new 60MB modeled piano - Sampleson MetaPiano

Yes, I noticed this too. It's quite interesting but I don't think it's a serious rival to Pianoteq. Apparently Sampleson's approach is 'Spectral modelling' as opposed to 'Physical modelling'. I'm not expert enough to understand all the differences, but it is a different approach.
Having listened to the samples of the Sampleson product, I wouldn't be tempted for 2 reasons:
1) The classical examples sound rather clunky, with way too much 'thump' in the background.
2) I don't particularly care for the timbre of the piano.
However, one thing I do like about it is the crispness of the attack - I hope that the next update of Pianoteq will improve in this respect. I'm sure that Modartt are working on some great things, but it has been quite a long time now since the last update.

It doesn't sound great at all. Pianoteq is miles ahead, but I also wish the attack was improved . I think Arturia piano v3 simulates the attack much better compared to other modelled pianos. Pianoteq is still the best in everything else.

I think the basic idea is similar- design your algorithm/model to match the recorded harmonic spectra of your chosen piano as closely as possible. I would think Modartt’s model is more complex and accurate, but the concept is more or less the same.

I will welcome them when they stop treating the potential customers so badly, not even having the courtesy to offer a demo version!!!
Or perhaps by the time the programmers are up to the task they will? - but I will never know until they offer that. I wouldn't risk any refund schemes. It's pointless, we have Pianoteq!

To me that offering doesn't sound like a real piano to the extent that Pianoteq does, however in the demos their efforts sound like good sounding virtual instruments in their own right, and they have good looking GUIs by the looks of things. 
Electric tine and reed pianos are evidently much easier to model with multiple companies having produced pleasing EP models.  Acoustic pianos appear to be a different ball game. Not including the CP80/70 which sort of sits in both worlds.

However a collection of the Sampleson offerings will add up and compared to Pianoteq Stage with the free KIVIR collection then they start to look like poor value anyway.

So I also welcome the competition when they join properly!

"MetaPiano was made upon Spectral Modeling, a technique that provides realistic sounds since it's based on real samples and not hypothetical approaches like physical modeling."

With Pianoteq, Roland, Arturia, and now Sampleson, it's interesting how different people could approach the same objective using algorithms. I often wondered if the sampled companies could convert their software into algorithms.

Pianoteq is so well made and constructed, it's amazing the level they've set. I love the fact that its interface is designed around the way a piano is constructed. Something Arturia and Sampleson (allowance for their price) fall sort on. Good stuff as far as I could see.

Okay well almost all of them that are synthesis based, and every single one that I use, outside of a few sample based instruments.

If you're only considering piano based products that's one thing. If you compare it to the physical modelling competition of a combination of electric and acoustic pianos Arturia, GSI, AAS and Modartt all offer demo versions.

Pianoteq is a synthesizer. A small memory footprint/download synthesizer, so is the Sampleson range of products. So that's really what you should compare it to, not cumbersome sample based products.

They have no reason (if their product is stable cross platforms, reliable and plays well) for not letting you have a demo versions as far as I can see. Maybe it's a really small outfit and it's too much hassle for him/them to produce a demo version I don't know?
That still doesn't make much sense though because they should have added it to the first product rather than develop the second product and so on.  It should be considered that important IMHO.

You wouldn't be eating up gigabytes of data bandwidth trying their/his product because it's just a few megabytes of synthesizer. Hell someone really determined with dial up internet connectivity only might be able to download it!

It's an extremely unwelcome development. We already cannot really go into a shop and try this stuff.
A demo version should be (and always is with software synthesis) a prerequisite condition of anything virtual that doesn't rely in tandem on unique custom physical hardware.

Details? What was it that you didn't like?

Gotcha, hence no demo versions ..

I think there’s something there actually. Loads of issues, sure, but this being a first version (which, perhaps, it was unwise to release), quite understandable. The first version of the Arturia wasn’t much to arpeggiate home about either (the current one is better) and the intial release of Pianoteq, while already bulging with promise, had its share of problems too. The V-Piano technology also had to go through several updates and refinements before it became usable.

I’m quite impressed with the attacks of the MetaPiano as it happens. They’re not super, but more than decent, I find. On their own, I mean. Knowing how immensely difficult it is to model piano attacks — an element of the pianosound that Pianoteq also struggled with up until version 4 or 5 (can’t remember when the important change for the better occurred) — I must say that the attacks of the Meta are certainly not the least successful ingredient of Sampleson’s effort. (I don’t know, but could it be that a significant portion of the 60mb which the software weighs in at, is used for those attacks? Partly sample-based, in other words. That would make a simulation considerably easier of course.)

What does sound totally off however, to my ears anyway, is the balance between the attacks and the sustains. Something very, very wrong there, I find. Almost as if there’s an aggressive expander at work which drastically attenuates the sustains right after the initial impact of the attack. Resulting in a kind of dead, choked and strange pianosound of which I can’t understand that it ever passed any final testing that Sampleson and its beta-team surely must have done.

Other than that, the Meta clearly has difficulties in all the areas that modeled instrument are prone to have difficulties: somewhat thin, synthetic timbre, the higher up the keyboard the more like a CP-70 things start to sound, and the all too common failure to be able to cope with more complex, dense piano parts. Many virtual pianos, and not juist the modeled ones, tend to be not very good at this. (The V-Piano did rather well in this regard actually. Shame it didn’t do nearly as good in many other regards.)

Anyway, just as it was perhaps too soon for Sampleson to release this, I also think it’s too soon for us to dismiss it as a toy. To my ears, the Meta could have a future. On the condition that the developer isn’t too satisfied with the current version and doesn’t believe the marketing slogan (which says that we won’t be able to hear the difference between this and the real thing) they — quite regrettably, I find — introduced this product with.

_

No new instruments since April 2021 - I can respect them for not bombarding us with too many similar pianos though - we already have so much choice!

In the absence of anything new I would have expected some sort of public development announcement. Maybe something spectacular is in the wings for Pianoteq though? - or something completely different like Organteq?
Perhaps Windteq!

I hope everyone is well over at Modartt.

I recently played piano v3. It has made a lot of progress and felt a different attraction from Pianoteq. Does the long absence of any updates by pianoteq mean that it is preparing for much better progress than it is now? I am full of expectations.   

Organteq 2 apparently in the wings. So I doubt much as going to happen with Pianoteq beyond a new model pack or two this year.

I only just noticed this in another forum - I must have missed that newsletter, or not read about goings on with Organteq because I haven't gone for that product:

https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?id=8890

I would have thought people would want models of the Hammond organs . Maybe those are coming with Organteq 2?

Oh, so it looks as though Pianoteq users are going to need a bit more patience! As much as I enjoy listening to recordings of Organteq, it's not really my thing - I wouldn't use it often enough to justify the expense.

I would be surprised if they don't add at least one or two new models to Pianoteq before the end of the year, but there is so many ways to shape and balance the sounds in the existing presets, it's already almost infinite!
  Frankly I would rather see further improvements to the engine than yet more pianos (welcome though they are)  - though of course what you are saying does somewhat imply they are kind of obliged to come up with something new, if only for Studio users!
Some will have bought Studio in prolific years -others not so. I guess them's the breaks!

Yeah, I totally agree with this sentiment. I wish they'd give a discount (in addition to seasonal sales) on Organteq equal to the amount of dollars you spent on Pianoteq divided by ten: so if you spent $150 on Stage, you get 15% more off, if you spent $450 on Pro you get a big 45% off and if you spent $900 on Studio you get a whopping 90% off (but hey, they've got already a grand from you...)

To somewhat enforce just the occasional organ use by pianists who are getting such discounts, this version may come with a time limitation, or some other limitation to prevent people use it from recordings (but no key limitation like in the demo).

On these terms, I'd consider buying Organteq. At full price, I cannot justify it and I'd rather use jOrgan (most likely, have still to make my mind) or one of the other free ones.

Maybe they will bring out a CLAP version?

Of course those that enjoyed the more prolific periods did so when they didn't already have so many models. You've already got them up front. Possibilities endless. Yes our consumerism isn't rational.

When we've already got quality and quantity further refinements in the quality are the most welcome updates of all.

iOS and Organteq 2 sound most likely contenders for attention first.