zed wrote:Damn.
I was really hoping that the better sounding
piano 3 was actually something I could go out and purchase... errrr... I mean... that I could afford to purchase.
amplidood wrote:There is simply no way for samples to reproduce the harmonic interaction of real piano strings.
In these particular examples, I am not so sure that the better sounding quality of piano 3 is so much a result of the VI versions being unable to reproduce the harmonic interaction of real piano strings. I think piano 3 is the best sounding recording mostly because (as a result of Shooshie's good micing technique) it has (1) more presence, and (2) an overall even quality across the keyboard. The higher notes are bright and clear but still balanced with the lower notes. The VI pianos failed in this regard, and I wonder if convolution reverb had something to do with reducing the balance of different frequencies.
Reverb had nothing to do with Ivory. It was clean.
Someone mentioned a concern about the L3 possibly affecting the sound adversely. I assure you it did not adversely affect the sound. It brought up the loudness so that the recording was similar to the mastered CD recording. I DO believe that I may have brought unnecessary shame upon Ivory by trying to make it sound LIKE the recording, rather than trying to make it sound its best. In trying to reduce the clues that would give it away, I may have compromised its sound.
I've been listening to about 30 recordings of this same song along with 2 others that we recorded for the same purpose. Each example has different mic positions, and I've been comparing them all to Ivory and Akoustik Piano. All but the worst micced examples of the real thing sound cleaner than either VI, so that's a fact we have to live with until someone comes up with a new Piano VI to end all Piano VIs. The worst sounding "real" pianos, however, sound unusable, whereas Ivory and AP sound good, just not as clear as these.
I'd post examples of what I'm talking about, but I suspect people are tired of this by now, so I'll let it rest. In the process, however, I've learned a lot about both of my VI's, and about real pianos as well. It was a good exercise for me, anyway. And... I am more confident than before about using VI's. I think Akoustik Piano is perhaps the best VI available currently,
if you know how to tweak it! I must admit, however, that I have only just now learned more tricks on Ivory which may make it AP's equal. It's too bad they did not give us better defaults and presets.
If anyone wants to do another round of this, I can promise you it would be interesting, and possibly with fewer people able to guess the right ones. But unless I hear a number of people saying let's do it, I'll just leave it be and maybe return to it another day.
Shooshie
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Anyone is free to voice their opinions here.
