Modartt user forum - New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-12-29T13:20:35Z

Thanks for sharing performances of this enjoyable piece on these two instruments.

I vote Baldwin..

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-09T13:50:33Z

Well, even uprights and grands come in different flavors - I have a 54" upright. It sounds quite similar to a parlor grand, especially with the bottom panel removed. Similarly, I have played a Steinway S, which is a really small grand at 5' 1". It has the Steinway sound, but not close to the power of the L, the O, or even the M. At the same time, the really small upright variants, the spinets, have a slightly weird metallic sound that I have not enjoyed. The Pianoteq U4 does a pretty fair job of simulating both the spinets and the Tall uprights.

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-09T08:13:56Z

A fair comparison is probably one between two (2) uprights –like your Baldwin upright and the Pianoteq upright U4 Vintage preset. I hear them both (via Pianoteq standalone and my browser opened to this page). They are very similar to each other in the ways they produce their piano sounds.

The comparison of an upright to a grand, is like one of oranges to apples.

But, with two (2) uprights in a comparison, along with a Pianoteq U4 Vintage (modified) preset, I may vote differently!

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-09T00:12:37Z

Wow, an interesting split between the two. I agree with everything said; even an out-of-tune piano recorded with a phone feels more realistic than the best computer render; I even set the condition in Pianoteq to 0.25 so that it sounds a little out of tune, a little more complex and realistic, and I think it gets close but still isn't quite as interesting as the real piano in these conditions.

What's motivating me here is that I'm moving and considering taking both pianos into a tiny studio apartment; I'd be okay with just the digital, but... pianos are important to me, and I want to keep making a ton of videos, and I've had the Baldwin all my life.

Thanks for chiming in!

-Jordan

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-08T23:52:47Z

Nice peace!
I think the digital sound is to clean.
Even though the recording of the acoustic version could have been made with a better recording setup it still sounds more realistic to me. The resonances and "imperfections" makes it more alive.

And I love to see this Baldwin as a Pianoteq model.

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-08T10:11:37Z

I like the atmosphere / visuals of the acoustic piece, however it is quite clear that the dynamics are not that sharp and overall the sound is very "reverbed". Thus i voted for the digital sound. Best would be to combine the acoustic performance with sound of digital piano

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-07T19:16:01Z

You have made your point, one of night and day, the difference is dramatic!

Undeniably, Baldwins record American history. I’m looking forward to a day when a Baldwin can become one of the available models offered in Pianoteq by MODARTT.

Of course, I am also liking an acoustic sound —way more than I’m a digital!

Re: New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-07T14:38:37Z

For me it's looks like compare upright audio captured with low cost microphone (may be mono?) with sound grand piano captured with professional microphones

I like how real upright sounds in the first video but I unlike how this sound captured. So I preffered with Digital sound.

New Piece, Acoustic vs Digital - Which Do You Like Better?

2019-11-06T02:33:48Z

Hi,

I made two videos of my latest piece. The first is on my Baldwin acoustic piano; the second is on my digital keyboard using Pianoteq.

https://youtu.be/DlvCYbhnIR4

https://youtu.be/CKt0Ehru5_0

My preferred Pianoteq 6.5.0 settings are: Steinway D Chamber Recording BA, dynamics 42dB, condition 0.25 seed 1000.

If you like this piece, check out my other Pianoteq recordings at https://jsclassical.com