CPU Fast enough for PianoTeq 7 Pro?

You can download the fully funcional demo. If it runs smoothly you won't have (or rather it has a very low probability you will have) any problem with Pianoteq Pro or whatever version you might choose.

Hey, Thank you very much for the response, I appreciate it.

I'm fooling around with the downloaded free trial, and I'm getting a big yellow message in the middle of the screen that says something like "Pianoteq is receiving multiple on/off MIDI messages" (I can't remember the exact remainder of the message, because now I can't seem to replicate the issue).

So I'm wondering if the CPU isn't keeping up? While running Activity Monitor utility, it shows a CPU usage of between 20 and 30%

Also, the only sounds I can load are the Steinway D. Is there some other way to audition the other grand pianos? e.g., the Blunther?  I'm not that thrilled with the D (but this is true for many virtual keyboards): Between A3 and D5, the tones are very synthetic (in some cases, sounding like a Wurly; and in some, a Rhodes. In some cases, just an awful and thin synth tone from an Atari game console).

I don't think the output chain is the issue: I'm running out thru a MOTU audio Interface; into an ElectroVoice "Evolve" PA (the one where with an array of tweeters on top of a 12" woofer.) 

Am I expecting too much?  Oh GAWD, am I a snob? ;-)

Thanks for any ideas!

I've been using a mid-2012 MacBookPro since late 2012 - bought it refurbished from Apple - with 2.6GHz Intel i7 and 8GB 1600  MHz DDR3. It has a 500GB SSD. Running Pianoteq Pro into an Arcam DAC and thence to Eris5 speakers. No problems running Pianoteq since Version 5 and now have current version without any issues. Have you downloaded Pianoteq more than once, or have 2 different versions running? Re instruments other than the D: you should have both the NY and the Hamburg versions in 7.5.4. Click on Window, click on Preset manager and a drop down menu will show all the instruments on the RH side and clicking on any will provide all the factory presets.  Apart from adjusting for volume to suit your system, you need to try all the presets as they are: you may not like any of them, but they will certainly sound different to each other and some, hopefully, will spark some positive response. Getting Pianoteq tuned up for a particular system and pair of ears is where the real work begins, but, of course, you have to be reasonably OK with a standard preset before delving into the fine tuning. (I prepared the old D for a charity recital in a hall I was familiar with before the NY D was introduced, but spent 20 minutes "retuning", ie fiddling with various parameters to suit the hall and ended up nearly back at a standard preset.  The package is incredibly flexible, but small changes can make huge and catastrophic/wonderful changes in sounds. Sorry if this appears too basic for you: you may have been through all that, but I used to train staff in new systems and it's amazing how many different ways newcomers to a system can come unstuck, however experienced and smart the people are.

For me, having played acoustic pianos for decades, including Ds, the NY Steinway D feels somewhat weirdly most like an acoustic to play than any other software I've played. It does need some attention for personal circumstances and could only approach the sound of a D in the right acoustical space etc. But that applies to all piano software.

Awesome, I *really* appreciate your taking the time, thank you!

<SNIP>the tone of the instrument sounds very wrong.
<SNIP.>morphing or layering modes instead of running through the presets?

@Tone maybe not “very wrong”, (not purely a Wurly or Rhodes--there is some piano tone there) but enough to be disappointing. But the higher registers and the lower ones sound wonderful. I’m finding somewhat similar issues in the same range with the built-in sounds of my Nord Stage 3, my old Yamaha S-80, and my Synthology Ivory II virtual grands. *Gasping with crestfallen face* Could it be my touch? Or maybe I'm getting ear fatigue; I'm starting to question whether the PA's and the room's resonant frequencies are the actual issue.

How can I tell which modes I’m listening to? AFAIK, I was not engaging any settings, just toggling thru the presets. Today I've tried different EQ presets, but nothing exciting is popping out.

<SNIP>loaded up multiple sounds simultaneously
<SNIP>different sounds are more dominant depending on their velocity curve, dynamics, compression and so on.

@Not clear on how I could accidentally “load up multiple sounds”? I haven’t pushed any buttons other than changing presets. Could be they are more dominant, etc; yes, but not truly authentic. Are there settings for these params available in the demo?

<SNIP>haven't turned the internal speakers off!

@No, no internal speakers. All other boards and mixer turned off; audio signal paths for each keyboard is muted. No other software open that could create a signal.

<SNIP>Multiple note on offs not a big issue. The CPU usage ok.

@Thank you, that’s a relief. I have a Hammond XK5 attached as well, but not playing it during these tests—only the Nord. I’ll change the MIDI Devices settings.
The entire message is "Pianoteq is receiving many duplicate note-ON MIDI events (same note, same velocity)". It has happened again today.

<SNIP>do you hear that in the audio demonstrations on the Modartt website?

@Great question. I think so, but I can go back and listen again. If I recollect, I’ve found the Steinways to be rather trebly, though still a little "synthy/harp-like", I preferred the Bluthner, the Petrof, and Steingraeber collections.

Thanks again!

Sounds like you have some kind of midi loop going on, and this would result in a phasey sound, if notes are triggered multiple times.
How is your keyboard connected?

That shouldn't be a problem.

As a quick test with a given layered multiple preset in order to force a ridiculous load on standalone Pianoteq layering I tried holding sustain while playing three different keyboards three different instruments with different FX on all three playing as many notes as possible - simple running my hands up the keyboards as fast as possible just to trigger as many notes as possible to max out polyphony (polyphony set to maximum). One keyboard sound even with the sustain changed for the sound to ring on without the aid of a sustain pedal. The result - even when getting into 70% + CPU the system didn't encounter audio problems.

Probably be even easier to test this by setting the three sounds to the same midi channel on the single keyboard, but that's less fun!

Normally it's under 20% here layering three sounds on my CPU but that's not a requirement.

Not using a laptop here.
That's an interesting idea. I've never thought of a laptop actually throttling the CPU in order to save nearly flat batteries,  it makes sense though.
I guess this would very much depend on your power management settings. If you forced it to full power all the time presumably it would allow you to gobble through the batteries in quick time, perhaps even crash on you.

Hopefully you have some decent headphones too. Even if you don't use them much it's good to have that frame of reference.

GREAT thought, definitely need to pursue that. My only headphones are fairly low-to-mid range Sony MDR-V6.

Can you suggest something that would really be nice - maybe crystalline highs and booming bass?

Thank you!