Hi everyone,
I'm trying to imitate the piano sound from some of the Minecraft tracks. Regardless of what I try, it keeps sounding a little too "present" (for lack of a better way to describe it).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ47H84Bc_Q
Anyone have any ideas?
I have Pianoteq Standard /w :
Steinway Model D
K2 Grand
Steinway Model B
Bluthner Model 1
Grotrian Concert Royal
Steingraeber E-272
Electric Pianos
Thank you!
Hello David,
I was able to mimic the muted sound of the piano on the minecraft video by doing the following in Bluthner Cinematic using Pianoteq Pro. The idea is to minimize the impact effect of hammer upon the steel string.:
Piano Preset: Blüthner Cinematic
Hammer Noise: Minimize to lowest possible value of all three Hammer Hardness settings.
Pickup Distance: Set to Maximum value (2.00) for all notes.
Hammer Tine Noise: Set to Minimum Value (-100db)
Damper Noise: Set to Minimum Value (-100dB)
Key Release Noise: Set to Minimum Value (-100dB)
Keyboard Velocity: set to a maximum of about 6 for all velocities (0,6) to (127,6)
Dynamics Slider: Reduce to ~15dB
Sustain Pedal Noise: Set to Minimum Value
Cheers,
Joe
Hi Davidonabus,
fun project - here's a list of things which might get you in that ball-park:
I'd begin with Bluethner Cinematic because of its aliquot strings and some other qualities which seem bendable towards this.
i
shorten strings to something like 1.30
ii
impedance 1.23
iii
Cutoff 1.29
iv
Q factor 0.63
v
Sympathetic resonance 2.15
vi
Aliquot strings 5.75
vii
Energy 0.10
viii
Unison Width 1.35
ix
Stretch 1.04
x
Direct sound duration 4.13
xi
Condition slider to 0.15
xii
Strike point try 1/4.7
xiii
Hammers Piano 0.21 / Mezzo 0.48 / Forte 0.79
xiv
Hammer noise 2.28
xv
Bloom 0.10
xvi
Inertia 0.56
and then I'm hearing something to work from. Try keeping your playing style (velocities) low or change your velocity curve to "fast keyboard", or "moderately fast keyboard" type, otherwise probably you'll get too much high tonal bite - the outcome can be attributed to how something is played sometimes as much as how similar the piano sound is.
Maybe not exacting but maybe you could try pulling down reverb, moving strike point more and I think you could get pretty close - hopefully that list is the key to the city - best of luck with it!
Timing
I really like Joe's suggestions too.
Joe: I haven't tried your settings yet, but I'm wondering whether you are actually trying to mimic the sound at the beginning of the recording, which isn't a piano (I don't think?). Later on in the recording, the piano is introduced, and it has very noticable and "normal" hammer attack sounds. It sounds very closely mic'd, and the stereo image is very wide. I was thinking we should start with Evil Dragon's recent FXP for an intimate piano, and adding quite a bit of room (small room) reverb, perhaps.
EDIT: I'll leave my initial thought there, but on second listening, I guess the hammer thuds are rather muted - the piano is loud, but the attack timbres are muted, yes.
Greg
Thanks guys.
I gave it a quick go based on your recommendations. This is where I currently sit. It sounds interesting to me, but not all that similar to the recording. I'll keep messing around!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHgldSK...e=youtu.be
Too much sustain. In fact I am indeed wondering whether Joe did kind of try to emulate that ethereal ambient sound. IMHO, that sound (which is heard by itself at the beginning) is separate to the piano sound. Maybe the other sound is a heavily processed piano - I'm not sure. But I think the two sounds have to be treated separately.
Greg
Yeah I agree - I think the ethereal sound is indeed a super processed piano with some wild convolution reverb and other trickery, and I think the key to the main piano is also with reverb (either convolution or algorithmic) using a small room setting, possibly with a bandpass filter to trim the top and bottom and 'thin' it out.
[Edit again]
I am a mess of overlooking the obvious today
Your piano sound in vid 2 sounds very sweet - well done I'd say!
OLD before above edit:
The second video is better to hear the piano. I think they are different (same, same.. but different). Vid 1 the piano seems to have little sustain compared to vid 2. Unfortunately, I can't spend too much more time or get much more in depth - but I think you can get quite close to a sound "like" these - but yes you might also need some DAW effects to get more exacting - which isn't unique to this.
If you are looking for the sound of the piano in the 2nd vid, I'd suggest a change to my first recommended tweaks - change Direct sound duration 4.13 back to default 1.00 (the piano in vid 2 has longer sustain - this helps with that in particular for a first thing to do to get closer).
There's some post production involved perhaps - there's really a universe of moving parts in getting closer to "exact" - which will include how you play (velocity curve tweak can help). You could take some of what's suggested above and play for MANY hours until you get closer but still, you'd likely want to get into a DAW to apply a chain of effects to get compression right after you get close enough in Pianoteq.
Still think Bluethner might be a good start (has some hints of those nice brassy ringing tones with sustained notes/chords).
[edit - I heard 2nd video, thought it was a changed link on vid 1 - doh]
Have you tried playing around with the EQ and reverb settings? And if all else fails, try experimenting with different pianos or plugins to find a sound that fits better. Also, layering different piano sounds or adding some subtle background noise gives it a more natural feel. And remember to adjust the notes' velocity to capture the dynamics of a real piano. Good luck with your project, and after you finish it, you can share it with other Minecraft players on modbay.net. Many players will likely like it, as it's a great way to diversify the gameplay and enjoy the game.