Topic by steve200

  • Avatar
  • steve200
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 20-12-2017
  • Posts: 59

Topic: Help! Pianoteq sounds synthetic

Folks,

I am on vacation with:

  • my new M-Audio Keystation 49.  (I ditched the Nektar GX49. The action was bad, in the end.)

  • my new i7 laptop (Lenovo).

  • Pianoteq 6.1.1 Stage

  • the built-in sound card (Windows Audio) at 48KHz

At home, I use:

  • Roland FP-7f controller

  • my old i5 laptop

  • Pianoteq 6.1.1

  • AudioBox USB 96

I don't have my AudioBox USB 96 with me (wish I had packed it!). 

On my home rig, everything sounds splendid.

BUT, here on vacation, pianoteq sounds bad.  Gone are the beautiful bell-like tones of the MKII, and the sweet resonances of the D4.  Instead, everything sounds "synthetic."

I don't think it can be the new m-audio MIDI controller.  The velocities all look fine, and the pianoteq GUI keyboard sounds the same as the m-audio.

Is it possible it is the soundcard to blame?

I even uninstalled 6.1.1 and re-installed 6.0.3, and exported a MIDI recording from both. The 6.1.1 sounded better than the 6.0.3, but, both recordings seemed to have the "synthetic" sound.

The Perf meter shows a score of 125.  Max Polyphony is set to 32, which is completely adequate for my level of playing.

I realize I can wait till i get home, and swap in the AudioBox, and do other experimenting.

But here I am, stuck on vacation without a beautiful Pianoteq.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

steve200

Last edited by steve200 (28-03-2018 02:54)

Reply by Ross

  • Avatar
  • Ross
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Russia
  • Registered: 28-06-2014
  • Posts: 186

Re: Help! Pianoteq sounds synthetic

Make sure that you freeze no parameters.

Combine velocity curves: http://output.jsbin.com/cukeme/9

Reply by steve200

  • Avatar
  • steve200
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 20-12-2017
  • Posts: 59

Re: Help! Pianoteq sounds synthetic

Ross wrote:

Make sure that you freeze no parameters.

Thanks.  The only param frozen is Velocity.  But I don't think it is a velocity problem, because single notes sound bad, as do notes played from Pianoteq UI.

steve200

Reply by skip

  • Avatar
  • skip
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Sydney, Australia
  • Registered: 21-12-2007
  • Posts: 1,059

Re: Help! Pianoteq sounds synthetic

IMHO, the raw audio fidelity from today's integrated audio outputs is very good when used as a line out, but if you're plugging headphones in to the laptop, that might be the problem - just a WAG though. If I were you I'd be trying to source a cheap headphone amp to try as a test, perhaps. If you're using different headphones to the ones you use at home, though, I'd look at that first - they all sound different.

Greg.

Last edited by skip (28-03-2018 04:15)

Reply by dklein

  • Avatar
  • dklein
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Florida
  • Registered: 29-11-2015
  • Posts: 1,600

Re: Help! Pianoteq sounds synthetic

I have a similar current issue.  Although at home I have the same Windows Surface Pro4 as I do on vacation now, at home I play through a Steinberg UR 22 mkII while here I am using the speaker output through ASIO4ALL (which worked reasonably well at home) - probably not this.  My keyboard for travel is a CME X-Key - I have played with the velocity curve a bit, but it's not as good as my real piano keyboard at home.  What the difference really seems to be for me now is that I am using my Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones - they're great for noisy airplanes, but not great for playing Pianoteq in quiet spaces.  I have been adjusting Pianoteq volume, computer volume, Pianoteq Dynamics, etc., but just can't make it sound different than if my ear was practically resting on the piano's strings!

- David