I think it has improved, since 6.0, a huge amount. It is getting very hard to tell the difference between PTQ and real AP's.

I always find myself, using my current computer setup, raising the first two hammer adjustments higher (Piano & Mezzo). For some reason my iMac/Sennheiser 650's sound a bit nasally and drab.  I am not using my interface (Focusrite) and it might be that. My headphones are plugged into the back of the iMac.

It's 22 months since you gave your impressions about the version 6.00 update. We are now on 6.5.3 and there have been some minor adjustments to the program and some of the pianos. Do you feel that there is now a greater improvement in sound over Version 5 ?
I'm new to the program after purchasing the Stage Version 6, but it alll sounds o.k. to me.
I do also have Ravenscroft 275 and I'm very happy with that. 

Chris

I suggest always starting with just 2 mics for one single sound source like a piano and only add further mics if I really know which effect I want to achieve with this. Otherwise the risk of audible phase cancellations is very high.

(By the way, are you leaving the Level and Delay settings turned on with these variations?)

Yes. But this doesn't matter.

I just tested Pianoteq v6 on the Quad ESL63 electrostatic loudspeakers, which for me are the best loudspeakers in the world, especially for acoustic music styles.

The whole audience instantly preferred the hard panned version of any preset I chose in a blind test, also the laypersons among them.

Can you give us some examples demonstrating your use of hard panning to remove what you hear as phasing problems? Maybe a before and after snapshot just recording a note or a chord? I do hear and like the variation created if I just take the Steinway D Jazz preset and hard pan as you suggest, leaving Mic 5 with equal volume in both channels, since that mic is near the center of the piano. But I'm not sure that I hear a change that is caused by a reduction in phasing problems.

Maybe I should ask what phasing problems you hear. I usually think of phasing problems as meaning that freqs are cancelled out. Are you hearing something else? (By the way, are you leaving the Level and Delay settings turned on with these variations?)

The best way everybody can check this out is with the comparison function in the upper right side of the user interface. For demo purpose select an acoustic piano preset in which 2 mics are used, e.g. Steinway D Prelude and press the A button. Then press the B button, hard pan the mics and you can switch between A and B.

I hear phase cancellations in the original preset, especially with chords. Besides synthetic, people describe the sound as thin and flat, especially in the lower registers.

Hard panning gives a more powerful sound with a clear stereo direction.

Amazing job! Finally knighted by Steinway - well deserved. Congratulations!

Round tone with clear treble - that's it!

I was complaining about the Noises a lot which in my opinion were not on par with the rest so far. Well, complaints heard - Noises improved:

* Nice fat keybed kick (contained in hammer noise) exciting the piano body properly
* Sustian pedal now "thumps" properly

Furthermore the W1 has moulted to a serious Wurlitzer simulation. Great!

Finally, to those who complain about Pianoteq acoustic pianos sounding synthetic: I think the presets suffer from phasing issues indeed and that makes most of the deal. To get rid of this HARD pan the mics and instead change their positions to your liking to achieve a wider resp. narrower stereo width.

Can you give us some examples demonstrating your use of hard panning to remove what you hear as phasing problems? Maybe a before and after snapshot just recording a note or a chord? I do hear and like the variation created if I just take the Steinway D Jazz preset and hard pan as you suggest, leaving Mic 5 with equal volume in both channels, since that mic is near the center of the piano. But I'm not sure that I hear a change that is caused by a reduction in phasing problems.

Maybe I should ask what phasing problems you hear. I usually think of phasing problems as meaning that freqs are cancelled out. Are you hearing something else? (By the way, are you leaving the Level and Delay settings turned on with these variations?)

Round tone with clear treble - that's it!

I was complaining about the Noises a lot which in my opinion were not on par with the rest so far. Well, complaints heard - Noises improved:

* Nice fat keybed kick (contained in hammer noise) exciting the piano body properly
* Sustian pedal now "thumps" properly

Furthermore the W1 has moulted to a serious Wurlitzer simulation. Great!

Finally, to those who complain about Pianoteq acoustic pianos sounding synthetic: I think the presets suffer from phasing issues indeed and that makes most of the deal. To get rid of this HARD pan the mics and instead change their positions to your liking to achieve a wider resp. narrower stereo width.

I would find it difficult to measure the difference in a percentage because it feels like a qualitative leap forward for the whole project to me.  I can understand it being considered subtle, but to me the subtle change is quite profound - I don't have words to explain it, really, but I was just playing it and I was like "Yep, there it is" - almost like they hit a sweet spot.

Big congratulations!

There's so much to appreciate with the new Pianoteq version 6!

Essentially I wish to echo all of the well deserved praise here from both established and new users.

This software remains at the very top of my 'best ever' list for good reason.

Pianoteq is a rare and exotic blend of exceptional work on every front - almost entirely unique to software in any market these days.

Again and sincerely, thank you Modartt, #6 is truly fantastic!

Changes I noticed:

Unclear mess of parts of sound that are not working together --> clearer, simpler sound, less clutter.
Metallic attack --> now more woody attack with more character
Metallic and messy --> got rid of metallic attack, replaced with "real", defined attack it didn't have before.
Dead sound --> has now more character for different pianos, sounds more interesting and pleasing.
Hollow sound --> slightly more meaty sound, maybe more bass, but also because of sound character improvements.

Though, those issues are not definitely gone. Most of them are still present but less noticeably, and I think it's improved in almost every one of them. But I wonder if they are able to get it any better. Depends on whether they realized some new things or just adjusted existing things to mask the issues. Especially the attack still sounds like Pianoteq.

One issue might be the mic placement in the presets. I'm amazed by Nathan's recordings, especially the improvisation, which doesn't have as much of the Pianoteq attack like most other Pianoteq recordings. I don't think a sampled piano would be up for a chaotic recording like that.

Now starting from the official presets again I get convincing pianos with a better attack (esp stein D, B and Grotrian) and better mid-high frequencies sustain.
Did anyone else notice the need to rebuild their presets in v6?