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Hi James!
Well, the recording process is a bit complicated. First, I sent Charles a piano track, then he used an audio software to fashion the basic tempo, or "spirit" of the track out and played his violin to it. Then I got his track and played my piano and filmed my performance, and all my live interactions will be with his recording. When he got the video, he recorded his violin part to my piano, and so we "played" with each other for 2 rounds to get a great result that we were both happy with. It did take some back and forth, but the end result was -- he knew my style, and I knew his. So the collaboration was fun and enjoyable. Hope this answered your question!

Yes, Ralph. To me the controlling of this keyboard was so much better, more smooth and streamlined than the SL-88Grand, and I have more space on the black keys which was good. Coupled with the American Concert D, it was piano joy for me!

Hello David,

Thank you for your explanation!

The resulting performance is very natural - it definitely "feels" like you are playing together.

Great job!

Cheers,
James
x

Wow, thanks for the question, James, and the answer, David, on the recording process. It is very eye-opening and makes a ton of sense, although not entirely obvious at first!

David, may I ask how you are hearing your performance since you are not wearing headphones? I assume you are using speakers of some kind, but they are just not shown in the video?

Also, what is the device on your piano? Is it an audio interface?

Well done and bravo!

Exactly the same here.

I do think the u3 is easier to play, and is therefore "better", but that's exactly why the vpc-1 is the ideal practice tool for me as well.

What controller did you use before the vpc-1?


David Lai, wow. Your playing is seriously impressive. So inspiring! One day I hope to reach a level like that. Just amazing.

Thank you, I'm sure you will! This video was fun to make, and thanks to technology, it all came out beautifully. Hope it brought you a spring in your step!

Thank you! To answer your questions:
1. I heard Charles' performance on a Bluetooth speaker, a little Sony SRS-XB12, and I monitor my performances through a pair of KRK Rokit5 G4s (not shown in the video) connected to a FocusRite 4I4 3rd gen audio interface (not shown either);
2. That device on the piano is a Korg NanoKontrol2. I use it to change volume if needed, and on some libraries, like the Garritan CFX, to adjust the ambient and close microphones on the fly as it has CC messages to do it.

Thank you, James! Yes, I think we've stumbled upon a way for both of us to interact live to each other's music, while at the same time have clean and isolated performance takes for post production.

Just got a chance to listen to it, stunning performance, David!

If I didn't know any better, is say you were trying to hijack this forum into appreciating music from the usual arguing over actions and brands

Amazing playing (from both, but who cares about a non VST violin 😊). Now waiting for the adagio...

Hello David,

Wonderful playing! I'm glad you like your VPC-1. I have a question about the Steinway D Ivory II. Is that VST very CPU intensive. I have been using my VPC-1 with Pianoteq 7 and/or Ravenscroft but I've heard so much about the Ivory II with the VPC-1 and I like how it sounds in your recording. What type of computer are you using? I have a 2011 mac mini with SSD and 8 gb RAM. Do you happen to know if that would suffice or would I be dealing with a bunch of latency issues?

Nope, not for me, the CPU is always at single digits when I run Ivory II. I think your Mac should be good, but I'm not a tech expert, so I will let others tell you more about computers and tech. All I know is that this one sounds very good and the tone is rich!

I think Ivory is one of the least cpu intensive vst's.

I'm hoping that we could do the whole sonata, but my friend plays in the Symphony and has a busy schedule, so the next video will need to wait till he has some time off again. Luckily, he was very happy with the results as well and wants to continue. So I'm sure there will be a continuation for sure! I'm hoping that we will continue working together as well.

LOL, we need some different discussion now and then, right?

Ok thanks!

I have a tendency to agree.
However,

Without an A/B comparison between the optical sensing and something like the VPC1 there's some degree of speculation going on. However I feel it's useful to think about how the piano action actually works so that could inform any listening. This article describes the action in detail: Touch and temporal behavior of grand piano actions.

I can't see how the pianist can control anything other than: (a) the original thrust or force with which the keystroke causes the hammer to strike the strings and (b) the length of the legato 'after touch' that keeps the damper lifted off the strings and allows the strings to continue to vibrate; in slow moving passages the pianist can very slowly release the key and add some additional resonance time for the strings. I guess what I'm saying is that the situation is one of being an 'on/ off' action for the keystroke and then a matter of choice as to whether the damper is allowed to return to the strings which is usually (except in very slow moving situations) another 'on/off situation; the first is quite discrete, there's no in-between. Of course for the damper action there is half peddling but that's another situation. On VST, the software takes over for the resonance of the strings while the pianist may hold the key down.

However, I will admit my time with a finer quality piano-something used in a professional, classical performance- is very limited.
If only.

Has anyone already played the new VSL BÖSENDORFER 280VC with his/her VPC1?

I am telling to myself: "you DON'T need another piano VST!"... but, you know, as we can't go out for anything (leisure kind) and should stay mostly at home... well, the piano playing is something which helps on this situation. So perhaps I could indulge myself and get this nicely sounding one. I have already a new large SSD waiting for even more samples!

I did.

It is horrificaly bad. To be honest I think it sounds more like a trumpet than a piano. It's utter rubbish! Especially combined with a vpc-1 it sound really bad and is unplayable on top of that. I wouldn't bother.


I'm sorry.

Oh no!! I was just about to buy this - Gamma1734's video on YouTube is just amazing! But I trust U3piano's ears....
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