Topic by mqbernardo

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  • mqbernardo
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  • Registered: 01-08-2021
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Topic: most versatile instrument for tweaking?

Hi all, 1st time Pianoteq user, just bought PTQ7 standard with the summer discount. kind of an impulse buy... I am wondering what you guys think is the most versatile Pianoteq model (instrument pack) for tweaking, or the one with the most abundant selection of fxp files, as i might add a further pack while the promotion lasts. any help is appreciated. the thing is, at the moment i find myself just fascinated with the sound and possibilites of this software. been hooked for a week, tweaking way more than playing. and thinking about piano sounds, which i never did much before.

about myself: i am 45 years old and just starting to learn piano (i know...) formally with a jazz teacher. i have taught myself some rudiments before, but mostly ended chasing my own tail. my technique is pretty poor, slowly improving. 

I now have the Steinway D pack (just because things are the way they are) and the two instruments i loved the most on 1st hearing, the Bechstein (lovely bold, brilliant sound) and the Steingraeber (a certain aristocratic character, so to speak, lovely alluring mids and highs). I also tried the bluethner, which had the most amazing, incisive, solid highs but i found it a bit boxy and muffled in the mids. anyway, 1st impressions only.

thanks in advance, hop its not a too silly question.

Miguel.

Reply by LTECpiano

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  • LTECpiano
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Re: most versatile instrument for tweaking?

Congratulations ... you are now a participant in the Pianoteq Pandemic!!

Lanny

LTECpiano's Website

Reply by dklein

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  • dklein
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Re: most versatile instrument for tweaking?

You can't go wrong with the Steinway for presets and tweaking - lots out there in the FXP corner.  The Bluethner may have more overall presets if you go back to versions 5 and 6, but the older user-created presets don't necessarily sound quite as realistic when played on the newer versions of each instrument. 

Since Pianoteq doesn't specify any particular type of hardware, you'll find that the same instruments are reported as sounding different on the speakers and amps owned by different users.  On my system, the Anton Petrof Mistral is the most airy, the one sounding most like an acoustic piano, with the NY Steinway D coming in second.  But the Steinway B just has a charm with a different sense of realism, perhaps because my ear believes the presence of a parlor piano more than it does the presence of a full grand in my instrument space (though at 6'11"/211 cm, the Steinway B is no 'baby grand' - it's a rather large parlor instrument).

Also, especially with your teacher being a jazz musician, don't forget about the electric pianos, such as the Mk I and the WI - the Rhodes and the Wurlitzer are excellent instruments for jazz, rock, and pop, and they are so different not only from an acoustic piano, but also from each other (and on that 'note', check out the Hohners and the other electric keyboards).

- David

Reply by ChasMusic

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  • Registered: 12-08-2021
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Re: most versatile instrument for tweaking?

mqbernardo wrote:

Hi all, 1st time Pianoteq user, just bought PTQ7 standard with the summer discount. kind of an impulse buy... I am wondering what you guys think is the most versatile Pianoteq model (instrument pack) for tweaking

Can't make a specific rec. I do suggest that among your explorations, you try the random feature. It winds up producing a wide variety of sounds, some of which you might want to save with the save button (be sure to long-press the save button so you don't overwrite your prior discoveries).