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Hi,

When I'm listening to the sound of the Pianoteq 3.5 I would say that I can hear some sort of distortion. Especially when there are a lot of tones with high velocity at the same time. Have you heard it as well or is this only noticeable in the demos?

Never heard it. There is a lot of resonance etc. action going on, but this is what I especially like. The basic sound itself is rather uninspiring to me. I think pianoteq would really gain in performing some kind of symbiosis of both worlds: Some type of sampling AND the virtual effects like alle the resonance and dynamic development of the basic sound.

Yes, I often hear it too, HOWEVER, the distortion I hear is simply due to the volume level being too high, which causes the signal to "clip". The default output level in Pianoteq is often too high.

Try reducing the volume level in Pianoteq down to -6 and see if the problem goes away. (of course, you may then have to increase your amplifier volume level to compensate)

EDIT: Oops - I see that you are only listening to the demo recordings - yes? Can you please give an example of a demo recording that exhibits the distortion? I have never noticed distortion in any of the demo recordings, although I must admit that I haven't listened to many of them.

Greg.

Andree, can you please clarify if you are listening to the audio clips on the Pianoteq website, or have actually installed the trial version and are listening to the sound produced by the program itself?

Cheers,
James
x

Hi,

I'm listening to the recordings on Pianoteq's website. For example, listen to this one with good headphones "Ballade No. 1 Op. 23 in G minor (F. Chopin)"

Why not download and install the trial version?

I'd suggest this would provide the most accurate indication of how the programme will sound/operate on your system.

Cheers,
James
x

At the moment I don't have a keyboard to try with and I don't want to loose the trial version until I can really try it with my new dp (perhaps a Kawai).

Ah, I see.

Good thinking!

Cheers,
James
x

Thanks. I haven't listened to the whole piece yet, but listening to the loud section starting at 4:10, I think I can hear a bit of distortion. This bit of distortion that I think I can hear may be due to the limiter. (and had the limiter been off, the distortion may have been much harsher. I suspect that re-recording the piece, with the volume level in Pianoteq reduced, and the limiter off, would eliminate the distortion completely)

FWIW, I have been a Pianoteq user for years and have never had any distortion that was NOT due to simple level settings.

Greg.

Ahhh, someone that understands what can go wrong when using Pianoteq.

The "limiter" is to my mind, one of the often overlooked and abused settings in Pianoteq. Most of the default settings in Pianoteq use four or five microphones (headphones being the exception. On my older dual core with these settings, the output level must be turned down to prevent clipping, OR, the limiter must be turned on.

The problem with the limiter is that it is essentially a compressor (preventing clipping of peaks). Compression results in some distortion (sometimes this does sound better.

To put less strain on my system, I use two microphones, judicially placed to achieve the sound I want. There is an "audio load indicator" in Pianoteq - switching to two mics from four mics, the load drops by about 1/2 - which seems to indicate that the mics use a lot of processor power compared to that used for production of sound.

If someone demos Pianoteq with default system settings, the output level turned up high, and the limiter ON, there is likely going to be some distortion.

Glenn

Don't worry about "losing" the trial version. There are only two limits to the pianoteq trial. 1) About 6 of the notes are disabled and will not produce sound and 2) The demo only functions for 20 minutes at a time. It can be restarted as many times as you wish.

Not limiting the trial to a set number of days is one of the things that let me keep messing around until I eventually got the entire program.

Don't worry about "losing" the trial version. There are only two limits to the pianoteq trial. 1) About 6 of the notes are disabled and will not produce sound and 2) The demo only functions for 20 minutes at a time. It can be restarted as many times as you wish.

Not limiting the trial to a set number of days is one of the things that let me keep messing around until I eventually got the entire program. [/quote]

Thanks for the info, the PTQ demo used to last a long time (6 weeks I think) then time out, I hadn't realised they'd changed it. I've been giving out false info!

Hi,

Now I have tried the trial version of Pianoteq on my computer and I have to say that it impresses me. I tried it with my built in sound card on my laptop and it worked fine. Can anyone explain the purpose of "performance index"?