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I don't have a V-Piano,but one of its features interests me--the ability to detune each string of the unisons. Is anyone experimenting much with this? My guess is that this feature would recreate a very realistic sound, since unisons on a real piano are so often off.

A related question, however. Can you see the inharmonicity of each string and the amplitude of the partials?

The 'unison tuning' of the virtual strings is one of the parameters on the V-Piano that makes a significant difference to the tonal characteristics. In real life, acoustic piano strings are never all detuned to the same degree which gives the piano its 'lifelike' sound, and it's possible on the V-Piano to laboriously detune each individual string as much as you like (that's about 200 'strings'). I never bothered to do that - I just used the 'unison tuning' to detune all the strings at the same time and same amount. You can spend months fiddling around with individual parameters on each and every string.....but life is too short .

on unison tuning- i tried to detune each string. didn't sound any different to me- so like bennevis i wound up detuning globally a small amount- bennevis tends to head more to unison- i tended to slightly take it out of unison- +5 to +10. can i tell a big difference? no.... but its that same human compulsion that makes me put salt or pepper or hot sauce on food that really doesn't need it. the idea of having control in an uncontrollable world!

You can fool yourself into thinking anything sounds good at first- hence the danger of being a tweakaholic. would you detune your car's engine from the mfer specs if you could? (fully acknowledging that the consequences are far more dire for your car than your v-piano)....

Surprises me that there's not much difference in the sound. Makes me suspect that the Roland engine just changes the pitch of each string. Shouldn't a change in pitch of one of the unison strings cause a big change in the sound--the overall decay would be reduced, given the way that the coupling would be made more complex, and the decay of lower partials would be reduced,and there would be more beats (three slightly off freqs on each partial)?

There's a big difference in the tonal characteristics once you push the tuning to over +20/-20 or so. Beyond +30 it begins to sound honky-tonk and out of tune; below -30, it starts sounding 'pure'. At -80 or less, it sounds unnaturally pure, like you'd hear from a synthesizer.

And yes, the tuning does affect the decay too, just like in real life strings. The V-Piano has a demo track that shows how the sound changes from -100 to +100: have a listen to it when you get the chance.

But once you spend hours on the tuning parameters, your head starts spinning and you begin to like (or convince yourself you like) a certain kind of tuning, even if it's totally artificial. I haven't messed around with the parameters of my original settings ever since I set it down in stone - otherwise once I start fiddling again, the compulsion to tweak takes over and I forget I'm meant to be practising......

The question in the back of mind was--Has anyone set their V-Piano next to a real piano and tried to get notes, in the midrange particularly, to sound as close as possible, using both the detuning and other features? Granted, it seems like a massive project if an entire piano was attempted, but a comparison of one or two notes might be worthwhile: Can a given piano's middle C be duplicated? (Of course, the soundboard radiation and the general way a real piano spreads the sound around the player will make the experience completely different.)

One consideration--can you see the inharmonicity of each string in the editor, or would you have to record and analyze each string to determine which preset piano would be the best starting point to try to match the real piano?

The reviewer in Performing Musician magazine did that, customizing his V-Piano to sound like his acoustic beside it, quite successfully. He used an editor, I think. Unfortunately, I don't know how to provide the link to that article (which someone has posted in a past thread too - you might be able to fish it out). As for the 'inharmonicity of each string in the editor', I've never used one, nor would I know how to. But the V1 presets (especially V1 Concert) are the best starting points to match up with acoustic pianos, in my experience.

I've now added my new customizations to the original post, but changed the names of the period pianos to present-day ones, to avoid confusion (as I might do some period pianos/fortepianos at a later stage).

Thanks a lot Bennevis. I will be getting mine in two days now

And, mine should be shipping in less than two months from now. It should be the tweaker's paradise of all DP's without a doubt!

Just realized that the link to that post I mentioned is right here in this thread! See FogVilleLad's post #1579674 on 12/18/10 at 8.58pm (page 1 of this thread) and click on the link for the whole review.

I have been reading many threads and posts over the past months but have not
been contributing. I would like to give some feedback.

I have owned my V for 20 months now and love it. I bought it for classical study.
I primarily listen to classical music especially live broadcasts of piano performance whenever possible.
I listen intently to the sound of the piano. The more I listen I realize how well the V emulates this sound.
My default piano is Bennevis's Bossie. I have slightly detuned every string on all of Bennevis's pianos and I find
it is the finishing touch. I also ensure I do not have the volume to high and use large hall reverb set at 12 (it just softens the sound slightly).
For me it is special.

I have entered the Stuart and Sons and the new Steingraeber. Excellent.
I have the Beethoven sonata recordings performed on the Stuart & Sons. I love this piano.

I can discern the failings of currently sampled pianos on commercial recordings , movie soundtracks etc (as many of us here can).
The Nord is best of the bunch. The important aspect for me is the overwhelming accuracy of the V especially when
I compare it to live broadcasts.I wont justify my viewpoint any further except to say a quality piano does have
a metallic characteristic. I do not pine for the woodiness referred to by people.[


I feel greatly appreciative to you Bennevis for your creations.

I now spend my V time practicing.
I appreciated Zachary's comments about trying a V recently even after playing his N1 for weeks now.

New owners, I believe you will be happy. I am yet to hear any recordings/videos of the
V set up with sustain and real subtle detuning. Set your V's up correctly using the pianos in this thread and you will be satisfied.


V Piano Man

I would love to hear audio demos\mp3's of all of these presets that people are discussing. Would posting recordings be valuable?

@V_Piano_Man:

Since you have had your V-Piano for quite a while, would it be possible to request a recording of your playing on it?

And, for everyone else:

As far as I can see no one at PW has done this as of yet, and, I am wondering if this is because they are afraid they might come under tough scrutiny or criticism, for this or that detail?

I, for one, have made quite a few recordings on my previously owned Kurzweil as well as my current Casio AP-620, and, have not felt like I would be in jeopardy for posting some music for others to listen to.

There are now more people who own the V-Piano (as I have one arriving shortly), and, would really like to hear how it sounds with just the standard presets, to start off with.

Bennevis has already contributed his unique presets to this forum, but we still haven't heard anyone record and play any of them as of yet.

Certainly there are some pianists here that can do this?

Hi Jake,

To answer your question, yes... and, perhaps on several levels.

There are those that might want to analyze/dissect every minute detail of a recording or performance for various technicalities. Some will find value in doing just that. This is one level in which it can be discussed.

I would like to hear recordings that are simply the best efforts by the player (whether they are a beginner or advanced pianist), so that the listener will enjoy these performances. Some of us may not have professional equipment in which to use.

And, there now have to be some folks who can step up to the plate and give us something to listen to, as it shouldn't really matter if you can only play a beginner's composition, or, an advanced concert piece.*

I happen to tickle the ivories on account of it being one of the best things that one can do, in life. Therefore, enjoying music is the key ingredient of playing the piano.

So, who will be the first one to post some actual sounds?

*Extra note:

Anyone who owns a "V" is probably a good player, too.

I'll throw in some recordings when I can. I have the equipment to do it. I would like to hear all of the custom sounds and decide which suits my playing best. I have been playing since as long as I remember. I don't read notes, I just play by ear. If anyone has any requests, I can give it a go and make a recording of it. My V-Piano arrives tomorrow I'll post pictures etc. as well.

Sounds like a really good idea to me, and, I thought that perhaps I was going to have to be the first one to try this. Well, you beat me to it!!!! (Just kidding...)

There are really no standards here to go by for recordings (with the exception of the Roland demos performed by Scott Tibbs on Roland's website, and, YouTube); so, I would think that this is as good a time as any for V-Piano owners to reach out a bit and post our stuff. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Do keep in mind your recordings could trigger a lot of comments, but I prefer to think of it as just that, and, not "criticism" as such.

And, thanks for your reply.

V_Piano_Man,
Thanks for your contribution (and your compliments on my settings!).

I'd love to hear the Beethoven Sonatas performed on the Stuart & Sons piano - is it commercially available and who is the pianist? I've only got Stuart & Sons' promotional CD (which doesn't have any classical music on it), and Carl Vine's Sonata No.2 played by Michael Kieran Harvey is the only classical CD I know of so far that uses this amazing piano.

If you have the technical (as in technological) means to post your recordings on the V-Piano here, I'm sure many others would appreciate it, as I would. I did try to hear my recordings (yes, I've finally discovered how to record myself ) on my V-Piano transferred to USB stick and plugged in to a computer, but it sounded nothing like what comes out through the (headphone jack of the) V-Piano itself, so it appears that it needs to be recorded through speakers first.

Like you I spend all my time playing and practising, rather than tweaking. The V-Piano's playability is such that one easily spends a lot, lot more time playing it than intended (even when I was practising hard for my piano performance diploma in my late teens I never played this much ) - time just passes by....

pv88 and Kona V-Piano,
I look forward to hearing your V-Piano recordings in due course too. Maybe we can get more people interested in the V-Piano when they hear good recordings made on it, and realize it's not just amazingly playable (for which they've only got our word on it, unless they've had the opportunity to try it themselves), but also sounds amazingly realistic with its full spectrum of tone color and dynamics.

This is certainly one of the primary reasons I have selected the V. And, how about the lack of looping and longer decay times?