School project - questionnaire for Pianoteq users

Hi Barium,

wishing you well with your survey.

@joe, I agree with practically all of your notes.

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1
Studio, all instruments
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2
Composing, recording, pleasure.
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3
Pianoteq is unassailable IMO in regards to realism in the VSTI space. There is, simply put, nothing nearly as expressive or as close to the experience of playing a real piano, as is provided by Pianoteq. 
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This is an area of expertise from aprox. 4 decades of personal and professional experience with many real and mostly virtual or electronic instruments, recording, live etc. (Mostly modern music rather than classical in nature but in recent decade+ I have been more devoted to classical music, neo-classical compositions etc, having loved classical music since early childhood).

As to unique characteristics of Pianoteq - in effect, the superb attention given to so many attributes and rational controls to allow our sensibilities and/or abilities to shine in our own tunings, tweakings etc. Other offerings give utterly limited systems to alter the piano. One example being things like offering only 4 un-changeable microphone arrays with no scope for moving, adding or subtracting mics or types of mic and so no, and other similar constructs such as only offering a dozen very limited sliders for things like hammer hardness etc. If you examine almost any theoretical aspect of tuning or re-making a virtual piano, Pianoteq has supplied unsurpassed tools, remarkably intelligent and elegant ways to "work on" our pianos, as opposed to slightly alter them or inadvertently 'break' the realism. The "framework" from the ground up, has been developed by a wonderful confluence of genius in terms of understanding pianos per se, and also uncompromising great engineering. So many other products are hulking masses of Gigabytes prone to fail at any task with enough time. In stark contrast, Pianoteq continues to delight and become more meaningful with every hour/day/week/month/year spent working with it.

It may be important to any research to delineate "Why" this is important for a software instrument?

a
Because virtual = unlimited possibilities - this is what we all must come to terms with - never will the world be quite the same, as much as we need to protect the atomic things/systems/products we know love and need.

b
Because real world piano = relatively fixed object. In contrast to the above, it comes "as is" with some tuning and so on, we can treat/condition to liking etc. however, this would be the best possible and desirable outcome "My piano is the way I love it!" - making one very happy. In contrast again, to VSTIs, we can make maybe many pianos "the way we love them all!".

c
Other VSTI's do not accomplish either a or b. They fail to deliver a "real piano" experience and they also compound the disillusionment by failing to provide multiple choices or at least many other models or types from real world or imagined. Many VSTI's offering multitudes of choices are offering multitudes of non-usable backround-at-best mix sounds (that's just IMO and the way I work - Piantoeq completely makes all other choices beyond even comparison now - I am NOT using anything else for piano sounds/playing).

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4
Fairness of price is beyond question. If budget is concern, then anyone with reasonable expectations could understand the purchase of entry level version is excellent value. For those who wish to experience the entire product range, then Studio has been my most encouraged 'spend' - because, in the end, it's the best value if aqcuiring all instruments. Exceptional value - worth saving up for. Allows you to experience the great pianos of the world and include these in ones' music output, private or public etc. I often consider the real world cost of purchase, housing and maintenance on a stable of same instruments - impossible without many millions expenditure.

Further, I consider each virtual Pianoteq piano model, in the same regard as the real instrument. Without Pianoteq I would have not experienced a good facsimile of these instruments, in order to appreciate the history and current directions of great piano makers.

How can one adequately price a living virtual history museum of pianos? To me we are lucky to have come across Pianoteq and I'd say, if you enjoy real pianos, you will enjoy "Studio" and I was more happy to pay full price for this, than with any other software I have ever purchased in that 40yr window. Sincerely, nothing else like it, by a wide margin - testimony to the level of skill and sincere artistic prowess involved inside the Modartt enterprise.
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5
Without being afraid to be too loud in my respect of the product and people bringing it to market, there would be not a single item to list. It is practically everything about Pianoteq that I like. If it came down to one general thing - it may be that it excels in almost any measure against all other digital piano sounds. Bringing it down to one specific word, I would say realism - both in playability and sound. If needing one very specific item (layers to it) - respect. Modartt seems to be as fine an institution as a real world grand piano house or company - in so many ways this filters through the product to the artist or casual user alike and hopefully also to the piano makers who so graciously work with Pianoteq to bring their real world instruments to life for those of us who would very much love to own a real world instrument from this stable. I'd hope this very thing is also the thing piano makers would also like most about Pianoteq.
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6
There would be nothing I would want changed - yet improvement is always delivered like no other product (music related or other) in all my experience with software over 40yrs. The process of additional changes for good is handle with exceptional engineering one thing at a time with notable positive effect. I have seen this process occur over years with suggestions via forum, both by others and myself. It's a reality for me, that the evolution of the product is in good hands.
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7
Could not be happier. In all honesty, as positive as I am, it's sincere and from experience, any improvement I would seek, will come in reasonable time-frames. This never occurs with other products which seem to have issues - their set ways (Terabytes of samples remaining largely unchanged over many years since purchase) are different to work from, and one cannot 'tweak' these systems as readily.
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8 i
YES. Most of my analysis is contained in above answers, feel free to choose from those. (maybe this question is made redundant by all my expressions above)

8 ii
YES. As above also
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9
Use case scenario dictates this. I provide several in case helpful.

a
Live: absolutely, the event would dictate this.
b
Home: Pianoteq, the above describes why.
c
Recording: goal would dictate but I would prefer to work with Pianoteq due to ability to make quicker/instant changes to tuning, brand/model etc.
d
Fantasy setting, no constraints: Both, maybe one great grand piano could assuage me to prefer it over all that Pianoteq offers the world.
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10 i
No question I would have purchased this because I am decidedly going to have every instrument created in my collection if I can.

10 ii
Magic. The Petrof is a sound which is inherently inspiring and gives great impulse to freely explore, especially in composing. I find the Ant. Petrof to be majestic in so many ways and it's a model with interesting technical aspects which I find that I appreciate very much. I have played Petrof Mistral and others but the Ant. Petrof is a wonderful confluence of the best of Petrof and a commendable release both regarding the real world Petrof family/company and the Pianoteq version. It may be the most utilised instrument thus far inside my Pianoteq collection and is a preferred sound for much of my time spent improvising. It is also a treat to listen to classical midi (like radio with Recording 3 preset) as this piano reproduces such a broad classical repertoire so beautifully without needing much alteration to the midi files - because this piano delivers convincing performances across a high dynamic range (taming well midi files too heavy handed or too light). All said and done - the experience of the Ant. Petrof in Pianoteq is quite like a dream come true for me and again, that would not be overstating it. Sincerely.
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I study English for Business, so I focus primarily on philology and English as a language (which is my main point of interest), but we also have several business-related subjects (General Principles of Management, Marketing, Management of Non-Profit Organisations etc.). Last year, me and my colleagues were supposed to find an internship, at best focused on both English and administrative activities, and this semester we have to elaborate a project based on our work experience from the internship and then present it to our teacher in the exam period. I managed to find an internship at a renowned piano-manufacturing company where I worked primarily as a translator and I learned that the company had run a cooperation with Modartt; so, after learning about the existence of virtual instruments and Pianoteq, I thought it would be intriguing to make these the subject matter of my project. So, yes, this survey may definitely sound marketing-oriented because I have chosen the marketing analysis as the principal method of my research. In a nutshell, I am trying to find out some information about the position and development of virtual instruments on the market because they seem to have a very unique and specific role in the world of music and they are still rather unknown in my country.

And as for my own musical past, I used to play the piano indeed - I even attended a great number of concerts and music competitions, but unfortunately, I had to give up playing the piano due to school and related reasons several years ago, so I am no longer a pianist (although I can still play the piano, of course, I still have my old Yamaha digital upright piano at home). I am 21, just to make it clear.

Hi !

1) Pianoteq stage 4, stage 5 and now standard 6. I have bought 2 extra packages so far : the Ant. Petrof and the Honner Collection. (I bought them +- 2 weeks ago ). I'm planning to purchase some others in the future.

2) Playing, recording, to have the ability to play with my midi keyboard like I was playing with my "real" piano.

3) Modeling, modeling, and of course modeling. Did I mention modeling ? Because that's why. Yes, and modeling too. (don't forget the modeling part)

4) Really good price, great value. One of my best buy.

5) See point 3 + having VST plugin AND a standalone player + doesn't eat all my RAM up. That's nice.

6) Not really. Maybe I would add some options in the "Midi sequencer (standalone)" list in the MIDI mappable actions. I tried to bind the "start recording" to one of my pedal, but was just able to record with the pedal pressed on (on = recording, off = stop). Wanted to make "one press = start recording, then another press = stop recording". Maybe I'm not clear idk. Maybe it's already possible but I'm too dumb to make it work

7) Can't be more satisfied. I'm using it almost every day.

9) I was a straight "real piano"-only guy. I changed my mind. Good keyboard (wooden keys, ivory touch) + pianoteq (realistic as f*) is even much better than some upright pianos I've tested. Definitely better than my studies one

10 i) Wanted try something else than the Stenway D. Just listened to some demos, liked them, and of course, because it's only 50€ : how can I NOT buy this.

10 ii) Awesome.

1) Which Pianoteq version (1–6), type (Stage / Standard / PRO / Studio Bundle) and instrument packs do you currently own?

Pianoteq 6 Pro

Steinway D, K2
Steingraeber
Bleuthner
Petrof
Electric Pianos

2) For what purpose(s) did you purchase Pianoteq?

personal piano playing and music composition

3) What made you choose Pianoteq (rather than another synthetizer)? Were there any unique characteristics or another source of motivation for your preference of Pianoteq? If so, please specify.

I like that Pianoteq is purely modeled - that I am playing an algorithm...
It isn't an acoustic piano, it's a genuine instrument all of its own, accordingly with enormous and satisfying depth.

4) How did you feel about the price of your type of Pianoteq?

The price felt fair. The upgrade policy feels satisfyingly generous.

5) Is there anything you particularly like about Pianoteq? Please specify.

The responsiveness while playing is unique, the playability.
I find the malleability of the sound satisfying.
I find the loop-less resonance inspiring.

6) Is there anything you particularly dislike or would change about Pianoteq? Please specify.

Dislike is too strong of a word...
Sounds can always be improved... some sound ranges in certain instruments require quite a bit of adjustment to be satisfying to my ear. I'm thankful that I can *mostly* make those adjustments in the PRO version.

The keyboard shortcut to maximize the window is not standard for a Mac application... it would be nice if interface standards were followed for predictability.

7) In general, how satisfied are you with your current type of Pianoteq?

I'm greatly satisfied; Pianoteq is better than I hoped. I look forward to continual improvement.

*8) (Answer only if applicable.) If you are capable of comparing Pianoteq with one (or more) other synthetizer(s) with which you have had experience so far,
     i) do you perceive any significantly positive, or, significantly negative difference(s) between them and Pianoteq?

I feel Pianoteq to be more responsive to my playing... though the other VST has greater color variation with respect to velocity difference.

     ii) are you generally more satisfied with Pianoteq or with the other synthetizer(s)? Why?

Yes, the responsiveness of Pianoteq feels more organic / alive... I don't feel as though I'm "triggering" recordings by pressing keys... 

*9) (Answer only if applicable.) If you are capable of comparing Pianoteq to your experience with playing a real acoustic piano, which one do you generally favour more and why?

This depends upon the acoustic piano.
I'd rather play a fine acoustic piano that was fairly recently serviced.
That is a rare circumstance...

There is more richness and variability in key sensitivity in a fine acoustic.

I'd rather play Pianoteq with my MP11SE than a poorly-tuned acoustic, or one that is very poor quality, or otherwise not in fine condition.

*10) (Answer only if applicable.) If you own the ANT. PETROF 275 Grand Piano instrument pack,
     i) what was your motivation to choose this particular pack (if you did not receive it automatically via purchasing Studio Bundle)?

I enjoy the variation in character it affords compared to the other packs I own.

     ii) how would you describe your experience with it so far?

I like playing it for an hour - then playing the same thing using a different instrument that brings out different character from the piece and draws my playing in a different direction.