I do prefer Pianoteq over LL or anything for the matter but I was able to do so only whan upgrading to the Pro version. Voicing the pickups per key was an eye opener for me to get the sound I wanted.

I'm sure you are right. That's some hardcore tweaking, and nothing wrong with that. That's if you want to simulate the piano tuner/service engineer aspect too. I might go for Pro one day but it's not really on my radar right now TBH.

I'm just a little wary that folks wanting great performance from the presets alone might get the impression from comments like this that that is what it takes to get good sound from Pianoteq!

Personally I'm perfectly satisfied with the substantial sound tuning opportunities in Standard. Heck, even Stage can be tuned a great deal with the EQ and FX options (the latter which is more relevant to electric pianos than standard pianos).
  No doubt many casual musicians (that are perhaps less computer savvy) find even those options a little overwhelming.

Not expecting it to sound completely authentic, but typically we EQ the heck out of EP sounds anyway.  So probably very similar results to the line out - and moving the close miked microphones (together) is another way to change the sound balance like EQ.

IMHO the factory presets for Pianoteq probably need improvement, particularly for the Reed (Wurly) model.

For my use the Pianoteq models are nonetheless at least as good as the very best modelled and sampled available. I've never owned the real things though. They just feel more like mechanical (almost Living) things.

However (as per another thread conversation)  the FX should be able to work in stereo from a mono line output - not a kludge with close microphones). I think they are probably working on that now.
Not such a biggie as most of us will use other FX in a DAW anyway, but it would be nice to have that in the standalone.

Fleer wrote:

If you're just starting out with Pianoteq, the EP/Hohner bundle is the best one in my book. Add a grand piano or two and you're set.

Note that if you don't need the traditional pianos much, all Pianoteq versions (Stage, Standard, Pro) can use the free instruments, which include the 1926 Pleyel model F grand and the 1922 Erard half grand and the harpsichords, and the older style piano models.

Thanks for reminding me. You're absolutely right.

If you're just starting out with Pianoteq, the EP/Hohner bundle is the best one in my book. Add a grand piano or two and you're set.

Note that if you don't need the traditional pianos much, all Pianoteq versions (Stage, Standard, Pro) can use the free instruments, which include the 1926 Pleyel model F grand and the 1922 Erard half grand and the harpsichords, and the older style piano models.

For less than the price of the EP pack, mac users can get MainStage, which includes modeled EP and clavs and much more (alchemy). So the pianoteq EP pack does not seem like a good deal. Maybe if you own pianoteq pro and need to get your tweak on...

I have MainStage and Logic but hardly ever use those EPs which are included in those application. For me Pianoteq EP sounds are clearly better and much more realistic.