Topic: Is it just my ears and/or audio chain?

Pianoteq 7.5.2, 48kHz, HB Steinway D Jazz
Hold down damper pedal
Strike together, very hard: D1, D2, A2, D3, F#3
(C3 = middle C, A3 = A440, as per Pianoteq's MIDI tab)

A fraction of a second after striking, I hear a strong E5 emerge... should it be that prominent?

It's almost as strong holding down the keys without using the damper pedal, so I don't think it's just sympathetic resonance.

Re: Is it just my ears and/or audio chain?

Coises wrote:

Pianoteq 7.5.2, 48kHz, HB Steinway D Jazz
Hold down damper pedal
Strike together, very hard: D1, D2, A2, D3, F#3
(C3 = middle C, A3 = A440, as per Pianoteq's MIDI tab)

A fraction of a second after striking, I hear a strong E5 emerge... should it be that prominent?

It's almost as strong holding down the keys without using the damper pedal, so I don't think it's just sympathetic resonance.

The E5 seems to be there if you listen carefully. I thought it might be the result of a resonance-interaction with some of the effects, but it's still audible when Delay, EQ and Reverb are disabled, so perhaps something else.

Edit: I adjusted various other settings, then worked with the Spectrum Profile in Note Edit. To my ears, changing the 18th partial/harmonic of D2 (note 50) seemed to have the strongest effect.

Last edited by Stephen_Doonan (08-01-2022 16:45)
--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq

Re: Is it just my ears and/or audio chain?

Coises wrote:

Pianoteq 7.5.2, 48kHz, HB Steinway D Jazz
Hold down damper pedal
Strike together, very hard: D1, D2, A2, D3, F#3
(C3 = middle C, A3 = A440, as per Pianoteq's MIDI tab)

A fraction of a second after striking, I hear a strong E5 emerge... should it be that prominent?

It's almost as strong holding down the keys without using the damper pedal, so I don't think it's just sympathetic resonance.

Yes, the damper pedal is not that relevant for such a test.

The fundamental frequency of E5 is the 9th partial of D2 and the 7th partial of F#3. I suspect you'd hear it equally strong without the lower notes, if you pay attention. However the lower notes would "muddy" the sound, making the dissonance more clear.

If you choose the notes carefully and listen, you can always hear such things, even on a grand piano (I hear them all the time).

If you print yourself on a piece of cardboard a "beat locator" in which at least the first 10 partials are indicated (spaced by the spacing of piano keys), you can have fun searching for these things, especially if you print several copies and overlap them appropriately.... If there is interest I can post a picture.

Last edited by dv (08-01-2022 15:09)
Where do I find a list of all posts I upvoted? :(

Re: Is it just my ears and/or audio chain?

Stephen_Doonan wrote:

The E5 seems to be there if you listen carefully. I thought it might be the result of a resonance-interaction with some of the effects, but it's still audible when Delay, EQ and Reverb are disabled, so perhaps something else.

dv wrote:

The fundamental frequency of E5 is the 9th partial of D2 and the 7th partial of F#3. I suspect you'd hear it equally strong without the lower notes, if you pay attention. However the lower notes would "muddy" the sound, making the dissonance more clear.

If you choose the notes carefully and listen, you can always hear such things, even on a grand piano (I hear them all the time).

I do hear it with just D2 and F#3... but in that case, it is significantly more audible with the pedal down. Two other observations:

1. If I move down a whole step, to C2 and E3, there is a similar, strong ringing note... but it moves up to G5, not down to D5.

2. I hear it similarly on other HB Steinway D presets. Though I can pick it out on other pianos, like the Steinway B, now that I've heard it, it's notably less strong there. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I weren't looking for it.

What I find really odd is that the other pianos (where it's not as strong) still exhibit the same note patterns: E5 emerges from a D major chord, but a G5 emerges from a C major chord.

It's been a long time since I've had access to an acoustic piano... one reason I asked this question... wondering if it's normal, if it's my system or hearing (I think my audio interface and headphones are reliable... my hearing I know is not), or if there's something a little odd in the Pianoteq model.

Re: Is it just my ears and/or audio chain?

Coises wrote:

1. If I move down a whole step, to C2 and E3, there is a similar, strong ringing note... but it moves up to G5, not down to D5.

2. I hear it similarly on other HB Steinway D presets. Though I can pick it out on other pianos, like the Steinway B, now that I've heard it, it's notably less strong there. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I weren't looking for it.

What I find really odd is that the other pianos (where it's not as strong) still exhibit the same note patterns: E5 emerges from a D major chord, but a G5 emerges from a C major chord.

It's been a long time since I've had access to an acoustic piano... one reason I asked this question... wondering if it's normal, if it's my system or hearing (I think my audio interface and headphones are reliable... my hearing I know is not), or if there's something a little odd in the Pianoteq model.

The case 1 must be caused by aligning of different partials.

Regarding 2 and the general discussion, the bottom line is that it's normal. Each piano (and to less degree each note of the same piano) has different upper partials. When you play a chord, some partials may "align" from different notes and depending on circumstances you may hear that as separate note, however you don't always hear such separate notes, otherwise every single note you play you should hear at least its octave and its 12th (an octave up from the fifth) and instead in most cases you don't.

Where do I find a list of all posts I upvoted? :(