Topic: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Could you add a model of the Clavinet D6 in there when you have time? If possible, extend the range of the instrument a little because the lower notes are so funky it's such a shame it doesn't extend below F1!

Thank you!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

That was my request even from the time beta tests were running. They should really round the top with D6 and have it all there! As far as I know, they have this request in mind, but need to get a hold of a Clavinet, which practically leaves two options:

- buy one (not cheap over ebay)
- borrow one (if anyone is willing)


It would still be a perfect addition to Pianoteq!

Last edited by EvilDragon (08-06-2009 00:17)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I own a D6 clavinet but it needs to be restaurated. The keys, strings, and case are OK. But the pre-amp electronics are completely dead.

I intend to get replacement parts from http://www.clavinet.com. I already new hammertips from them and will now get new pre-amp and humbucker pickups. The original single-coil pickups were and are quite noisy. Maybe I'll replace the strings also. But that's not a job I'm looking forward to..

If pianoteq wants to model a Clavinet D6, maybe they should try to contact Stevie Wonder. He has some of them, properly maintained and restaurated by his technicians.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I've owned a clavinet D6 for many years, it's great fun.

Restringing with clavinet.com strings will take you the best part of an afternoon, it's not *that* bad.
Having an electronic tuner (or VST tuner plugin) to tune them up afterwards will be helpful though.

Modelling the clavinet would mean a few changes to the Pianoteq GUI interface, as clavinets have some controls you don't find on the other modelled instruments (the pick-up selectors - combining the over-string and under-string pickups in- and out-of phase, and the 4 tone selectors). There's also the string damping slider (although that is analagous to some of the existing Pianoteq controls).

I'd actually rather see a model of the Hohner *PIANET* first before the clavinet (reeds struck with sticky pads!)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

The Wurlitzer can get very close to the sound of the Pianet but the Clavinet is a totally different animal. It wouldn't need changes to the GUI. The different pickups could always be separate menu items a la the CP80 (original, renovated, renovated bright etc.). The filter could be controlled externally by EQ (i.e. through a separate plugin) and the damping slider could just be on the hammer section somewhere.

Surely they could model the Clavinet based on a quality sample set instead? Scarbee's are pretty high up there in terms of accuracy!

Last edited by MagicalPlug (09-06-2009 00:18)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I strongly disagree about the separate presets for different pickups and filter settings.

The magic of Clavinet is exactly in tweaking those things on the fly, thus those parameters should be on the GUI.

Also, don't forget that you could open the lid of Clavinet and mute the strings by hand, pluck them, and produce artificial harmonics, if you pointed to the right node on the string! There are so many possibilities!

I suggest a keyswitch functionality for those things (hand muting, various artificial harmonics).

Last edited by EvilDragon (09-06-2009 00:45)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Yes indeed, you need to be able to rock those rocker switches live, not have to select a different preset! that would suck!

The tone selector switches give a 4bit range of discrete possibilities, it's not like a continuous EQ thing.


The original Hohner Pianet N (and/or Cymbalet) to be sound distinctly different to a Wurlitzer:
you have sticky foam pads hits accordion-style reeds, not tipped hammers hitting tines!
Listen to the first three Roxy Music or Stranglers albums, you'll hear!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

If Modartt could release a Clavinet as a free KiVR instrument first in a simplistic sense first would be preferable to nothing at all because we're telling them to get it PERFECT straight away!

Have you tried using GSi's Funky Maschine? I really like that one; but I just want a Clavinet tone in Pianoteq to tweak - not too fussed about it being utterly accurate in all of its technical facets (filter, pickups) etc to start with. Just something of a twangier tone I can tweak in Pianoteq!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

no I've just got my real clavinet!

To be honest, I'd be sceptical that any VSTi would ever be the same,
cos on a real clav, I can FEEL the strings vibrating through the rubbish plastic keys.
It also feeds back on stage if you're too loud lol

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Great Feline!

Could you cooperate with Modartt (borrow them ) your Clavinet so they can model it

And while you said that about any VSTi feeling exactly the same, this is also true for Rhodes, Wurli, harpsi and piano too They don't respond the same way physically, only acoustically in Pianoteq. Which is not a bad thing. But never will a VST respond through your keys in the same way as original. Unless someone makes a MIDI controller with force feedback (haha) used in joysticks and gamepads XD

Last edited by EvilDragon (09-06-2009 11:30)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I wouldn't recommend Modartt modelling my personal clavinet D6 as it is not in particuarly excellent shape! (well, I changed the strings and hammer tips 10 years ago, but it really need re-yarned too.... and I had to replace one of the pickups too, as the original was broken - which means I now have one humbucker and one single coil, which sounds a bit odd!)
Clavinet.com are the experts

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Again, maybe they could model from a sample set? Especially if it's going to be a 'free instrument'?

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

there's not a great amount of sympathetic resonance on a clavinet (until it starts to feed back!) but you do get some stuff of that nature.

I remember I once use PrittStick to glue aluminium cooking foil around the inside of the lid in a useless attempt to shield it from picking up mains hum lol
It didn't work at all, and in fact just added a strange echoey resonance to the sound. ( I took the foil off again!)


modelling a refurbished clavinet with new strings and hammer tips would sound very different from one with strings and hammer tips from 1971!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I'd rather see Modartt put a basic Clavinet sound in to keep those of us who aren't such sticklers for detail happy, then later on down the line when Pianoteq has become total market leader, they can afford to buy a real Clavinet and model it more meticulously.

On a side note, how about Pianoteq modelling the DX7 Rhodes patch? I know it's not moving parts and currently all the Pianoteq keyboard instruments are mechanical in some form - but it would be great for Pianoteq to become a one stop shop for all keys based sounds (obviously not organs or synths or anything like that). But the DX7 Rhodes is a bit of a legendary patch. Of course ,if it has to stay mechanical, I'd love to see Glockenspiel, Celestas, Marimbas etc. all with extended ranges given the modelling technology!

Last edited by MagicalPlug (10-06-2009 17:24)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

I think on one occasion I got similar to Rhodes DX patch, but that was on PTQ2 with old models.

Your best bet would be taking a day off and hitting Random button on a Rhodes model =

Hard work and guts!

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Hi
One personal request about the CP80: I'd love to see it among "electric pianos" with the ability of simulating the behaviours of the pickups and amplifier, that is to overdrive the volume (it sounds similar to an electric guitar), to preamp and EQ the sound like on the real CP80, add tremolo...as I pointed some time ago, the model is real good, though , being it an electroacoustic instrument, it looks like the "electro" part of it is somehow lacking imo.....

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

jonathantrengrove wrote:

......(obviously not organs or synths or anything like that.....

Pipe-organs are instruments which also produce sound by vibration and more specific: vibration in air. Is consists of a standing wave which is constantly supplied with external energy: a flow of air (as long as the key is depressed). Adding ADSR-functionality and some wah-wah (since yesterday) and other audio-post-processing things such as compressors and phaseshifters one could also derive some synthetical sounds....

...there are to a certain extent posibillities ;-)

Last edited by hvaartsen (18-02-2010 13:59)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

omissis wrote:

Hi
One personal request about the CP80: I'd love to see it among "electric pianos" with the ability of simulating the behaviours of the pickups and amplifier, that is to overdrive the volume (it sounds similar to an electric guitar), to preamp and EQ the sound like on the real CP80, add tremolo...as I pointed some time ago, the model is real good, though , being it an electroacoustic instrument, it looks like the "electro" part of it is somehow lacking imo.....


The thing is, there already dozens of good VST amp-simulators out there.
So whilst I agree that a good amp is a HUGELY important part of the sound of an electromechanical keyboard, it is probably not the best use of Modartt's resources to spend time modelling one - you can already get them elsewhere.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Speaking of feature requests, I'd like to see CHORUS as an effect choice for the Rhodes and Wurlitzer models. As far as I'm concerned that's the only thing that's missing. Does anyone know if there are any plans for Modartt to add that feature?

I've used both NI Elektrik Piano and Lounge Lizard, and except for their having chorusing, I'd go with Pianoteq's EP's.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

same as above: there are tons of VST chorus (including freewares) you might use with PTQ, see here for a list:

http://www.gersic.com/plugins/index.php?daCat=3

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

If someone is using Pianoteq live, and switching between the acoustic and electric pianos, I don't think an external CHORUS effect would work, or if it did, it wouldn't be very convenient.

However, it could be something that's relatively easy for the developers to implement. As far as I know, all the other major electric piano software includes a chorus effect.

Having said that, I too would prefer that major development efforts remain focussed on acoustic pianos.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Sorry but my English is rather bad. Actually I wanted to say that Rhodes and Wurly have chorus in Pianoteq!!

Last edited by ivo (19-02-2010 19:16)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Right, ivo, chorussing is a feature I'd like them to consider adding.

I've tried detuning the unisons, but that effect isn't the same. If there were some way of changing the phasing of one of two stereo microphones, that might provide a workable alternative, I'm not sure.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

it's true, the "chorus" slider for the single-stringed or single-tined instruments is not a "chorus pedal" type effect (i.e. modulated bucket-brigade delay), it's simulating a literal "two sound sources being detuned".

Surely it's trivial in a "live" situation to use Pianoteq in a light-weight VST host (or even a DAW) and add whatever other VST effects you want?
It is easy to automate these into total recall of whatever you want.

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

feline1,

I thought I was going nuts looking for it - there IS no chorus slider in PTeq.

While it's probably doable in a VST host, why complicate things? IMO chorus should be part of a complete Electric Piano program. I think it's a lot more useful than a wah-wah (except on a Clavinet) or a compressor.

This thread seems to be more about having a Clavinet D6, and it seems as though a wish has been granted..

Last edited by Michael H (19-02-2010 21:54)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

The "chorus" slider is in "Tuning" panel on the upper left.

For the piano instruments (where use 2 or 3 strings for most of the notes), it is called "unison detune".

For instruments with only one string or tine per note (clavinet, rhody, wurli, etc), it is renamed "chorus"


It's not just "probably doable" in a VST host, it's completely trivial!
Honestly, you might as well say Modartt should also supply a mouse, in case your computer doesn't already have one
Well, it's not *quite* as trivial as that, but it's surely getting there?

Last edited by feline1 (20-02-2010 19:46)

Re: Electric Pianos Feature Request

Thanks feline1,

After your last, I was looking into some plugins, and reading my Cantabile pdf manual more carefully. Amazing what these seemingly simple VST hosts can do.

AND I probably need a new pair of eyeglasses...

Oh yeah, when are we getting that free mouse?