Request: Improved sequencer

The idea is having the ability to record multiple tracks within pianoteq without the need for external applications.

Surely adding an extra recording lane to increase the vst's productivity potential is a good idea, and one that is worth investing time in?

Perhaps others will see this as a help, not a hindrance to creativity?

I think the same. And there are many other solutions than Reaper: "lite" versions of Cubase for example, usually bundled with sound cards, will do the same job without problem, and with many other features as well, should you wish to use them.

The one thing I would like to see added to the sequencer: a single button named "Loop." Press it and then press Play, and the piece would play again and again. Good for learning pieces, for creating a rhythm track for playing\singing over, etc.

Yes, I agree that a loop feature would be a good idea.
Being able to add to an existing track is essentially what I'm after.

Though I still don't see what the harm would be in adding an midi extra lane or two  in addition to this loop feature.

The added functionality would be there for people to harness if they  desire, and wouldn't necessarily have to impinge upon the current framework any further than a drop-down menu and detachable window.

You can already micro-manage the sound characteristics of individual notes, so why not enable the user to adjust the recording of them?

Quantisation, to smoothen out wobbly performances, would also be a welcome addition in my view.

I think most people would back modartt in any further improvements they made to pianoteq's recording abilities, regardless if it gave the developers a headache or not.

Sure, it can be used in conjunction with external sequencers that do a much better job than pianoteq's in-built recording.
But just because that is currently the case, does not mean that pianoteq has to remain that way.

A single extra note lane would enable you to produce more varied compositions, with the minimum of fuss.

I may have gone a little too far in bringing up ableton and micro-managing. But I still believe that an extra note lane for midi isn't too much to ask for.

I wouldn't want pianoteq to become a full-fledged audio sequencer. Just a slightly more adept midi one.

So that's that then, is it eh?

Granted, it's not an improvement that would affect you, EvilDragon. But I'm sure that many would find it useful in certain situations, if the option was available.

It's probably not on their list of top priorities, but I wonder what Modartt's stance is on this topic?

N.B I have tried Reaper, but only find it useful for encoding mp3s, and pitch/tempo-shifting. Midi and audio sequencing seems all a bit too fiddly.

WHEN did you try Reaper? In version 2? It is much improved now, including MIDI editing. Audio recording and mixing was always one of the best aspects of Reaper, it is extremely fast in contrast to some other DAWs.

But that's what it IS! Nothing more than a virtual instrument.

And most of us over here are perfectly fine with that - developer's intention was to create an instrument, not an instrument with a mini-sequencer in it.

I think this is a dead end, sorry.

I almost never use the recording funktion in Pianoteq and if i do it is to remember a good idea fast with out starting my recording host (Cubase) or to drop a midi file for listening.

If Pianoteq get's more midi tracks i really want Pianoteq to do a drums add-on and guitar and.......

Yes, it's a waste of their time, when even THEY aren't still totally satisfied with the piano tone Pianoteq produces. They have to get the tone down first, this is why they still WORK on it and improve it sonically and we do beta-tests to approve the things they do.

Sorry, but really - tone comes first in this virtual instrument. You can always record another track in your sequencer. For most of us, Modartt only needs to provide the tone, and we will provide the means of recording it, by using our DAWs. That's all.

Sorry to wade into someone else discussion/argument but I have to agree with both sides of it. The midi recording and playback ablity of Pianoteq is very useful and neat, not least because of its simplicity. The problem with multitrack recording and editing applications is their complexity and often lack of intuitive interface. Since EvilDragon's endorsment of Reaper yesterday I downloaded it to have a look. Yes, really fast and quick to load, but it took me most of the evening to work out how to make it make a sound! (I loaded a midi track into it -silly me). Then some more time to work out how to edit notes as its in a different part of the application altogether. Perhaps I'm being obtuse but I have found after years of computer use that the best software doesn't need an encyclopaedic Wiki to help you use it, you learn as you see. So if it was as simple as it is now then a small expansion on the midi capability built into Pianoteq could be helpful.

But, Pianoteq's (awesome) acheivement has nothing to do with midi editing and recording, its a project in creating physically modelled pianos. I'm sure they could bolt on more and more extra applications to entertain us, but they'll need a Wiki page or two (or 10,000 like Reaper has) to tell us what to do. Nope, the single track midi recording is a nice little extra which they should definately keep but lets not destract them from their main focus.

Oh... I started off agreeing with both sides but I've wound up agreeing only with EvilDragon, sorry ToneF.

We can imagine thousand of nice new features or enhancements to PTQ but to me it's obvious that sound comes first. As been said earlier, there's no need to re-invent a wheel, when it's already done.

I would even go further with my point of view: I would like Modartt to concentrate on PIANO sound, improve it as much as possible. For me those e-piano, mallet or historical instruments are nice but I would easily change all of them to a better piano sound. No question about it.

Also I'm quite sure that "the final battle" takes place on field of piano sounds. What company will make a best acoustic piano model. Right now there's no too much competition. But still the question for Modartt and others is when we really see or hear Pianoteq on the high level professional stage instead of V-piano or Yamaha CP-X or whatever.

P.S: Of course I have nothing against those add-ons in general. Maybe Modartt guys need also some time off from their piano development in which I know they put so much their time...

Newbie here and just purchased pteq yesterday.

I love this for what it is and any serious recording I will do on Cubase. However, it was mentioned above and something I would really like would be for the player to be able to loop.

The reason why I think this would be a real asset is so that it can help the editing process of sounds. So, if pteq could repeatedly loop a fragment it would allow the accurate editing of the sound without the need to keep pressing pause and play.

Also, I'd imagine that this would not take too long for the brains at pteq, and like others say they can concentrate on the real work of developing the sounds.

I was stuck for a decent sequencer a few months ago just to edit out bum notes from some of my PTQ MIDI recordings. I wanted something that I could try first because I didn't want to end up spending loads of dosh on something that I found wasn't suitable later.

I downloaded Reaper by Cockos. Cocko's licencing policy is that you get the full blown version (and there is only one version) free for a month during which time you are completely free to use it as you wish. I had the demo version for only a couple of days and decided it was exactly what I wanted as it hosts Pianoteq perfectly. It cost me £40 (as a non-enterprise home user).

This, in my opinion is a thoroughly decent and honest way to sell software. The price is reasonable enough so as not to invite piracy.

If people would keep asking so much requests and detais...  we could one get get with this: