Modartt Pianoteq / Grotrian Concert Royal

[Piet De Ridder]

Modartt has released a new expansion for Pianoteq: the Grotrian Concert Royal, authorized by Grotrian.

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[Marius]

Can't help but notice your name on some of those demos, so...how is it? I'm a huge fan of the Blüthner so I'm keen to hear how well they've done here.

[Piet De Ridder]

Can't help but notice your name on some of those demos, so...how is it? I'm a huge fan of the Blüthner so I'm keen to hear how well they've done here.

Something of a breakthrough actually, we all thought halfway through the beta-test. Pianoteq-sceptici will no doubt still hear a lot to be dismissive about, but be that as it may, I honestly consider this the best piano sound ever to come out of Pianoteq and, more importantly, a very promising and exciting step for the future. And it also won't be a surprise if many users will henceforth pick the Grotrian as their new favourite PTQ-instrument. Playability is sensational as ever, of course.

If you like to hear some comparisons between the Blüthner and the Grotrian, I will make some.

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[Marius]

That would actually be very helpful as I'm not convinced there's anything I dislike about the Blüthner that would be improved by adding this one. I'm trying to avoid buying more pianos (and string libraries, and compressors...)

Only when you have a moment though, I'm in no hurry. For what it's worth, I do very much like the sound of the demos on their own.

[Joe_D]

I bought it instantly upon seeing Piet's post. It is really nice, no doubt, with a different tonal palette. I am just starting to explore it, so I'm not going to give a shoot-from-the-hip comparison to the Blüthner at this point. However, it is a beautiful piano for sure, as are almost all of the real Grotrian's I've played or worked on (I am a piano technician/rebuilder as well as a composer/performer). Right out of the box, there is lots of detail and life in the sustains (something I work very hard to create in my own Pianoteq patches, as well as in my voicing work on real pianos).

I'll report more when I've had more of a chance to compare them.

[Piet De Ridder]

Marius,

Here's a comparison between the Blüthner (Daily preset) and the Grotrian (Prelude preset).
(All fragments first rendered with the Blüthner and then with the Grotrian.)

Don't you agree that the Grotrian is a major step forwards?

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[Ashermusic]

I do think the Grotarian is an improvement but still on the the Pianoteq train. The sound just lacks life and, well, soul, to me.

[Marius]

Oh my that is compelling.

But I feel somewhat relieved because while I recognize the Grotrian's merits, the Blüthner's tonality is more to my liking. There's a certain roundness and warmth that I tend to gravitate toward. The Grotrian is livelier, brighter, and (to my ears) has less body. It's especially evident in the later examples.

Either way, really appreciate that comparison, Piet. Very helpful. Makes it clear that these are very different instruments indeed.

[Piet De Ridder]

Here's a different side of the Grotrian. (This is a fragment of an idea for a demo that never got finished.)

(The sound is an edit of the Prelude preset: subtly but irregularly detuned (both the single notes and the string unisons), a bit more mechanic noises, irregularly dampened sustains, and a few other 'per note'-edits. And except for the LX480 reverb, there's no fx or processing whatsoever on this track.)

Quite an expressive timbre for this type of music., I find.

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[Lawrence]

I do think the Grotarian is an improvement but still on the the Pianoteq train. The sound just lacks life and, well, soul, to me.

I have the basic Pianoteq that came with my Arturia Keylab 88. It's really delightful to play, but I'm never delighted with the results when I listen back later. I have to agree with Jay-there's something clinical about these pianos, something wooden, not enough air movement or something. It's similar to how I feel about the Ivory pianos. I'd rather have something that has warts or fluffs here or there but imparts more life.

I fear that my search for the "perfect piano" will never end. The ones I still most enjoy playing are the Art Vista VG2, Cinesample's Piano in Blue, Spitfire's Felt Piano and Sonic Couture's Old Black Grand. I need a more basic piano but haven't settled on one yet, though leaning towards the Galaxy that Piet so ably demonstrated.

[tack]

That's an interesting distinction: how it sounds when you're playing it, and how it sounds when you listen back.

Of course it sounds identical, but because the connection with Pianoteq is so solid, you must be able to overlook much of its plastic, synthetic sound when you're in the moment.

But IMO Vintage D still holds the crown when it comes to a balance of sound and playability. I mostly play Pianoteq's Bluethner nowadays, because I don't often record and listen back to the hack jobs I call piano practice, and the connection is solid. For anything I do end up recording, I've not been able to shake Vintage D.