Pianoteq - Piano VST Instrument Software
Pianoteq is a different kind of piano sampler because it's not actually a piano sampler at all. Instead it's a piano "modeler." I don't know exactly what that means technically but what I do know is that it sounds more realistic than samplers do to my ears and it also takes up a lot less space on the computer!
On top of the very realistic sound that you can get with this VST instrument, there's also the great variety of ways that you can adjust the sound (you can change the tuning, the mic position, you can choose from a large variety of different pianos.)
But what you really want to hear is an example of what it sounds like. That's why I'm including Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" as played by Pianoteq below. I've actually only got Pianoteq 2.3 (Pianoteq 3 is the latest version and it's what's available now) and I still think it sounds amazing. In fact, I think it sounds so good that I haven't bothered upgrading to Pianoteq 3 even though it's supposed to be even better.
***EDIT***
Due to a bogus copyright claim by WMG, the PianoTeq version of "Moonlight Sonata" was taken down by YouTube. Apparently it sounded so realistic that they thought it was actually a recording of a pianist playing "Moonlight Sonata" that they have under copyright. I think that's actually pretty good proof of how great PianoTeq sounds.
Obviously the song itself (being a Beethoven composition that is about 200 years old) is not under copyright, so the only explanation is that they thought the recording itself was under their copyright. Of course this wasn't actually a recording at all. It was the PianoTeq software "playing" the song.
***END EDIT***
I recommend the SL-990 weighted MIDI keyboard to take full advantage of the power of this piano modeler software. A huge part of what makes Pianoteq sound so real is that there's basically an unlimited amount of variety in the velocity (which is different from samplers which have a limited variety as far as velocity goes) and of course you need a weighted keyboard to take advantage of that aspect. The SL-990 is what I use and I love it.
Tags: Piano
September 27th, 2009 at 10:49 am
How unbelievable is this? WMG is making a “copyright claim” on my video! Since when do they own Beethoven’s music?!! This is not a performance by anyone (except for my software!) so how can they possibly own the copyright? What a bunch of garbage. I’m trying to figure out how I can clear this nonsense up.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Because of YouTube’s failure to provide even basic protection to it’s users from such bogus copyright claims I am not going to waste my time submitting any videos to YouTube in the future which I can even imagine such a bogus claim being made. I’ll have to find an alternative way to host my videos.
WMG should be ashamed of themselves, as should YouTube for allowing WMG to bully it’s users in this manner.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
One thing I guess this does prove is how realistic Pianoteq sounds. Clearly the song itself is not under copyright as it’s about 200 years old. So they must have thought that the recording was under their copyright… this means it must have sounded very similar to a professionally recorded version of “Moonlight Sonata” released on Warner.
March 10th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
I’ve tried PianoTeq over at a friends house. I’m not a piano guy so I don’t know what my opinion is worth - but I thought it sounded far better than any other piano software I’ve ever heard.