Modartt user forum - Pianoteq Sound Issue...

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (njaremko) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:45:45 +0000

The CPU isn't a problem, as it's the fastest consumer available CPU on the market. Also, I've tried playing it at various volumes, through various DAC's, with/without multithreaded rendering, etc... But the problem persists.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (Pianophile) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:29:34 +0000

If the problem doesn't occur on midi playback, I'm pretty sure the problem does not lie with Pianoteq.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (skip) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:14:22 +0000

Pianophile: It''s not the same because Njaremko's problem only happens when they are playing - NOT when they listen to the rendered result! We need to capture the sound that Njaremko is hearing when they are actually playing.

Greg.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (sandalholme) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:07:17 +0000

AFAIK, Greg is right. PT does not automatically create an audio file, but creating one is no hassle and you get to store it in your choice of folder. I would guess that continuously creating wav files - and you would need to specify your default parameters for this - creates a cpu overhead for what would be for the most part temporary files. I think the PT trick of creating midi files as you go and your being able to select good (well, acceptable then) performances to audio is a good one.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (Pianophile) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:15:00 +0000

Why it is not the same? The MIDI recording is exactly what you played and the sound will be completely identical.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (skip) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:27:04 +0000

Lylo: Are you sure? I thought the record button in Pianoteq only recorded the MIDI. Once the MIDI has been recorded, yes, Pianoteq can then render that to audio, but that's not the same as doing a live audio recording. If there's a way to record the live audio please advise - thanks.

Greg.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (Lylo) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 16:42:39 +0000

You can record audio directly into Pianoteq.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (skip) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 23:41:44 +0000

You could run Pianoteq as a plugin inside a DAW, and record Pianoteq live, as you play it, and then upload the recording so we can all listen to it. If that recording sounds clean to others, it would then mean that the problem is almost certainly not with Pianoteq. If you haven''t done anything like this yet I'm too lazy just at the moment to walk you through it, but maybe Modarrt support or someone else here can.

Greg.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (r0entgen) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 21:46:53 +0000

cpcohen wrote:

FWIW --
Something that occurs when "playing" Pianoteq in "real time" (either from a keyboard, or from a MIDI file),
. . . but _doesn't_ occur when Pianoteq outputs a ".WAV" file, and that file is played back,
is probably due to some kind of CPU overload, or hesitation from O/S interrupts.
Even an i7 can be slowed down by interrupts.
Just as an experiment, _disable_ your WiFi and/ or Ethernet cards, run the CPU at full speed, reduce the polyphony count, start the CPU-utilization display, watch for "red lines",
. . . and see if the problem disappears.
There's a free latency checker that was recommended to me here, that works very well:
LatMon.exe by David Terhell ( "Latency Monitor" )
Run it on your system, and see what it says.
. Charles
PS -- edit -- It is counter-intuitive, but bass notes put a heavier load on the Pianoteq compute engine than high notes. There are more harmonics, in the audible frequency range, to deal with. That's what I believe, anyway.

Charles, thanks for your response. I've tried disabling WIFI and it doesn't do anything. CPU is at full speed and there are no red lines in the CPU utilization display when it distorts....

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (Beto-Music) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 17:54:33 +0000

Advice for digital piano headphones:

Get a professional quality headphone or get nothing.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (cpcohen) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 06:53:21 +0000

FWIW --

Something that occurs when "playing" Pianoteq in "real time" (either from a keyboard, or from a MIDI file),

. . . but _doesn't_ occur when Pianoteq outputs a ".WAV" file, and that file is played back,

is probably due to some kind of CPU overload, or hesitation from O/S interrupts.

Even an i7 can be slowed down by interrupts.

Just as an experiment, _disable_ your WiFi and/ or Ethernet cards, run the CPU at full speed, reduce the polyphony count, start the CPU-utilization display, watch for "red lines",

. . . and see if the problem disappears.

There's a free latency checker that was recommended to me here, that works very well:

LatMon.exe by David Terhell ( "Latency Monitor" )

Run it on your system, and see what it says.

. Charles

PS -- edit -- It is counter-intuitive, but bass notes put a heavier load on the Pianoteq compute engine than high notes. There are more harmonics, in the audible frequency range, to deal with. That's what I believe, anyway.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (r0entgen) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 01:39:32 +0000

njaremko wrote:

Hello everyone, quick question...
When I play fortissimo notes in the lower register (particularly the lowest octave) I get this vibration-ey distortion (similar to the drivers rattling) in my headphones that kind of ruins the experience. This noise is not present when I output high-quality wav files from pianoteq, only when I'm playing in the application.
I've tried changing my sample rate, audio buffer size, audio device type, etc... but nothing works.
Has anyone experienced/resolved this?

I have the exact same issue and have been in contact with Pianoteq support, but it has not been resolved still. Please let me know if you find a solution.

Re: Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (JerryKnight) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 16:37:22 +0000

Sounds an awful lot like this thread:

http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=3677

Pianoteq Sound Issue...

null@example.com (njaremko) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 19:46:40 +0000

Hello everyone, quick question...

When I play fortissimo notes in the lower register (particularly the lowest octave) I get this vibration-ey distortion (similar to the drivers rattling) in my headphones that kind of ruins the experience. This noise is not present when I output high-quality wav files from pianoteq, only when I'm playing in the application.

I've tried changing my sample rate, audio buffer size, audio device type, etc... but nothing works.

Has anyone experienced/resolved this?