Topic by GDCRAFTYT

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Topic: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

Hello everyone! I came across this video before, and I wanted to recreate it ever since I got pianoteq. It takes advantage of the string length and has an amazing bass register, which is why I really want to make it into an FXP file.

Video:
https://youtu.be/wcIF--Pw0MY?si=QZOhzuCsOI_atGo8

I have tried and kind of failed in making a recreation of it using the SK-EX pack. It's decent but not a one to one recreation of the Alexander Piano.
Here is the FXP:
https://forum.modartt.com/file/9zwdszuk

Could anyone help me learn how to recreate this? And if possible, is there a way to somehow analyze the YouTube video itself to automatically give me a decent spectrum profile?

Any form of help is apprieciated

Reply by bani223

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Re: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

GDCRAFTYT wrote:

Hello everyone! I came across this video before, and I wanted to recreate it ever since I got pianoteq. It takes advantage of the string length and has an amazing bass register, which is why I really want to make it into an FXP file.

Video:
https://youtu.be/wcIF--Pw0MY?si=QZOhzuCsOI_atGo8

I have tried and kind of failed in making a recreation of it using the SK-EX pack. It's decent but not a one to one recreation of the Alexander Piano.
Here is the FXP:
https://forum.modartt.com/file/9zwdszuk

Could anyone help me learn how to recreate this? And if possible, is there a way to somehow analyze the YouTube video itself to automatically give me a decent spectrum profile?

Any form of help is apprieciated


Interesting thoughts! My preferred way to do this would be to combine several pianos based on their qualities at various registers. It takes a while my way and involves trial and error and testing on various specific systems, but its like a meditation so i don't mind it. I mean the ultimate way to do this would be to hire / fund Modartt itself to use their tools and methods, but I guess thats not as fun. Let us know how it goes. Great to have a project!

MOTU M2 using native ASIO driver, Windows 11, weird tweaks needed to make it work, but seems fine now.
I have posted several times about tweaking Pianoteq

Reply by GDCRAFTYT

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Re: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

Long time no reply to this topic, but I just uploaded a newer version (version 16) I now used the Steingraeber since it’s way more accurate than the morphing I did with version 14.

https://forum.modartt.com/file/d4dm21e4

Would love to hear thoughts about how it can be improved!

Reply by kawai_user3535

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Re: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

GDCRAFTYT wrote:

Long time no reply to this topic, but I just uploaded a newer version (version 16) I now used the Steingraeber since it’s way more accurate than the morphing I did with version 14.

https://forum.modartt.com/file/d4dm21e4

Would love to hear thoughts about how it can be improved!

Hi GDCRAFTYT, I'm a fan of your Alexander piano, especially version 14, thanks for your work on this. I've begun to use it as my default piano for 95% of my daily practice. Works nicely all around. It reminds me in a way of the Barenboim pinao.

Reply by GDCRAFTYT

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Re: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

kawai_user3535 wrote:

Hi GDCRAFTYT, I'm a fan of your Alexander piano, especially version 14, thanks for your work on this. I've begun to use it as my default piano for 95% of my daily practice. Works nicely all around. It reminds me in a way of the Barenboim pinao.


Thank you for your kind words kawai_user3535! Glad you enjoyed version 14, I encourage you to try version 16. For me it does sound better, but it might lack that Kawai soundboard resonance since it’s based on the steingraeber.

Looking into the Barenboim piano, I say, I agree it does share similar characteristics.

Last edited by GDCRAFTYT (31-12-2025 18:00)

Reply by kawai_user3535

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Re: Recreating the Alexander Piano 569cm Grand

GDCRAFTYT wrote:
kawai_user3535 wrote:

Hi GDCRAFTYT, I'm a fan of your Alexander piano, especially version 14, thanks for your work on this. I've begun to use it as my default piano for 95% of my daily practice. Works nicely all around. It reminds me in a way of the Barenboim pinao.


Thank you for your kind words kawai_user3535! Glad you enjoyed version 14, I encourage you to try version 16. For me it does sound better, but it might lack that Kawai soundboard resonance since it’s based on the steingraeber.

Looking into the Barenboim piano, I say, I agree it does share similar characteristics.

I like your version 16 too, based on the Steingraeber. It may sound a little closer to your reference video, and it may have some extra spatial depth with the more complex mic setup you have there. But for me, I'm not necessarily going for what the guy demonstrates on that Alexander piano in the video. It's interesting but that's not the sound I would exactly want to emulate in my own setup. So I think maybe the version 16 FXP goes a little too far in that direction for my taste, and has kind of a coarseness to the timbre that may be true to the reference material but I prefer the more polished sound palette from the Shigeru Kawai model. I've never been really sold on Pianoteq's Steingraeber model.

Regardless, you've done really nicely with this version 16 too, just as a matter of personal taste I don't think it's going to top the SK-based version 14 for me.