Topic by mr88cet

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Topic: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

This is a famous problem from samplers, so I'm a little surprised to see it in a physical-modeling synthesizer!  The problem regards timbral registers when you have more (or fewer!) than 12 tones per octave.

As most any instrument, the high register of piano has timbral qualities very different from those of the lower register.  Pianoteq appears to choose the physical properties to simulate, based upon the MIDI key number. 

That's fine until you go to, for example, 19 steps per octave, where the higher MIDI note numbers are much lower-pitched, and the low MIDI note numbers are much higher pitched, than in 12.

So the higher keys sound groggy and the lower keys sound raspy and plinky.

Is there as setting to tell Pianoteq to compensate for the number of tones per octave?

What it should do, of course, is choose those qualities based upon *the pitch*, and *not upon the key number*.

Reply by julien

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

The default behaviour of Pianoteq is to change the string tension when the pitch is adjusted. It works fine for small amounts of detuning, but on large detuning as you have noticed, the timbre is heavily influenced. The setting you are looking for is the 'string tension' / 'full rebuild' button in the microtuning panel of Pianoteq (standard/pro).

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Reply by mr88cet

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

julien wrote:

The default behaviour of Pianoteq is to change the string tension when the pitch is adjusted. It works fine for small amounts of detuning, but on large detuning as you have noticed, the timbre is heavily influenced. The setting you are looking for is the 'string tension' / 'full rebuild' button in the microtuning panel of Pianoteq (standard/pro).

OK, I see that option.  Is there a way to get it to change string *length* rather than *tension*?  Having strings tensioned up an octave or two would almost certainly sound ... way wrong!

Reply by mr88cet

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

mr88cet wrote:
julien wrote:

The default behaviour of Pianoteq is to change the string tension when the pitch is adjusted. It works fine for small amounts of detuning, but on large detuning as you have noticed, the timbre is heavily influenced. The setting you are looking for is the 'string tension' / 'full rebuild' button in the microtuning panel of Pianoteq (standard/pro).

OK, I see that option.  Is there a way to get it to change string *length* rather than *tension*?  Having strings tensioned up an octave or two would almost certainly sound ... way wrong!

Oh, or is that perhaps exactly what the "full rebuild" does (change it from tension adjustments to string-length adjustments)?

Reply by mr88cet

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

julien wrote:

The default behaviour of Pianoteq is to change the string tension when the pitch is adjusted. It works fine for small amounts of detuning, but on large detuning as you have noticed, the timbre is heavily influenced. The setting you are looking for is the 'string tension' / 'full rebuild' button in the microtuning panel of Pianoteq (standard/pro).

Again though, in my view, I think the correct solution is to use the calculated pitch, not the MIDI key number, to choose the vibrating characteristics.  Clearly, the Pianoteq software has to calculate the pitch based upon the tuning parameters anyway, so they should use that rather than the key number.

Reply by julien

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

Full rebuild will create a "new" instrument, choosing string length for each note so that their timbre is as near as possible from original instrument.

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Reply by mr88cet

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Re: >12 Tones Per Octave: Redistribute Timbral Parameters

julien wrote:

Full rebuild will create a "new" instrument, choosing string length for each note so that their timbre is as near as possible from original instrument.

That does indeed work superbly!  Thanks.