Most realistic (or favourite) modern piano

The less realistic now it's the K2, like I said yesterday, the bass, from B1 flat to C2 sharp sounds too ringing, too much vibration when reach F or FF or more. Somehow the high velocities strikes was always the most difficult ponit to pianoteq model.

The last two, C. Bechstein and Petrof, are the most realistic, I believe.

I believe they have reached a point where it is difficult to say the latest is therefore clearly the best because developments...
Pick the pianos you like the sound of the best. A serious pianist will give a better educated guess that I can but the ear is fallible.

I cannot really tell which is the most realistic but the temptation is always to say the latest; no doubt good for new sales too, which is fine.

What I notice when playing MIDI piano files found on the net in the standalone is that the Bluthner seems to be best at making more of them sound like a real pianist rather than a automated MIDI file. In other words disguising what they really are.
My guess the Aliquot strings extra resonance is subtly humanising the sound, much like a motion blurring effect in a 3d video game.
Perhaps this is much like the need for exaggerated reverb on samples to make them sound more convincing?

I don't believe that makes the lovely Bluethner a more accurate recreation of the instrument though, just a useful side effect. YMMV.

I tried to play this quiz this morning. This is a cruel exercise (choose only one model) because each of the Pianoteq preset has a facet that makes it a remarkable instrument. I also think that the result of this quiz depends on the inspiration of the moment: Which piece of piano do you want to play at a given moment .. (I exclude here the use of Pianoteq like jukebox - simple midi player - because the feedback of the performers is betrayed by the sound and dynamics of another instrument than the one they played). The result of the quiz also depends on the memory (at a given moment) of the last actual acoustic instruments that have been listened to and played (and the quality of the pianist that played them). The result depends on the quality of the keyboard and especially the pianist who operates ... In my case, I am a very poor amateur pianist (although I have been playing for years), I have in mind the timbre of the piano upright Schimmel T130 (in good condition and well tuned) on which I play ten minutes every morning before going to work (once my family awake), and the Bosendorfer 200 grand piano on which I play every lunch time (unfortunately only a quarter of an hour) before going back to work. Early in the morning I play a little longer with Pianoteq 6.4 which I have almost all the presets on a Casio GP500 keyboard, connected to a relatively powerful computer (but a bit noisy), a dac audiophile (Aune S6) and headphones high-end planar, Kennerton Thror. This morning I wanted (and pianistic means) to do this test on the beginning of the first movement of the sonata 14 of Beethoven that I made the effort not to damage too much ...
After passing one after the other my favorite presets of the different virtual instruments: The winner this morning is the Preset Prelude of Steinway B, the most subtle preset for me, on which hovers the shadow of Martha Argerich and the recent efforts of revoicing of Pianoteq in version 6.4. If I had a second choice I would have been divided (this morning) between the Steingraeber E272 (bought at the time after only 5 minutes of listening) and the C.Bechstein DG D 282 on which have brought the latest progress of Pianoteq, but unfortunately this morning there was only one winner.
What is certain for me is that I would not have put in the first positions (if it had been possible) my own Bosendorfer 200 fxp (v0.8) based on Bluethner model one, because this sound has become too muffled in the latest versions of Pianoteq. I am currently working on the improvement of this fxp, always hoping that Modartt eventually launch into a real preset Bosendorfer, whatever the name given to it.

Bruno

Hard to make a choice !
For the moment my two favorites are Ant. Petrof and C Bechstein DG, with some personal adjustments.

I made this track to test both with the same MIDI file :

Bechstein
https://hearthis.at/xnwdv7yv/opus-incertum/

Petrof
https://hearthis.at/xnwdv7yv/opus-incertum-p/

The most realistic piano - Well, we can always say that a sound is great or good. And  people can probably find pluses and minuses for each instrument, but it is always about personal preference. The best Pianoteq piano? It is too subjective for me to give an acceptable answer. It could be whichever Ptq. Because, as I see it, every Ptq has it’s own unique sound, timbre - I think character or personality -  is the right words. And my keyboard (not good) isn’t so suitable for every sound. But I like every Ptq model.
But - that said, right now, my subjective answer: Bechstein, Steingraeber and Petrof (and I discovered K2 again, I like it now, as you can hear in ”recordings featuring Ptq”, Test of K2….).
Well, that’s what I think about it.

Hello to all !
Very interesting vote forum! I should had seen it before I choose my Pianoteq's stage 2 pianos. I picked: a) the Stainway D because of the many presets and b) the Ant.Petrof because I've play the acoustic once. If I had read this forum before my purchase, my second choice would be the Bechstein because I trust experienced piano players. Of course I didn't vote, because I'm not qualified to do so.

Because of the results of this voting forum I just bought the C.Bechstein. It is very good in did, I think a bit more smooth and gentle reactive action from Steinwey D (this difference exists at acoustic grand pianos between American and European brands. Americans need more power touch and Europeans more delicate touch) and more warm and sweet sound from Ant. Petrof (Petrof is to clear and loud at high notes)... So nobody likes the U4... In my opinion, as sound, it is very realistic. But I would like to have more opinions from you all... Testing without some notes don't let me have clear opinion...

Playing exclusively through some rather high-end speakers, Bechstein used to be my favourite but in the last few weeks, the Bluethner has stolen the top pick. I play with player mics and after a few changes to the default positions, it sounds amazing and nearest to an actual piano in the room. Then again, I prefer a warmer tone.

I am fortunate enough to own the entire Pianoteq library.  We have all read discussions about how various speakers and microphones affect the perceived realism of individual pianos.  There seem to be as many opinions as there are people answering the polls.  In resurrecting some old midi files of live performances in years past, I have found that it is not a simple matter of grafting a Pianoteq model onto an existing midi file.  When playing live, I have found that individual piano models seem to affect my playing technique to the point that I cannot categorically state there is a single best choice of Pianoteq model.

Another topic that needs to be addressed is this: are you attempting to re-create the most pianistically realistic sound from the standpoint of the performer or the listener?  A pianist seated at a given piano typically hears the lowest notes originate from the left side of the piano, and the highest notes originate from the right side of a piano.  When I sat in Symphony Center (formerly Orchestra Hall) in Chicago, Illinois USA and listened to world class solo classical performers, IF I had close to a front row seat, I was located to the performer's right side, and I would be situated along the body of the grand piano, approximately 15 to 20 feet away (~4.5 to 6 meters) from the piano's case.  In these instances, I would normally hear the keyboard's action to my left of center, the mid- to high notes approximately in the center of my listening field, and the lowest bass sounds to my right, towards the tail of the piano's case.  Restated, the panning would be reversed from that perceived from the piano bench.  The further away I was seated from the piano, the notion of panning became less distinguishable.  I remember hearing pianists Rudolph Serkin, Alfred Brendel, and Vladimir Horowitz (in separate concerts) from the mid- and upper gallery seats, in which case the sound was practically a monophonic experience.

* * * * * *

Back to the question at hand:  Although this is a moving target, my current most favorable Pianoteq model is the Grotrian Concert Royal(e)  preset, with the program's reverb disabled, channels reversed left for right, the condition slider raised to between 0.3 and 0.5, and I use Altiverb 7 XL for reverb. Additionally, I usually increase the action noises by +4dB and I increase the sustain pedal noise by about +3 dB. Altiverb has a feature where one may position the left and right channels forward or backward on the sound stage.  Moreover, I shift the right channel quite far to the right, and the left channel very close to center.  Next, I use the Amsterdam Concertgebouw impulse response with omnidirectional microphones positioned for about a 4+ second decay characteristic.  My secret is that I play the reverb much quieter than one might expect.  I gradually increase the level of the reverb until I can hear it, and then promptly decrease its level by a few decibels.

Please note this is done for classical piano repertoire; for jazz pieces, I use one of the studio IRs with similar panning.

Of course, there is nothing definitive about my choice of Pianoteq models and reverbs; rather, it is a statement of what I currently use to gain the most realistic piano recordings.  My opinion and techniques may vary over time.

Hope this provides some insight.  Your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Joe