Grotrian Prelude EQ

Qexl wrote:

Absolutely recommend altering EQ to make any preset sound better to you in your use cases.

Whilst there's not an incorrect way to use EQ by 'stacking' 2 instances, the main benefit of lining up 2 EQs in tandem is to 'shape' the curve more precisely than 1 instance can.

Note if you check the settings of each dot, on both EQ instances, the treble ones use different 'Q factors' - and that will give different relative boosts, which if you sum both together will give a shape which one cannot get with just of these EQs by itself.

Different EQs can be much more complex - but I find these EQ3 tools in Pianoteq really focussed, and for sure, use 3 in a row, if you wish to cut and boost in slightly different ways to influence the overall 'shaping' you like to listen to.

Many people will like more or less boosts or cuts, depending on their listening environment - and for me, wow the trebles are part of the sparkle which I like in the Grotrian. To me the lovely deep tones are complimented by this - but for sure, if you would like less, or more of anything in terms of EQ, or any other FX, it's a rich and interesting world of choices

Maybe will link to a Youtube about the famous 'Plutec EQ trick' - it's from last century, a simple trick of simultaneously boosting and cutting in related ranges to shape the EQ curve. It is 'limited' to an extent to that old hardware.. but the theory may help understand overlapping 2 EQ instances. Nowdays of course the modern ability to really shape things with Q factor (narrow peaks/dips through to wide tidal slopes) goes well beyond the old hardware but it serves as a really nice simple example, also because, in its time, the engineers who made it warned 'against' boosting and attenuating at the same time.. but we know now, it has good reason to be 'misused'.. and we don't think of it as misuse, but more detailed shaping, if anything.

Mostly, if it makes something sound better, to us, worth doing it and make adjustments to improve over time

[edit to add link to Pultec EQ demonstration showing using boost and cut.. definitely worth trying similar things with 2 instances of EQ3 in Pianoteq - or indeed 2 different boosts]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XMUx8yLtw

I should think that your EQ alteration might sound wonderful on the Grotrian with such music.

Fabulous piece btw - I have heard it with voice, but not the solo piano transcription by Zoltán Kocsis - thanks for this!

I guess the other thing which comes to mind is to try different velocity curves (forgive if you already have - but I may have something to try which could be worthwhile for anyone adjusting trebles to suit).

My preference for playing romantic or dynamic music with a tendency toward soft and lilting melody is to use a softer curve, instead of raw EQ'ing (may turn out better either way but perhaps EQ could take 2nd place to generative audio from the engine, rather than attenuation of that).. here's a pretty scalloped curve I like with the Grotrian Prelude..

Velocity = [0, 44, 77, 105, 117, 122; 8, 29, 60, 90, 106, 127]

(Anyone new and passing through reading and wondering about the line of text above, copy the line above and paste it into the velocity curve box on the main Pianoteq interface - from there, save it as your own and optionally it could be set as default - if it's to your liking of course and it may not be.. it's pretty soft until you get beyond f to ff velocity).

I use MP11 - not identical to VPC-1 - but any curve 'may be preferred' on any dpiano.. I think it's down to per piano, per preset, and per piece personally and will load many in the course of a week.

Maybe instead of such a steep soft curve, you may find adjusting just the high velocity dots down slightly, by a few numerical values.. it may be nicer overall that cutting 3 decibels off the treble.. hope that helps or inspires.

Absolutely recommend altering EQ to make any preset sound better to you in your use cases.

Whilst there's not an incorrect way to use EQ by 'stacking' 2 instances, the main benefit of lining up 2 EQs in tandem is to 'shape' the curve more precisely than 1 instance can.

Note if you check the settings of each dot, on both EQ instances, the treble ones use different 'Q factors' - and that will give different relative boosts, which if you sum both together will give a shape which one cannot get with just of these EQs by itself.

Different EQs can be much more complex - but I find these EQ3 tools in Pianoteq really focussed, and for sure, use 3 in a row, if you wish to cut and boost in slightly different ways to influence the overall 'shaping' you like to listen to.

Many people will like more or less boosts or cuts, depending on their listening environment - and for me, wow the trebles are part of the sparkle which I like in the Grotrian. To me the lovely deep tones are complimented by this - but for sure, if you would like less, or more of anything in terms of EQ, or any other FX, it's a rich and interesting world of choices

Maybe will link to a Youtube about the famous 'Plutec EQ trick' - it's from last century, a simple trick of simultaneously boosting and cutting in related ranges to shape the EQ curve. It is 'limited' to an extent to that old hardware.. but the theory may help understand overlapping 2 EQ instances. Nowdays of course the modern ability to really shape things with Q factor (narrow peaks/dips through to wide tidal slopes) goes well beyond the old hardware but it serves as a really nice simple example, also because, in its time, the engineers who made it warned 'against' boosting and attenuating at the same time.. but we know now, it has good reason to be 'misused'.. and we don't think of it as misuse, but more detailed shaping, if anything.

Mostly, if it makes something sound better, to us, worth doing it and make adjustments to improve over time

[edit to add link to Pultec EQ demonstration showing using boost and cut.. definitely worth trying similar things with 2 instances of EQ3 in Pianoteq - or indeed 2 different boosts]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XMUx8yLtw