly modified
- plus Steinway D NY B-Gentle (mod)
- plus Bluethner StudioRec AB.
With this "Triple-Jazz-Piano", as I called it, I recorded the main pianotrack and then I have added another track with just the Buethner going to the effects only, which was a "Live Wooden Church"-room in Cubase..

So it is a complicated setup, but it shows how detailed I can taylor the sound I want to have. Not to mention the in depth mods in mic positioning, hammer position, etc.
It is a huge playground and I love it.

That explains the complexity of the timber of the piano. Very creative!

So it is a complicated setup, but it shows how detailed I can taylor the sound I want to have. Not to mention the in depth mods in mic positioning, hammer position, etc.
It is a huge playground and I love it.

hi everybody,
I can agree and I had a special experience:

I was doing a songwriter production in the studio with a very nice piano based song. I was convinced that I need the sound of a real grand for that track. So I took my mobile recoring equipment with Neumann and AKG mics and went to a church with a nice 2 m french grand piano in a mainly wooden room. I did a close and and a room miking and recorded several takes. But I was not really happy with the sound I got.

So I went to the next church, a big room with a 2 m Yamaha Grand in a room with mainly stone reflections. Again I did a careful mike setup and recorded some takes. Then I went home into my studio to check the results on my trusted big monitor speakers.
But none of the recordings did match my imagination for the sound I wanted to have.

Then I did create a piano sound with my Pianoteq, and recording/combining three different sounds on three tracks of my Cubase. Then I mixed these three piano tracks and I was able to get the sound I had searched for !
You can find this song-track here: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/...0c12434295

After this experience I was convinced that I had done the right thing, not to buy a grand for my studio. A real acoustic piano just gives you one sound with some slight modifications. But you never get the huge variety you can get with Pianoteq. (www.dhrecords.com)

Love the song and the sounds! What is the model used in the recording?

I was doing a songwriter production in the studio with a very nice piano based song. I was convinced that I need the sound of a real grand for that track. So I took my mobile recoring equipment with Neumann and AKG mics and went to a church with a nice 2 m french grand piano in a mainly wooden room. I did a close and a room miking and recorded several takes. But I was not really happy with the sound I got.

So I went to the next church, a big room with a 2 m Yamaha Grand in a room with mainly stone reflections. Again I did a careful mike setup and recorded some takes. Then I went home into my studio to check the results on my trusted big monitor speakers.
But none of the recordings did match my imagination for the sound I wanted to have.

Then I did create a piano sound with my Pianoteq, and recording/combining three different sounds on three tracks of my Cubase. Then I mixed these three piano tracks and I was able to get the sound I had searched for !
You can find this song-track here: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/...0c12434295

After this experience I was convinced that I had done the right thing, not to buy a grand for my studio. A real acoustic piano just gives you one sound with some slight modifications. But you never get the huge variety you can get with Pianoteq. (www.dhrecords.com)

Stephen_Doonan wrote:

amitev wrote:

I am playing pianoteq for 2 years and something already and I'm not changing it for anything...
I even play exclusively with the K2 - a really nice and pleasent sound.

I'm also very fond of Modartt's own K2, an imaginary ideal piano rather than one modeled from an actual acoustic piano.

Thank you all for making me aware. I was not taking the K2 in acount, because it is not modelled from one of the big names. How wrong I was. Bought it today.

Give the K2 Improv preset a try. My instant favorite.

Even real acoustic pianos often are loved by some and hated by others so even the real thing is not a guarantee that it'll be loved, accepted, or approved of.

My own preference is a PHA-50 action (Roland RD-2000) at the moment. It's what works well for me and is the most familiar to me. I'm sure I'd get used to most any decent action over time.

amitev wrote:

I am playing pianoteq for 2 years and something already and I'm not changing it for anything...
I even play exclusively with the K2 - a really nice and pleasent sound.

I'm also very fond of Modartt's own K2, an imaginary ideal piano rather than one modeled from an actual acoustic piano.

Thank you all for making me aware. I was not taking the K2 in acount, because it is not modelled from one of the big names. How wrong I was. Bought it today.

I am playing pianoteq for 2 years and something already and I'm not changing it for anything...
I even play exclusively with the K2 - a really nice and pleasent sound.

I'm also very fond of Modartt's own K2, an imaginary ideal piano rather than one modeled from an actual acoustic piano.

While on vacation in Germany, I had the opportunity to visit the famous Thomann store. The sheer number of instruments of all kinds is impressive. I spent some time in the pianos and keyboard section, and here are a few impressions from an amateur.
I tried out a good dozen grand pianos (Kawai, Yamaha, Steinway, Seiler, and Thomann). I don’t have the expertise to judge their respective quality, but the feel is amazing. The first impression is the loud volume, which is a bit overwhelming at first, but a soundproof room with about ten pianos allowed me to play freely. I love the sound diffusion of grand.

I’ve tried few upright pianos (I have one at home); Steinway, Bechstein and others but I don’t like that feeling of being confined with my back to the room, my nose pressed against the cabinet, and the sound too close. Playing on a grand is much more enjoyable.

I also tried a few digital pianos, including the new Kawai NV12, but I didn’t dare turn the volume up too high to test the soundboard. I mainly tried them with headphones (all the pianos were equipped with Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 32-ohm headphones).

After two wonderful hours, however, I concluded that my personal Pianoteq setup with a standard PHA-4 keyboard mounted in a wooden cabinet Is very good...
Now I'm certain of it: Pianoteq is the best investment I've made in a long time

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

I also had the chance to visit Thomann in Germany. It's a great place.

I am playing pianoteq for 2 years and something already and I'm not changing it for anything...
I even play exclusively with the K2 - a really nice and pleasent sound.

I’ve tried few upright pianos (I have one at home); Steinway, Bechstein and others but I don’t like that feeling of being confined with my back to the room, my nose pressed against the cabinet, and the sound too close. Playing on a grand is much more enjoyable.

I also tried a few digital pianos, including the new Kawai NV12, but I didn’t dare turn the volume up too high to test the soundboard. I mainly tried them with headphones (all the pianos were equipped with Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 32-ohm headphones).

After two wonderful hours, however, I concluded that my personal Pianoteq setup with a standard PHA-4 keyboard mounted in a wooden cabinet Is very good...
Now I'm certain of it: Pianoteq is the best investment I've made in a long time

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)