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Pianoteq blind taste test
I thought it would be fun to do a blind, systematic side by side comparison of the different models available in Pianoteq. I favorited all of the base models, meaning nothing with added affects, room affects, or specialty styles, such as "cinematic", "warm", "classical", "jazz" or "recording" etc. I placed tape on my iPad, allowing me to see only the arrows for toggling between models, and played the same thing for each model.
I did 3 different rounds of comparison, and ranked the piano models based on the average score across all the tests. In round 1, I played a small snippet in the lower register, mid register and high registers, giving each piano a 1-9 rating for each register. In round 2, I played three different snippets of tracks I am currently working on (I naturally want to pick the best one for my type of track). Lastly, because my hand was starting to cramp up playing the same thing repeatedly, I imported a midi file of a piece I had written a while back that has 3 sections and ranges in dynamics quite a bit. This gave me 9 sets of 1-9 numerical ratings, which I averaged to give each piano model a final 1-9 rating. Here is the ranking, and average rating, I ended up with (obviously my ears are subjective, but I thought some people might be interested.
- K2 Basic - 7.7
- U4 Tall - 7.6
- HB Steinway Model D - 7.06
- Grotrian Concert Royal - 7
- C. Bechstein DG D 282 - 6.97
- Steinway Model B - 6.89
- NY Steinway Model D - 6.75
- Bluthner Model One - 6.67
- Ant Petrof 275 - 6.39
- Steingraeber E-272- 6.23
- Petrof 284 Mistral - 6.22
- YC 5 Basic - 6.07
- C. Bechstein 440 - 5.64
- S. Erard 440 - 5.53
This was a fascinating exercise to do. If you asked my favorite previously, based on aimlessly wandering around the presets, I would have said the Petrof's, Bechstein, and K2. I was surprised how low the Petrof ended up, but looking at all the ratings, I was very consistent with the ratings despite not knowing which model I was playing or listening to. I had played almost no attention to the U4 and the Grotrian, so I am interested to play around with them more in the coming days, to see if they remain pleasant to my ears as I play them more. Anyways, I'm curious to hear if anyone has thoughts on this. What has your experience been trying out the different models?
- What is your preferred Pianoteq model?12 votes
- K2 Basic8.33%
- U4 Tall16.67%
- HB Steinway Model D0.00%
- Grotrian Concert Royal0.00%
- C Bechstein DG D 28225.00%
- Steinway Model B0.00%
- NY Steinway Model D8.33%
- Bluthner Model One16.67%
- Ant Petrof 2750.00%
- Steingraeber E-2728.33%
- Petrof 284 Mistral8.33%
- YC 5 Basic8.33%
- C. Bechstein 4400.00%
- S. Erard 4400.00%
Comments
The K2 doesn't get nearly enough love. That and the Steinway are my two favourites but admittedly I've never done anything exhaustive like this.
@FriedTapeworm - FYI, it’s not ‘affects’, it’s effects…
Petrof and YC5 in my two favorites overall in Pianoteq…
I fell in love with U4 the first time I played it. It became my go to and very often I don't need to look elsewhere. For grand, I went for Petrof because the sound and feel convinced me (I find out later it is a favourite for many).
I don't think I will need any other model, all parameters available in Standard including layering and morphing can get me very far and deep (and even beyond 😉). But if I had to pick another grand I would go for Bechstein. I am sure the others have great qualities but they didn't work for my playing (very basic) and the way I interact with my controller (SL77). Amazing to have such a tool on iOS. It is so close to the real thing in terms of feel...
UVI Bosendorf and Pure Piano are still on my device for nostalgia but not for long... there's clearly no going back...
The Blüthner is my personal favorite of the bunch. After that probably the Petrof or the Bechstein.
Thank you. You probably meant “Petrof and YC5 ARE my two favorites…”
One of the reasons I tested the models the way I did, was that many of the them sound amazing in one or two areas of the keyboard, but sounded thin or metallic in other areas. For instance, the Steinways sound incredible in the bass register at all velocities, and also pleasant in the mid-high at low velocity; but the tone thins out significantly at high velocity in the mid-high register.
To my ears, the U4 is among the most consistent in regards to tone across the entire note range. There are also some very minor tuning imperfections in the lower register, which make it feel more like playing an acoustic piano. My only problem with U4 is that the string and body resonance are so present when the sustain pedal is down, and then so much more dry when letting up on the sustain. It can be a bit jarring to have such a beautiful resonance present one second, then gone the next when the pedal is lifted while playing.
I imagine this could be tweaked with the parameters to be more subtle, but I haven’t had a go with that yet.
I meant that to be as light hearted as possible. Hopefully it was received that way. Jokes don’t always work as well as intended in written form, and across cultures.
great research! thanks for sharing
Interesting, the Bechstein is three times more popular than any of the others. Even though it’s a small sample size, that seems significant…
Small sample size?
I hope you understand that we vote for pianos that are non-sample based?
Well played
😎😎