Topic by jamiecw

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Topic: Anyone else finding the player preset...

..particularly on the newer models (Kawai and Bosendorfer) to be a little too distant from a player's perspective?

I am finding if I copy the Output (plus reverb sometimes) from either the Grotrian or Bechstein Sweet profiles to the Kawai/Bosendorder Player profile you get a more closer sound to you which is how I feel they ought to sound?

I don't play on acoustics often and when I do they are usually in showrooms or areas where the sound has a vast space to travel but even so I do seem to recall the sound more immediate to my ears.

Anyone else find the same and if so would be interested to hear what solutions have you attempted?

Cheers!

J

Last edited by jamiecw (30-07-2025 15:25)

Reply by daniel_r328

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Re: Anyone else finding the player preset...

Hmm, it sounds fine to me. I guess it depends on your speaker set-up.

Are you listening through headphones? You might prefer "binaural mode". Personally, I like to move the head model closer to the keybed because the default position assumes a healthy body posture which... doesn't apply to me

Reply by jamiecw

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Re: Anyone else finding the player preset...

daniel_r328 wrote:

Hmm, it sounds fine to me. I guess it depends on your speaker set-up.

Are you listening through headphones? You might prefer "binaural mode". Personally, I like to move the head model closer to the keybed because the default position assumes a healthy body posture which... doesn't apply to me

Hey Daniel - should have mentioned that vital detail..

I actually use both, headphones ( Philips Fidelio X2HR) and through a pair of JBLs (LSR305) - but either option I get the sense the pianos are further away from a players' perspective than some others. For example the Steinway NY Player does not exhibit this.

The issue also gets more pronounced when using the pedal too but as I said using other mic positions does make it less so just wondered if anyone else had any fixes.

Ta,

J

Reply by daniel_r328

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Re: Anyone else finding the player preset...

There's a bunch of reasons why a piano could sound distant; try:
- reducing the reverb ("wet" mixes sound far away)
- moving the virtual microphones
- emphasising "near" sound features like Hammer noise and key/damper release
- playing with the equaliser (the "presence" preset is a good start)
- increasing the dynamics so that loud notes pop more... or reduce it so that quiet notes are less subdued.

It gets subjective quickly as you can tell

Reply by jamiecw

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Re: Anyone else finding the player preset...

Cheers Daniel - trying those as we speak and can get some interesting results. The best one though so far is reverb and mic positioning.

Cheers,

J

FYI if anyone is interested here is the FXP I made that I think sounds close to a players' perspective for daily practice:

https://forum.modartt.com/file/bj5hyzwp

Last edited by jamiecw (01-08-2025 14:23)

Reply by dikrek

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Re: Anyone else finding the player preset...

jamiecw wrote:

Cheers Daniel - trying those as we speak and can get some interesting results. The best one though so far is reverb and mic positioning.

Cheers,

J

FYI if anyone is interested here is the FXP I made that I think sounds close to a players' perspective for daily practice:

https://forum.modartt.com/file/bj5hyzwp

The other thing is that the various models (and presets within each) can sound incredibly different on different reproduction systems.

Recently I’ve been trying to decide between the Bösendorfer or the Kawai.

I tried them using 7 different headphones.

The same preset sounded crazy different depending on the headphones!

I can confirm that the Kawai overall sounds more realistic and woody ON AVERAGE but for some headphones, the 280VC may sound better.

It’s a bit like mastering a record - you have to ensure it will sound good on most systems including cars etc.