THANK YOU so much, Modartt team. Pianoteq 9 is wonderful.
The graphs in the Tuning and Design panels are very helpful. The new soundboard model sounds absolutely fantastic!
Do we have to pay the full amount if we have Pianoteq 8?... Found it ..
Do we have to pay the full amount if we have Pianoteq 8?... Found it ..
No, you just need to pay for the upgrade!
Really enjoying the update. What a sound!
Cool version 9! Question for experienced user who has good eyesight and can read help forums - how does one access or change sample rates to the higher ones not included on the Performance Page dropdown. I confirmed my soundcard supports higher rates. Is there a trick in switching the rate inside pianoteq, because it seems I'm in Pro but limited to 48K?
Cool version 9! Question for experienced user who has good eyesight and can read help forums - how does one access or change sample rates to the higher ones not included on the Performance Page dropdown. I confirmed my soundcard supports higher rates. Is there a trick in switching the rate inside pianoteq, because it seems I'm in Pro but limited to 48K?
FIRST choose from among the sample rates offered/supported by the audio interface you're using, in:
Options --> Devices --> Sample Rate
(If your audio interface supports 96000 Hz or higher, for example, choose one of the higher sample rates)
THEN specify the sample rate you want Pianoteq to use in:
Options --> Perf --> Internal Sample Rate
(Pianoteq will offer various sample rates up to the maximum you specify in Options->Devices->Sample Rate
Upgraded last night. Haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet, but first impressions are very positive. I love the new sombre presets as well, very useful.
I have a question about the thunder pedal. Am I correct in understanding that it expands the dynamic range upwards, but the tone otherwise stays the same? That was actually something I missed in the last version: really being able to play loudly. It is useful for heavy, late, romantic, powerful piano music, but also for rock music.
If so, is there a reason why you don’t make this standard on all pianos? Is this a matter of backward compatibility?
I have a question about the thunder pedal. Am I correct in understanding that it expands the dynamic range upwards, but the tone otherwise stays the same? That was actually something I missed in the last version: really being able to play loudly. It is useful for heavy, late, romantic, powerful piano music, but also for rock music.
If so, is there a reason why you don’t make this standard on all pianos? Is this a matter of backward compatibility?
It expands both volume and timbre. More simply said, it increases the velocity, which you can observe in the velocity panel (it goes up to fffff).
There is no backward compatibility issue, you can affect the thunder pedal to the pedal of your choice to any instrument (right click on the pedal and select the desired pedal).
Major1981 wrote:I have a question about the thunder pedal. Am I correct in understanding that it expands the dynamic range upwards, but the tone otherwise stays the same? That was actually something I missed in the last version: really being able to play loudly. It is useful for heavy, late, romantic, powerful piano music, but also for rock music.
If so, is there a reason why you don’t make this standard on all pianos? Is this a matter of backward compatibility?
It expands both volume and timbre. More simply said, it increases the velocity, which you can observe in the velocity panel (it goes up to fffff).
There is no backward compatibility issue, you can affect the thunder pedal to the pedal of your choice to any instrument (right click on the pedal and select the desired pedal).
It extends the range of velocitiy to ffff, adding more dynamics? Or simply just increase the velocity by X amount across the board but allows it to be even greater than before? The simplified question is, "is it still possible to play very softly with this pedal on?"
Major1981 wrote:I have a question about the thunder pedal. Am I correct in understanding that it expands the dynamic range upwards, but the tone otherwise stays the same? That was actually something I missed in the last version: really being able to play loudly. It is useful for heavy, late, romantic, powerful piano music, but also for rock music.
If so, is there a reason why you don’t make this standard on all pianos? Is this a matter of backward compatibility?
It expands both volume and timbre. More simply said, it increases the velocity, which you can observe in the velocity panel (it goes up to fffff).
There is no backward compatibility issue, you can affect the thunder pedal to the pedal of your choice to any instrument (right click on the pedal and select the desired pedal).
I'll try a translation app: that's exactly what I meant. With the previous models, I felt that my hands weren't allowed to hit the piano keys as loudly as I would normally like to. If it were samples, it would be like simply leaving out the loudest layer. I don't need it often. But sometimes it would be nice. In short: I'm very happy that this gap has now been closed. I'm absolutely impressed.
Philippe Guillaume wrote:Major1981 wrote:I have a question about the thunder pedal. Am I correct in understanding that it expands the dynamic range upwards, but the tone otherwise stays the same? That was actually something I missed in the last version: really being able to play loudly. It is useful for heavy, late, romantic, powerful piano music, but also for rock music.
If so, is there a reason why you don’t make this standard on all pianos? Is this a matter of backward compatibility?
It expands both volume and timbre. More simply said, it increases the velocity, which you can observe in the velocity panel (it goes up to fffff).
There is no backward compatibility issue, you can affect the thunder pedal to the pedal of your choice to any instrument (right click on the pedal and select the desired pedal).
It extends the range of velocitiy to ffff, adding more dynamics? Or simply just increase the velocity by X amount across the board but allows it to be even greater than before? The simplified question is, "is it still possible to play very softly with this pedal on?"
You can still play very softly but make it thunder
It extends the range of velocitiy to ffff, adding more dynamics? Or simply just increase the velocity by X amount across the board but allows it to be even greater than before? The simplified question is, "is it still possible to play very softly with this pedal on?"
Yes, it adds more dynamics. So yes you still can play ppp with this pedal on.
just wanted to pop in to agree. as a software engineer, i expect a lot from software and am disappointed constantly. i have been cranky on this forum too. however, i am consistent, so i am really happy to experience how good v9 is. really, you guys did an excellent job. it's so rare that marketing undersells the quality of a product, but that is the case here. thanks modartt!
(now please do the gui what you've done to the resonance )
snurrfint wrote:It extends the range of velocitiy to ffff, adding more dynamics? Or simply just increase the velocity by X amount across the board but allows it to be even greater than before? The simplified question is, "is it still possible to play very softly with this pedal on?"
Yes, it adds more dynamics. So yes you still can play ppp with this pedal on.
Is there a fundamental difference between using the thunder pedal or setting the instrument's dynamics to maximum and adjust vélocité curve and volume? Do you get the same timbre in both cases with a velocity of 127? And what happen if we use thunder and max dynamics ? Saturation...
I've been alternating between Pianoteq 8 and Pianoteq 9, both in practice playing and in playing the same musical passages on both, sometimes at the same time (muting one, then the other) in order to compare them, and while the soundboard changes/improvements might seem to be a rather subtle aspect of the overall model, it greatly improves the sound and realism.
Philippe Guillaume wrote:snurrfint wrote:It extends the range of velocitiy to ffff, adding more dynamics? Or simply just increase the velocity by X amount across the board but allows it to be even greater than before? The simplified question is, "is it still possible to play very softly with this pedal on?"
Yes, it adds more dynamics. So yes you still can play ppp with this pedal on.
Is there a fundamental difference between using the thunder pedal or setting the instrument's dynamics to maximum and adjust vélocité curve and volume?
Yes there is a significant difference, and it will be difficult to reproduce it unless you seriously go through the voicing process (hammer hardness, spectrum, etc.)
YvesTh wrote:Philippe Guillaume wrote:Yes, it adds more dynamics. So yes you still can play ppp with this pedal on.
Is there a fundamental difference between using the thunder pedal or setting the instrument's dynamics to maximum and adjust vélocité curve and volume?
Yes there is a significant difference, and it will be difficult to reproduce it unless you seriously go through the voicing process (hammer hardness, spectrum, etc.)
Ok, thanks very much. I really like this tool, and I find that with a slight adjustment to the velocity curve, thunder pedal further improves the realism of certain presets. Congratulations!
Thunder Pedal is wonderful !... the more I test it, the more I like it. For me, however, it requires me to realign the red velocity offset line (new tool) between mp and mp or mpp to maintain a standard response at the medium velocities.This way, playing up to fff remains consistent, but with the possibility of very impressive fffff. Excellent with "sombre" presets.
"La pédale Thunder est géniale !"
tout à fait, avec une courbe de vélocité un peu creuse c'est superbe, à essayer avec la guitare classique c'est tout aussi génial.
bravo Modartt !
Amazing! On paper, small improvements. In reality a huge leap forward in terms of expressiveness.
Thank you, Modartt!
YvesTh wrote:Philippe Guillaume wrote:Yes, it adds more dynamics. So yes you still can play ppp with this pedal on.
Is there a fundamental difference between using the thunder pedal or setting the instrument's dynamics to maximum and adjust vélocité curve and volume?
Yes there is a significant difference, and it will be difficult to reproduce it unless you seriously go through the voicing process (hammer hardness, spectrum, etc.)
Would it be accurate/reasonable to think of the Thunder pedal as increasing the maximum hammer velocity that is generated at velocity 127?
Philippe Guillaume wrote:YvesTh wrote:Is there a fundamental difference between using the thunder pedal or setting the instrument's dynamics to maximum and adjust vélocité curve and volume?
Yes there is a significant difference, and it will be difficult to reproduce it unless you seriously go through the voicing process (hammer hardness, spectrum, etc.)
Would it be accurate/reasonable to think of the Thunder pedal as increasing the maximum hammer velocity that is generated at velocity 127?
I think this is indeed good way of seeing it. Alternatively you can see it as increasing the maximum velocity, with all depending parameters (including hammer hardness) following the move.
As I understand it, the ‘thunder’ tool does not change the sounds in the ppp to fff range, but this range is controlled by a MIDI signal of approximately 0-100 instead of 0-127. And yt is the 100-127 range that allows for an increase in dynamics up to fffff and therefore in timbre. It would seem logical to me that the "velocity offset" tool should be automatically associated with this pedal to reposition the red line between mp and mf (it would also be useful if the red line remained visible at all times). Without this modification, the entire velocity range is altered even medium velocity. But perhaps I have misunderstood something.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
I tried and it's good fore me. i associated thunder pedal and velocy offset (0 to -0.16) to the same midi left pedal. So all the medium velocity playing Is the same but with more dynamics on high velocity when I use pedal.
As I understand it, the ‘thunder’ tool does not change the sounds in the ppp to fff range
It does, progressively from ppp (tiny difference between thunder on/off) up to fff. At mf the difference between thunder on/off is noticeable, and goes increasing with the velocity. In other words, the timbre expansion is made smooth across the whole velocity range.
YvesTh wrote:As I understand it, the ‘thunder’ tool does not change the sounds in the ppp to fff range
It does, progressively from ppp (tiny difference between thunder on/off) up to fff. At mf the difference between thunder on/off is noticeable, and goes increasing with the velocity. In other words, the timbre expansion is made smooth across the whole velocity range.
Ok for the timbre and what about volume ? Is it the same for example for a f with and without thunder ( knowing that f Is obtain with velocity 100 in one case and 80 in the other) ? Thanks for your implication...
Philippe Guillaume wrote:YvesTh wrote:As I understand it, the ‘thunder’ tool does not change the sounds in the ppp to fff range
It does, progressively from ppp (tiny difference between thunder on/off) up to fff. At mf the difference between thunder on/off is noticeable, and goes increasing with the velocity. In other words, the timbre expansion is made smooth across the whole velocity range.
Ok for the timbre and what about volume ? Is it the same for example for a f with and without thunder ( knowing that f Is obtain with velocity 100 in one case and 80 in the other) ? Thanks for your implication...
Sorry, I should have written "the volume and timbre expansion".
I really like the thunder effect and the velocity offset. But I don't use it with a pedal. I like being able to use it easily on any preset (even presets using all pedals yet). On a MIDI controller, I've assigned the thunder pedal=1 and the velocity offset=0.16 to a button (to obtain thunder notes without changing low and medium velocity response). I like it. The only problem is that the red line doesn't always appear on the interface (it should be always visible if it is not equal to 0), and there's no indication that thunder is activated. Why not a “thunder” LED?
I noticed that you can now stretch the interface window freely, well done...
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
I just upgraded for free from Pianoteq Stage 8 (purchased in June 2025) to Stage 9, but it doesn’t appear to include a .dll (VST plugin) file. I did not opt for a VST3 installation. When I search my system for *.dll, the only one I find is for Pianoteq 8.
The documentation for Pianoteq 9 Stage lists support for VST3, AU, and AAX formats, but it does not explicitly mention that it includes a VST2 (.dll) plugin.
Could you please confirm whether Stage 9 installs a VST2 (.dll) plugin, or if that format is no longer included?
I just upgraded for free from Pianoteq Stage 8 (purchased in June 2025) to Stage 9, but it doesn’t appear to include a .dll (VST plugin) file. I did not opt for a VST3 installation. When I search my system for *.dll, the only one I find is for Pianoteq 8.
The documentation for Pianoteq 9 Stage lists support for VST3, AU, and AAX formats, but it does not explicitly mention that it includes a VST2 (.dll) plugin.
Could you please confirm whether Stage 9 installs a VST2 (.dll) plugin, or if that format is no longer included?
AFAIK, the support for VST2 has been removed. It is mentioned in the change log.
Jazz+ wrote:I just upgraded for free from Pianoteq Stage 8 (purchased in June 2025) to Stage 9, but it doesn’t appear to include a .dll (VST plugin) file. I did not opt for a VST3 installation. When I search my system for *.dll, the only one I find is for Pianoteq 8.
The documentation for Pianoteq 9 Stage lists support for VST3, AU, and AAX formats, but it does not explicitly mention that it includes a VST2 (.dll) plugin.
Could you please confirm whether Stage 9 installs a VST2 (.dll) plugin, or if that format is no longer included?
AFAIK, the support for VST2 has been removed. It is mentioned in the change log.
I’m wondering why they stopped providing a .dll. I use Sibelius with Pianoteq, which requires a .dll, so I hope they might make one available again. Is that possible?
Bonjour à tous,
Cette dernière version (9) de Pianoteq est, à mon humble avis, quasiment parfaite, et ressentie comme la plus aboutie.
Enfin, ça y est..! Lorsque je joue sur mon VPC1 j'ai l’entière sensation et ressens les mêmes émotions que d’être devant un magnifique piano de concert.
(NY Steinway D Classique / vélocité légèrement retouché)
Merci à Modart pour ce soft unique en son genre.
NB: je savais que tôt ou tard ce jour arriverait ...
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Hello everyone,
This latest version (9) of Pianoteq is, in my humble opinion, almost perfect, and feels like the most accomplished version yet.
Finally, it's here! When I play on my VPC1, I have the complete sensation and feel the same emotions as if I were sitting in front of a magnificent concert grand piano.
(NY Steinway D Classic / velocity slightly adjusted)
Thank you to Modart for this unique software.
NB: I knew that sooner or later this day would come...
This latest version (9) of Pianoteq is, in my humble opinion, almost perfect, and feels like the most accomplished version yet.
Finally, it's here! When I play on my VPC1, I have the complete sensation and feel the same emotions as if I were sitting in front of a magnificent concert grand piano.
I agree. With previous versions of Pianoteq I would get some "ear fatigue" if I played for hours, as though there were something that was not quite achieving an ideal imagined real acoustic piano sound (it didn't sound quite like what I remembered, was accustomed to and expected from a real physical piano). But with Pianoteq version 9 I haven't felt any of that: it seems extremely lifelike in its expression and nuances, like playing a real physical piano. It's very gratifying.
THANKS AGAIN, Modartt team!
--- --- --- --- ---
(Traduit en français par Google)
Je suis d'accord. Avec les versions précédentes de Pianoteq, je ressentais une certaine fatigue auditive si je jouais pendant des heures, comme si quelque chose n'atteignait pas le son idéal d'un piano acoustique réel (le son ne correspondait pas tout à fait à mes souvenirs, à ce à quoi j'étais habitué et à ce que j'attendais d'un vrai piano). Mais avec la version 9 de Pianoteq, je n'ai rien ressenti de tel : le son est extrêmement réaliste dans son expression et ses nuances, comme si je jouais sur un vrai piano. C'est très gratifiant.
---
imyself wrote:This latest version (9) of Pianoteq is, in my humble opinion, almost perfect, and feels like the most accomplished version yet.
Finally, it's here! When I play on my VPC1, I have the complete sensation and feel the same emotions as if I were sitting in front of a magnificent concert grand piano.
I agree. With previous versions of Pianoteq I would get some "ear fatigue" if I played for hours, as though there were something that was not quite achieving an ideal imagined real acoustic piano sound (it didn't sound quite like what I remembered, was accustomed to and expected from a real physical piano). But with Pianoteq version 9 I haven't felt any of that: it seems extremely lifelike in its expression and nuances, like playing a real physical piano. It's very gratifying.
THANKS AGAIN, Modartt team!
--- --- --- --- ---
(Traduit en français par Google)
Je suis d'accord. Avec les versions précédentes de Pianoteq, je ressentais une certaine fatigue auditive si je jouais pendant des heures, comme si quelque chose n'atteignait pas le son idéal d'un piano acoustique réel (le son ne correspondait pas tout à fait à mes souvenirs, à ce à quoi j'étais habitué et à ce que j'attendais d'un vrai piano). Mais avec la version 9 de Pianoteq, je n'ai rien ressenti de tel : le son est extrêmement réaliste dans son expression et ses nuances, comme si je jouais sur un vrai piano. C'est très gratifiant.---
I agree! It's as if in the last one and a half versions (before 9) there was something that was causing auditory fatigue. A certain tension in the inner ear developed during and after playing. Now (version 9), this effect has either significantly diminished or disappeared completely. More testing is needed. Overall, there have been very positive changes. Let's keep playing.
Pianoteq 9 on iPad... I love it !...
I'm using IPad with an Azerty keyboard and an mouse :
Just some little things...
I can't see or assign "mic position xyz" with "right button"
I would like the velocity offset red line to stay visible, little dash disappears behind letters... Is it possible ?
In preset manager I like to filter with key words. All instruments have "warm" "sombre" "binaural" "player" presets.
Why not preselection of these words, avoiding having to type them on Azerty keyboard...
Or better, why not a possibility of several personnal "favorites" (without to have to copy presets)
For it would be "binaural favorites" "warm favorites" and "sombre favorites" for example.
Every time I open Pianoteq, I return to the compact interface even if I had left it in an other configuration. Is it possible to memorize?
Thank you...
From my perspective, this version is a real game changer. I've been a customer since 2011, upgrading every year, but it's the first time I FINALLY consider using something other than my custom preset from Pianoteq 5 on a daily basis.
In Pianoteq 6, 7, and 8 (standard version), there was always something off in the stereo space and the tone that I could never quite fix, so I kept going back to Pianoteq 5.
But this time... I've finally found the equivalent with the NY Steinway D Sombre preset, which also allows me to fully appreciate the progress made since Pianoteq 5 (especially in the treble range). I really hope this preset will remain available in future versions.
By the way, I totally agree with the comments above: the thunder pedal really is an absolutely brilliant idea. I wonder how we ever managed without such a tool until now!