#Modartt pianoteq 5 review full#
#Modartt pianoteq 5 review pro#
#Modartt pianoteq 5 review software#

For me the Pianoteq version is as fine as I need and a lot cheaper! There is still the Hamburg Steinway Model D and all the other Pianoteq instruments (see below), and all these can be used like a player piano since you can drive them with MIDI.Īnd there are two new major features with version 7: Morphing and Layering (both available only in Standard and PRO versions).

#Modartt pianoteq 5 review full#

The real Model D SPIRIO | r has more resolution than MIDI actually can provide (unless you use MIDI 2.0!), but you’ll need to purchase a real one to enjoy the full benefit of its high resolution performance recording, at US$216,300. The reference piano was the very first SPIRIO | r produced at Steinway’s New York facility and is a 21st century player piano that captures high resolution performance data, the dynamics, note lengths, the key releases, proportional pedaling, etc., in ultra-fine detail. One significant improvement is modeling string vibrations that can take any direction rather than vibrate only in a single plane – this allows much more complex tones to be produced.Ī new piano has been added, a New York Steinway Model D Concert Grand, the Model D SPIRIO | r. The basic modeling engine, the key to Pianoteq’s excellent sound and responsiveness, has been updated for all versions, assuring improvement of the existing Pianoteq pianos. There is also a PRO Bundle with all 21 instrument packs. There are also the Standard version with three instrument packs (again, your choice) and PRO with four of your choice. Stage is basically a “player” version with none of the advanced editing features of the other versions (see below) and if what you want are excellent instrument sounds and responsiveness, Stage may be right for you. At the simplest and least expensive version you get Stage with two instrument “packs” (you choose which two). So what have they done?Īs in the past several generations there is a range of features depending upon the version. It was a plug-in module only, but a couple years later they added a standalone module which really made it an excellent choice for pianists, many of whom lauded its play-ability and realistic sound over sample-based instruments.įourteen years later, version 7 has been getting more great reviews, several stating it is significantly better than version 6, which was already close to perfection in my experience.

#Modartt pianoteq 5 review software#

And to keep himself busy he founded Modartt! In the fall of 2006 the original Pianoteq software was released. Then started research into acoustical modeling while teaching at INSA (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées), where in time he became Director of Mathematics. But he wanted to do more, and thought about the possibility of mathematically modeling how a piano sound is created, and so he changed careers – in the mid-80’s he began the study of mathematics and earned a PhD. The founder of Modartt is Dr Philippe Guillaume who initially pursued a career in piano tuning and restoration. The current version is a lot bigger than my old 3.5 version and requires about 800 MB of RAM when operating, but has an astounding range of functions compared to previous versions. While that would seem to create a huge load on CPU resources, it is actually a moderate CPU user at 1% to 3% total CPU on my system (depending on how many notes are playing or held on with pedaling) and it doesn’t require large memory capacity or fast transfer of reams of data from a hard drive. Pianoteq 7 (PT7 from now on) is a set of virtual instruments with acoustic and electric pianos, harpsichords, mallet instruments, and others using physical/acoustical modeling rather than samples. Of course, I’m just as guilty as any other Pianoteq users for not reviewing them. I am astonished that none of these excellent virtual instrument packages have ever been reviewed on Gearspace.

I still have the four older versions (3.5, 4, 5 and 6) on my studio system, and recently added version 7. I’ve been using the Modartt Pianoteq instruments for twelve years – since Pianoteq 3.5 – and even that version impressed me.