I think the metal sounds, like from the piano's harp, are way more natural now in pianoteq than was years ago.
Some people may still notice some little hint of what you say, but most people today find pianoteq very good, much better than earlier versions.

PaptainClanet wrote:

I think what the problem for me really is, is how "smacky" and nasally the hammer attacks sound at mid/high velocities (some pianos are worse than others, looking at you, K2 upper midrage). This is what the OP is probably referring to by "more wood", reducing the artificial/metallic smacking sound of the hammers. You can tweak this out, to an extent, but I feel that in doing so, you lose some detail in the effort to mellow out the nasal tone.

Yes absolutely. After giving it some more time, and just enjoying the playing without using such a critical technical ear, it really does just sound amazing, regardless of any little quirks. Recordings of real pianos sometimes have a smacky or tinny or inconsistent sound, so it's not outside the realm of reality either way, and pianoteq is very adjustable. Really any complaint I have is overshadowed by enjoyment and appreciation for the product!

We need such balance, between people who loves pianoteq a lot and people who still have some inquires about the sound.
That's what keep motivating Modartt to always get better and better. Too much praise to pianoteq would make Modartt feel too confortable, while too much critics would damage their self esteem.

I like to put things this way: Pianoteq it's vey good, lovely and versatile, and will be even better a year later.

I've never seen any evidence that they're getting complacent!
I only came in in towards the end of version 5 though so I guess I haven't seen the most dramatic progress so far. Inevitably the law of diminishing returns sets in when you get to the quality they had already achieved in version 5.
Even at that point many of the presets were good enough to blend seamlessly into commercial tracks with no one knowing that it was a virtual instrument. The fact that they have improved the resolution yet further, and made the sound more exciting without becoming more tiring is proof of there are commitment to constantly improving their superb technology. As a solo instrument it now sounds superb, and I look forward to the improvements (and new instruments) through this generation and beyond.
I guess part of the improvements they can make per generation are also based on the capabilities of the lowest common denominator of a generation of CPUs. Improvements going hand-in-hand with Moore's law, as well as eyeing up what the competition is doing.
If the product development stagnated then sales would also fall off a cliff.

I like to put things this way: Pianoteq it's vey good, lovely and versatile, and will be even better a year later.

--

Not sure if Amen Ptah Ra see or suggested Philippe as a Wizard of Oz of piano music. I always imagine most people see hin as Aladdin's genius, as they are always making countless wishes:

Listen to this:

I was just going to say, now here this, but that’s really corny.

Attack Envelope More Pronounced w/Highs Less Pronounced

The above results in lower piano keys having emphasized attacks and higher keys
having deemphasized attacks.

PaptainClanet, if you can just replicate some of the example (above), but raise right most yellow key bars even much higher than what I've shown, you may get an idea of the Attack Envelope uses.

PaptainClanet wrote:

I completely agree with the OP. As amazing as PTQ is, there is definitely some fullness/body missing in some way to most of the pianos.

Man, haven't you a problem!

I was unable to discern any difference at all between the right-side envelope slider all the way up, or all the way down.

Right there, oy vey, is where the root of your trouble may lie...

Be sure to have a software default velocity —a straight diagonal— selected, though excepting NOTE-OFF.  Change that to also a diagonal.

Try now with both the K2 Prelude and Blues Demo loaded to raise Attack Envelope to its maximum height, gradually as the MIDI file plays and as you listen.

Next, move the Direct sound duration parameter slider until you reach the figure 0.50.

Now you may copy the preset to the adjacent preset slot, return the original back to a default preset state, and while listening again do an A/B or several in somewhat a quick succession.

If afterward you distinguish no difference, always an otolaryngologist (ear doctor) will want to help.  (Smile.)

Any agreeing or disagreeing with anybody else is optional...

While I have tinnitus, I feel like I still have a very good ear for detail and nuance, and following your instructions with an A/B comparison, I heard no discernible difference. Either I'm doing something wrong, the sliders in my installation don;t work, or you're hearing something that isn't there! I really want to hear a difference, or what you're hearing.  If you feel like it, maybe make an A/B recording and notate when you make the switches back and for so it becomes obvious what I should be hearing, and use a clip with either constant velocity repeating notes, or something where I'm not fighting the nuances of the volume and melody to hear technical sound differences.

I completely agree with the OP. As amazing as PTQ is, there is definitely some fullness/body missing in some way to most of the pianos.

Man, haven't you a problem!

Right there, oy vey, is where the root of your trouble may lie...

Be sure to have a software default velocity —a straight diagonal— selected, though excepting NOTE-OFF.  Change that to also a diagonal.

Try now with both the K2 Prelude and Blues Demo loaded to raise Attack Envelope to its maximum height, gradually as the MIDI file plays and as you listen.

Next, move the Direct sound duration parameter slider until you reach the figure 0.50.

Now you may copy the preset to the adjacent preset slot, return the original back to a default preset state, and while listening again do an A/B or several in somewhat a quick succession.

If afterward you distinguish no difference, always an otolaryngologist (ear doctor) will want to help.  (Smile.)

Any agreeing or disagreeing with anybody else is optional...

I was unable to discern any difference at all between the right-side envelope slider all the way up, or all the way down.

Whilst I am absolutely loving Pianoteq 7 and getting lost in even just 3 notes being played together which I find absolutely astounding and cannot find this level of complexity in any other sampled library anywhere. I still feel that Pianoteq misses that touch of organic material that sampled pianos do have.
Now, I love Pianoteq and although I have had a love, hate relationship with it over the years even up until now where I was close to selling it but realised how much of a regret that would come to be in the future, as to be honest with you if I had to choose I would only take Pianoteq as my sole piano software because of its ability to create such complexity even through playing just one note. I just feel Pianoteq needs some more wood added in there somehow to really bring out the character of each instrument. I find it still lacks that unique character that each individual piano has because of the organic aspect of it. I also feel that if they were able to implent more of a wood type of character to their models it would eliminate some of the harshness to some of the frequencies especially up in the higher registers and take away some of the sponge like attack in the mid register.

This is just my opinion and I wonder how Modartt would go about achieving such a feat seeing as none of there piano models are sampled and purely modelled?

It would be very interesting to me to see how they achieve this.

I believe that by setting the "Hammer Noise" to position 3.00 (standard / pro version) and configuring the "Hammer Hardness / piano" a little bit, you will achieve the desired sound.