Topic by idejuan

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  • idejuan
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Topic: Using monitor speakers to get the best sound of Pianoteq

Hi,

I would like to share my setup to play Pianoteq virtual instruments with Roland FP-30X. This probably applies as well to other digital pianos.

Although Roland FP-30x has a USB sound interface that allows you to play the sound coming from midi-out of the computer software (Pianoteq, etc), I have tested it and the sound is not as realistic as when using headphones so I decided to try out an alternative.

I happened to have a couple of Presonus Eris 3.5 speakers that are white so they look harmonius in the setup.

I have put them facing up. The internal speakers of FP-30X face down, so this is a major change. I believe acoustic pianos project sound in all directions, but projecting the sound upwards I think is the main output.

Covering the wall I have a wooden piece of furniture, initially designed to be at the head of the bed, as a bed headboard. It has double purpose, on one hand it protects the speakers from touching the wall directly and very importantly the act as a wooden soundboard quite effectively.

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Hope it helps more people.

Reply by idejuan

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Re: Using monitor speakers to get the best sound of Pianoteq

The above solution is to use external speakers.

But the FP30x has a very interesting feature which is that it has a USB interface. This means that the device can play sounds from its internal speakers that come from an external USB source. For example, coming from Pianoteq running in a laptop or iPad. The only thing you need to configure is that the output sound from pianoteq is the Roland FP30x. It appears clearly in the options.

The internal speakers of FP30x are very good and powerful, but when you use Pianoteq presets, you will notice that the sound comes out a bit boxy and muddy.

As discussed in this thread https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?id=12268 there are 3 things you can do to improve the sound:

- Change velocity to "Moderately slow keyboard"
- Deselect reverb
- Reduce resonance both symp. and duplex

That helped me to obtain a clearer sound. But it is for sure my personal opinion, you may think otherwise.