Challenge: who’s able to make a preset like the one used in this video

Wotl wrote:

https://youtu.be/bUF3Fvk4xJM?si=_sw6QMELJleRzB71

I liked the tone of the piano, I also liked performance and the piece.

I suggest you make your own close mic big reverb floaty piano sounds - you could probably get in the ballpark. Trying to replicate this exact one (or any other for that matter) is a tough call.

Ludovico Einaudi sounds seems to be a popular ask here.
There are articles on how he sets up his recordings, maybe start there.

Wotl,

KF is right here and the most satisfying use of PT in this circumstance is making the custom preset yourself. To be blunt, reaching out to the PT community as a whole and declaring a very specific group challenge with no stakes for participants is unlikely to succeed. Of course I'm different. For example, I've tried your challenge a bit using my own not very popular bare bones Dynamic preset, and it's fun. (Also, I recently reached out to the community several times with no responses, so there's some empathy.) Here's a few words to maybe get you or other people started who are looking for a recipe. These are just guesses but warning anyway, POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD.

First, analysis. The video shows it to be Royal Grand 3D from Nord, possibly with some custom settings. That in itself makes it a challenge since no 2 pianos are quite the same. A quick Google shows the 3d was sampled from a Yamaha S6, a 7ft grand not modelled by a Pianoteq instrument, with a binaural dummy head in player position. It actually reminds me a bit of someone I follow on youtube who works with a complex mic set up for her Yamaha. So a perfect match is impossible and I'm not fully convinced a binaural mic in player position plus predefined reverb is sufficient to make the Nord instrument without additional close and external mics.

This is a lovely piano sound. To my ear there is a hint of delay and a big but detailed reverb applied to a bright (so a bit noisy) tone with a measured hammer sound. Its definitely worthy of imitation. That said, I am thinking this is also a compressed sound, minimizing outlier harmonics and defining quiet play more by giving it a soft Piano and Mezzo Hammer tone than by a full Dynamic range-- not 100% sure how that would translate PT. That plus the heavy effects makes this sound a lot like several of the PT presets, were you to apply such reverb/delay.

Second, find similar presets in Pianoteq. Clean tones that already have a regulated evenness are probably the best starting point. My Dynpiano NYSD preset is nice and colorful when played gently, but this 3d has a wide audience but my preset is enjoyed by exactly  me on my weird old Casio. As alternatives for people with other instruments, in PT 8.2 I like the Steingraeber e272, HB close classical, NYSD v80 under lid, James Farber, U4 tall. Others may work as well, those are just the first ones I found.

Third, do edits. I leave the mics where they are, turn on distance compensation for the close mics as well as delays (1 mic, 1fx), turn on the limiter, decrease direct sound to about .5. M and F hammers get softened, various noises get re-worked-- wow my Dynpiano has some underlying issues that only show at loud play-- and increase reverb duration to about 1.7, add a brilliant eq, with a flat bass response. Many volume and hammer changes later, I've got something resembling a souffle. Now we eat it.

But seriously, I'm not sure mine's ready for the concert, but the exercise is a good one and I thank you for the inspiration. I'll share it anyway if you'd like

I have little to no experience on creating custom pianos

However maybe try this

K2 Dreamy: On the hammer hardness drop forte to .91

On reverb up MIX to 7.6 DB or to taste

EQ: try it as is or maybe the fat bass preset

bani223 wrote:

Wotl,

KF is right here and the most satisfying use of PT in this circumstance is making the custom preset yourself. To be blunt, reaching out to the PT community as a whole and declaring a very specific group challenge with no stakes for participants is unlikely to succeed. Of course I'm different. For example, I've tried your challenge a bit using my own not very popular bare bones Dynamic preset, and it's fun. (Also, I recently reached out to the community several times with no responses, so there's some empathy.) Here's a few words to maybe get you or other people started who are looking for a recipe. These are just guesses but warning anyway, POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD.

First, analysis. The video shows it to be Royal Grand 3D from Nord, possibly with some custom settings. That in itself makes it a challenge since no 2 pianos are quite the same. A quick Google shows the 3d was sampled from a Yamaha S6, a 7ft grand not modelled by a Pianoteq instrument, with a binaural dummy head in player position. It actually reminds me a bit of someone I follow on youtube who works with a complex mic set up for her Yamaha. So a perfect match is impossible and I'm not fully convinced a binaural mic in player position plus predefined reverb is sufficient to make the Nord instrument without additional close and external mics.

This is a lovely piano sound. To my ear there is a hint of delay and a big but detailed reverb applied to a bright (so a bit noisy) tone with a measured hammer sound. Its definitely worthy of imitation. That said, I am thinking this is also a compressed sound, minimizing outlier harmonics and defining quiet play more by giving it a soft Piano and Mezzo Hammer tone than by a full Dynamic range-- not 100% sure how that would translate PT. That plus the heavy effects makes this sound a lot like several of the PT presets, were you to apply such reverb/delay.

Second, find similar presets in Pianoteq. Clean tones that already have a regulated evenness are probably the best starting point. My Dynpiano NYSD preset is nice and colorful when played gently, but this 3d has a wide audience but my preset is enjoyed by exactly  me on my weird old Casio. As alternatives for people with other instruments, in PT 8.2 I like the Steingraeber e272, HB close classical, NYSD v80 under lid, James Farber, U4 tall. Others may work as well, those are just the first ones I found.

Third, do edits. I leave the mics where they are, turn on distance compensation for the close mics as well as delays (1 mic, 1fx), turn on the limiter, decrease direct sound to about .5. M and F hammers get softened, various noises get re-worked-- wow my Dynpiano has some underlying issues that only show at loud play-- and increase reverb duration to about 1.7, add a brilliant eq, with a flat bass response. Many volume and hammer changes later, I've got something resembling a souffle. Now we eat it.

But seriously, I'm not sure mine's ready for the concert, but the exercise is a good one and I thank you for the inspiration. I'll share it anyway if you'd like

Thank you so much for the 3 steps process. I learned a lot, thanks to you. I really love this Nord 3D grand piano. If you can share your trial, I'll appreciate.