skip wrote: In this recording, though, there's a richness there that I just haven't *quite* heard from Pianoteq yet. There are also extraneous noises and vibrations which tends to be a bit of a hint, however I still wondered whether those sounds might still occur with the strings muted. (with his voice mic left on, of course) The fact that I wasn't 100% sure it was *not* Pianoteq is IMHO still a pretty good complement! :)
Oh, I know, I was just holding up the comment as a sort of, "You guys can do even better!" When the day comes that _no_ one can honestly say, "It's not as good as a real piano," then _all_ of us will have something to celebrate (and should light a cigar, open a bottle of champagne, throw confetti, etc.).
Pianoteq still has, at its root, an inherently "electronic" sound (that is beautiful to my ears, especially with sustain and resonance), so while it sounds extraordinarily like a piano "up front" (and, more importantly, _plays_ as such!), it has qualities that a real piano could never possess. In this way, it achieves a sort of "hybrid" status to perfection. And as its capacity to mimic real pianos' various richnesses increases (that's a mouthful!), both dimensions will become even _more_ enhanced.
"Our developers, who art in Toulouse, hallowed be thy physical-models.
Thy version 4 come, thy new instruments be done, in the computer as it is in the wood!"