Topic by Olivier W

  • Avatar
  • Olivier W
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 18-09-2021
  • Posts: 115

Topic: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Hello,

I’m using Pianoteq 9.0.2 on macOS, with Gig Performer or Reaper (VST3 format).
When I select Stereo Router to send an input signal into the Sympathetic Resonance section, only the left input channel is working — the right input does not respond.
The same behavior occurs in the AU version, where the input signal is treated as mono.

However, both Gig Performer Pro and Reaper correctly allow me to enable stereo input for the Pianoteq VST3 plugin — but only the left channel is actually received, nothing comes through on Input 2 (right).

It’s easy to reproduce in Gig Performer: simply connect any virtual instrument (output 1/2 or mono) to Input 2 of the Pianoteq VST3 plugin — you’ll see that no sound passes through Pianoteq.

Another point: in the Pianoteq interface (both VST3 and AU), under the Microphones menu, the Line Out and Line Out 2 options are always greyed out, with no explanation in the Pianoteq 9 manual.
It would be very useful to be able to route an external audio signal directly into Pianoteq without going through the microphones, to feed the sympathetic resonance section.

Thank you in advance for your help or any clarification on this behavior.
support ticket number is #023026

Best regards,
Olivier

Reply by julien

  • Avatar
  • julien
  • Admin
  • Offline
  • Registered: 19-04-2007
  • Posts: 1,083

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Hi Olivier,

The audio input in mono only, so if you send a stereo signal it will use only the first channel. I'll see if we can prevent hosts from showing a stereo input available, but maybe it is too late to change that now that Pianoteq 9 is released.

Regarding Line Out "mics" these are only available on some instruments, such as electric pianos / clavinet etc.

julien's Website

Reply by Olivier W

  • Avatar
  • Olivier W
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 18-09-2021
  • Posts: 115

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

julien wrote:

Hi Olivier,

The audio input in mono only, so if you send a stereo signal it will use only the first channel. I'll see if we can prevent hosts from showing a stereo input available, but maybe it is too late to change that now that Pianoteq 9 is released.

Regarding Line Out "mics" these are only available on some instruments, such as electric pianos / clavinet etc.

Thanks Julien — understood!

Actually, in the specific case of sidechain use (VST3 or AU), it would be very useful to have true stereo inputs and even dedicated stereo outputs just for the sympathetic resonance engine, without going through the regular mic or line outputs.

In Gig Performer, for instance, I currently need to load two Pianoteq instances (L/R) and use a phase inversion trick to keep only the sympathetic resonance and attenuate the main piano tone — even when “wet” is set to maximum.

Having a proper stereo input (or a dedicated “Resonance Send/Return” bus) would allow us to process that effect in parallel, just like a reverb or convolution return, which is ideal for hybrid setups (MODELED + SAMPLED pianos).

That would open up a lot of creative routing possibilities for advanced users and live hosts.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/0i2wton7...t&dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yh51g042...8&dl=0


Regards,

Olivier F.

Last edited by Olivier W (24-10-2025 17:44)

Reply by brundlefly

  • Avatar
  • brundlefly
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 31-03-2022
  • Posts: 253

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Olivier W wrote:

In Gig Performer, for instance, I currently need to load two Pianoteq instances (L/R) and use a phase inversion trick to keep only the sympathetic resonance and attenuate the main piano tone — even when “wet” is set to maximum.

Having a proper stereo input (or a dedicated “Resonance Send/Return” bus) would allow us to process that effect in parallel, just like a reverb or convolution return, which is ideal for hybrid setups (MODELED + SAMPLED pianos).

Good catch that only the left channel or the source is used for resonance generation. That wasn't immediately obvious in Sonar but I was able to verify it by panning the send to FX track hard right.

But I am not encountering the issue you describe that Pianoteq is passing dry signal along with the resonance output.

Pianoteq does not present side-chain inputs in a conventional way that would allow me to put it on a bus and send to those inputs so I have it instantiated as insert FX in an Aux track to which I send the source signal. If I record the output of that track, the waveform bears no resemblance to the input and has much lower level with a slow attack and the muted tones that you would expect. And it's not necessary or possible to null anything out by blenidn in a phase-inverted copy of the source signal. Also, if I send it extended MIDI notes to continue holding the dampers up, the resonance continues ringing long after the sound from the source signal has stopped, also as you would expect.

Bottom line: If you aren't getting a 100% wet resonance output from Pianoteq, I think your setup is faulty.

Reply by Olivier W

  • Avatar
  • Olivier W
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 18-09-2021
  • Posts: 115

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

brundlefly wrote:
Olivier W wrote:

In Gig Performer, for instance, I currently need to load two Pianoteq instances (L/R) and use a phase inversion trick to keep only the sympathetic resonance and attenuate the main piano tone — even when “wet” is set to maximum.

Having a proper stereo input (or a dedicated “Resonance Send/Return” bus) would allow us to process that effect in parallel, just like a reverb or convolution return, which is ideal for hybrid setups (MODELED + SAMPLED pianos).

Good catch that only the left channel or the source is used for resonance generation. That wasn't immediately obvious in Sonar but I was able to verify it by panning the send to FX track hard right.

But I am not encountering the issue you describe that Pianoteq is passing dry signal along with the resonance output.

Pianoteq does not present side-chain inputs in a conventional way that would allow me to put it on a bus and send to those inputs so I have it instantiated as insert FX in an Aux track to which I send the source signal. If I record the output of that track, the waveform bears no resemblance to the input and has much lower level with a slow attack and the muted tones that you would expect. And it's not necessary or possible to null anything out by blenidn in a phase-inverted copy of the source signal. Also, if I send it extended MIDI notes to continue holding the dampers up, the resonance continues ringing long after the sound from the source signal has stopped, also as you would expect.

Bottom line: If you aren't getting a 100% wet resonance output from Pianoteq, I think your setup is faulty.

It’s definitely not a phase inversion “by mistake.” What I’m doing is far more subtle and proudly nerdy. I treat the phase shift as a precision tool within a highly advanced MIDI scripting setup (hidden midi script in GIG PERFORMER) , totally different from a basic non-inverted rack.

The idea is to separate the main piano tone from the true sympathetic resonance being generated, so I can compare them in GigPerformer on a second screen. This lets me push the original piano color to the fullest, while keeping an incredibly realistic sound, just like my actual Steinway sitting in the studio.

So yes… completely intentional, technically sophisticated, a bit long to explain… and wow does it sound amazing

Last edited by Olivier W (28-10-2025 22:17)

Reply by daniel_r328

  • Avatar
  • daniel_r328
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 27-07-2025
  • Posts: 110

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Olivier W wrote:

The idea is to separate the main piano tone from the true sympathetic resonance being generated

To me it sounds like you're sending midi to pianoteq to raise the correct dampers but don't want the "direct" sound from the piano model? An easier way would just be to set the velocity curve to all-zero, so that the hammers in the model never hit the strings

Reply by brundlefly

  • Avatar
  • brundlefly
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 31-03-2022
  • Posts: 253

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Olivier W wrote:

The idea is to separate the main piano tone from the true sympathetic resonance being generated

What I'm saying is that this should not be necessary. Neither the source piano sound nor any direct 'string hammering' sound from Pianoteq should be coming through/from the resonance instance.

As Daniel said, assuming you're sending MIDI to the resonance instance of Pianoteq in order to lift the relevant dampers, you just need to lower the velocity curve to zero across the board so that the strings aren't being excited directly by the virtual hammers.

I appreeciate a nerdy and complex solution as much as the next guy (you should see the project template for my layered DP/Pianoteq setup), but only if an equally effective and simpler one isn't available.

I should add that I also lower - or even zero out - the pedal curve in the resonance instance so that the resonance of "unplayed" strings doesn't get too extreme given that I'm already layering another Pianoteq instance with the DP which has it's own sympathetic resonance modeling in addition to the resonance added by Pianoteq (at a reduced level).

Reply by Olivier W

  • Avatar
  • Olivier W
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 18-09-2021
  • Posts: 115

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

I’m not stupid — the velocity curve is already set to 0.
My MIDI script is more advanced, and so is my audio routing.
It’s too long to explain, and I can see that no one actually tested my full Gig Performer preset or read my scripts.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/0i2wton7...5&dl=0

Reply by brundlefly

  • Avatar
  • brundlefly
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 31-03-2022
  • Posts: 253

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

I don't use Gig Performer and have never even looked into it so didn't think there would be much value in downloading the files. Curiosity might get me to look deeper, but first I just want to understand why you believe there is signal from the sampled piano in the Pianoteq output that needs to be canceled.

Can you give a description of a typical DAW signal routing that would reveal this?

Reply by xooorx

  • Avatar
  • xooorx
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Bristol, UK
  • Registered: 12-01-2020
  • Posts: 24

Re: Stereo Input Issue for Sympathetic Resonance in Pianoteq 9.0.2 (macOS,

Olivier W wrote:

it would be very useful to have true stereo inputs and even dedicated stereo outputs just for the sympathetic resonance engine, without going through the regular mic or line outputs.

The problem on the output side is that until you get past the microphones there is no audio signal to route: There's just a modelled soundboard pushing on imaginary air. It's the virtual microphones that turn all that into audio signals that might be routed somewhere.