"Bad" note on Grotrian Cabaret

Hi Romariozen, good question.

Pianoteq Pro version will allow adjusting exact overtones on a per-note level.

It is still possible though to make alterations to effect things in other versions shown below.

Should first say, everyone will have some things they like or dislike per piano (and real life pianos in any space) but, there are many ways to tackle various things we may like to alter in Pianoteq.

I love that preset too. I don't hear clack you mention.. but there is a high overtone, I'll show how I remove that.. hopefully you might be able to use a similar EQ3 edit to address anything specific you'd like to alter.

To me I like that character built into that preset.. it shouldn't be overlooked that it's an imaginary cabaret piano on a nice stage in a small venue - and is designed to have "character" or some character flaws (likely such a piano may only see a technician every once in a while). If you find a note or overtone out of your own comfort zone, luckily it can be altered - and we can add our own character properties to our presets too..

But.. I'd choose that preset if I'm not looking for a perfect studio sound type - unless it's charm is what you're after in the more pristine ones. So some work may always be required when getting this fussy..

But, valid to choose it and fix a few things.. just great to see your kind of thinking!

Hope you get value to re-use this for future editing - and don't forget to save your edited preset, give it a name you remember and fill your PC with these

In Stage or Standard, first click the "A" icon.. load the original Cabaret preset. Then click the "B" icon, also load that same origninal preset. (this is so you can easily and quickly A/B compare your alterations to a clean reference version).

I like to begin with B as the unchanged and edit the A preset.. but what ever works for you..

Try opening up the Effects section, right-clicking the middle dot of the first EQ3 in there, and replace the text settings you see with:

Freq: 2700
Gain: -15.0
Q   : 20.00

If I'm right about which overtone you meant, you may now hear it radically reduced (it won't be ringing after the note as prominently).

If you meant another sound, the same follows really - this may help you find it and attenuate.

Couple of things might come to mind if this is new workflow for you..

a)
Well, it's too much change..

// Answer: lower and different numbers.. even if you can't remove all, reducing a very small amount instead may be all you need to take the element away from your forward focus - and this is essentially what all reductive EQ work is about.

See visually what happens on the EQ3 pane! (important IMO to intuit), when you change numbers like Q from 15 to 50 etc.. experiment - it is intuitive and not new in concept - I guess I'm saying, it's not some wacky dumb thing which is not relevant in audio.. it's a bedrock audio tool.

b)
So, how do I find the frequency?

// Answer: with those numbers (20 or greater Q is good), drag that middle dot high and drag it slowly from top left to top right.. it may sound like some old short-wave radio whistling.. but you will soon find with your ears corresponding unwanted overtone(s). Simply now lower that dot to the bottom.. and it should remove the highlighted frequency. You can be general, or very accurate - experiment with different numbers, make that "notch" narrower, or wider.. you may also enjoy using 2 EQ3 notches 'adversarially' to enhance some aesthetic quality of the audio (to make more wooden or other distinct tones more prevalent) but that's getting into more art than science and per piano, and this specific note in the Grotrian Cabaret preset.

Other things:

You could make a small reduction for that overtone in the main Equalizer too. (I forgot sadly recently exactly how that tool works) - but over time, it matters equally to trust your ears when you make changes. You will find your 'routines' with these tools and re-use things which help your alterations and learn to avoid changes too harsh.

If something alters a little character of surrounding notes.. pull back your change until you have a fairer distribution of existing vs. altered for those. It's possible to make very minor changes without touching too much elsewhere - don't be afraid to try.. even if it means you may want to boost or cut another area, due to the first change you make. This is just how to do it - the art is trying best intuitions against best logic - starting again with smaller or different frequencies. It can be learned, practised and exceptional value to musicians and anyone looking at production level changes in their audio.

In Pro, you can zoom in per note to make entirely different exact changes to overtones - yet there's also the entire radiating audio model, so these do have a rich amount of physics related realism, when one note is very different to others.

Experimenting with reducing or increasing Soundboard Impedance (and many other controls) can also have a great role to play in realism or specific qualities, when making deep changes to individual notes.

It's not quick, or easy to experiment and feel comfortable with all of these exquisite things therein, but worth it over time.

To me, if I understand what you'd like to alter with that note, I'd very often firstly go into Effects, and work on EQ3.

Never dismiss E.Q., just trying the above may change how you can understand and use it to great advantage (without harming every other note too much - although EQ is compromising, you can lower overall broad effects on other ranges)...

Hope that helps some people with their editing projects!

Thank you very much, Qexi! Again you helped me

If someone wonders, the sought overtone is at 1900 Hz

I guess I understand now, it's like Cabaret is out of tune in some way therefore some specific strings are weakend and etc. I thought that there is some problem with the physical model, because this was just one note that had a very bright major seventh.