Topic by pip36

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Topic: Unstable pitch on sustained notes.

I have a Roland FP10 connected to a MacBook Pro running Pianoteq8 (the free trial for now), and headphones connected to the MacBook. I’ve noticed when holding a sustained note the pitch will change after a period of time.
It is stable for several seconds, but then there is an audible change in pitch, typically will go slightly sharp.

I don’t have the same problem when I connect the headphones directly to the keyboard and use the internal keyboards sounds, so I don’t think it is a problem with the headphones. Any ideas what could be the cause?

Reply by JohnU

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Re: Unstable pitch on sustained notes.

pip36 wrote:

I have a Roland FP10 connected to a MacBook Pro running Pianoteq8 (the free trial for now), and headphones connected to the MacBook. I’ve noticed when holding a sustained note the pitch will change after a period of time.
It is stable for several seconds, but then there is an audible change in pitch, typically will go slightly sharp.

I don’t have the same problem when I connect the headphones directly to the keyboard and use the internal keyboards sounds, so I don’t think it is a problem with the headphones. Any ideas what could be the cause?

This could be a psychoacoustic change that is perhaps less apparent on the FP10 internal notes because they have less sustain.
Can you measure the pitch change with a meter?

Reply by dv

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Re: Unstable pitch on sustained notes.

If this is a very tiny change, I think that's the way it's supposed to be and happens also in acoustic pianos.
If it bothers you, you can play with the unison width in the tuning section (you will need the standard or pro version of pianoteq, the stage version does not have sound editing capabilities)

Where do I find a list of all posts I upvoted? :(

Reply by pip36

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Re: Unstable pitch on sustained notes.

JohnU wrote:
pip36 wrote:

I have a Roland FP10 connected to a MacBook Pro running Pianoteq8 (the free trial for now), and headphones connected to the MacBook. I’ve noticed when holding a sustained note the pitch will change after a period of time.
It is stable for several seconds, but then there is an audible change in pitch, typically will go slightly sharp.

I don’t have the same problem when I connect the headphones directly to the keyboard and use the internal keyboards sounds, so I don’t think it is a problem with the headphones. Any ideas what could be the cause?

This could be a psychoacoustic change that is perhaps less apparent on the FP10 internal notes because they have less sustain.
Can you measure the pitch change with a meter?

Thanks, I’ll have a go at measuring it and get back to you.

Reply by pip36

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Re: Unstable pitch on sustained notes.

dv wrote:

If this is a very tiny change, I think that's the way it's supposed to be and happens also in acoustic pianos.
If it bothers you, you can play with the unison width in the tuning section (you will need the standard or pro version of pianoteq, the stage version does not have sound editing capabilities)

Interesting. It did seem quite pronounced, particularly annoying at the end of a piece where the final notes seem to change in pitch. Thanks for pointing out the relevant settings, I’ve only got the stage version for now, but I’ll have a go at measuring it to see how big the change in pitch is.