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I just got back from a week long trip, leaving one day after my Bday on the 9th. I surprisingly got ACD and the iLok. Now I have to clear out some old programs to accommodate the 60G needed lol So hopefully in next dy or so I'll be able to try this extensively at home.

Thanks for the general setup ideas, gives me a starting point as a complete newbie to this program. I still like RCroft a lot, but wanted something more akin to my teachers Steinway L.

Keep the ideas coming guys!

Chris

I prefer to keep the dynamic range around 39-43 (39-41 live, up to 43 for practice), as it hides the changes in level more easily, while still allowing for expression. But I am primarily a jazz pianist, and I can understand wanting greater extremes in dynamics.

I messed around for a long time with the eq settings today (probably should have spent more time practicing...), and found I still like my above settings best. However, I found that using "medium resonant 1" soundboard set at 0db gain gives me more sustain in the mid/upper mode range (which I find particularly lacking in the default settings), although it only affects the sound when I am using pedal. I will probably mess around with more of the soundboard options, although I don't like too much resonance (it sounds fake at higher levels to my ear). I haven't used sympathetic resonance much, because it doesn't seem worth the CPU load to my older macbook, and seems to contribute to "pops" in the sound, which I don't normally experience.

I'm also still fiddling with velocity settings... I keep it around (18-21) to (123-127), with a silent velocity around 15-19. This seems to work well for both the Kawai mp11 and Yamaha p105 I use, and I used a similar setting when I had a casio privia px150.

I have to keep in mind that even real pianos (or at least the kind I can afford) have imperfections, and that this software is vastly superior to any onboard keyboard sounds I've ever used. It allows me to largely get lost in the music, and have enough degree of expression that I don't miss the real thing quite as much, particularly when playing live with others.

Close miking is often done even in classical music with an additional room pair. Then you can mix to taste.

If you only have close miked samples, just snap a convolution reverb on top and it can sound like many feet away.

Thanks portlandmike! I'll give those a try. I too played around w. settings yest. and found I still lack a good critical ear to make any adjustments. Do you all use the factory setting of ACD or the ACD II in the "Preset" option? There are so many options there not sure which to use?

Chrisl: I use a lot of the default settings. I turned "key noise" to -24dB, and pedal noise to -14.5 dB (just because I find them annoying, particularly through speakers). I add some reverb, right now set to .6x size with "Live Venue." 14% wet/ dry, 40.5 ms predelay, 20kz damping. Honestly, I some of those reverb settings I set arbitrarily, having modified a pre-existing one. I saved my own "program preset" and "session preset" based on what I modified. I keep it at "American Concert D 20 level" rather than "20 level 2." You might take an existing preset that you like, and fiddle with the settings. It can be easy to spend too much time changing settings, though...

Thanks portlandmike. I know we all have preferences, but good to know what others are using. I haven't spent time with level 2...I'll give it a go. But I agree, it's too easy to play around with all the settings lol

Played a bit more w. the settings. Not sure what I 'really like'...but, WOW. I love this sound overall. So much more musically involving and def., for me, much more fun to practice, and futz around on the dp.

RCroft I also love, but will save for later as I hope to learn some jazz piano too. But for what I'm playing (agay's book I), and what I'm playing on at my teachers place (steinway L), and lastly, it's sounds more like some of the recitals I've been too at peoples homes.

I must admit, the whole iLok concept I was against from the get go...but holy smokes, it's well worth the extra effort and cost for me.

Thanks for everyone's help!
Chris

Does anyone know what parameter I need to use to adjust the pedal? It's either on or off when I pedal, no in between like a real piano's pedaling?

I don't believe the switch pedal (FC-5?) included with the P105 supports half-pedalling. You need to upgrade to a pedal that does, such as the FC-3.

Cheers,
James
x

Oh, half pedaling is what it's called eh? Thanks for this crucial information James! I'll track down a F3.

Again, Thanks James!
Chris

I found this video by a guy named 7notemode on Ivory. I have used the exact settings, using the same headphones. And his dp and Ivory sounds MUCH better than my yamaha and Ivory...is this have something to do with his dp..or something else I can't think of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWnbja5UXm8

I'm using medium memory and 100 voices too.

Anyone with any ideas? Maybe I should start another thread asking this question...

I don't know the answer to your question but I agree the piano sounds amazing in this recording. Is there anything specific that stands out in his recording that you aren't hearing in your own setup?

Well, so much...better dynamics, fuller sound, and the notes just sound richer than what I've achieved here at home. Strangely, it's louder too.

One thing though, I'm using an 08 macbook pro which uses USB 1.0 for the iLok and Midi cable. Could this have anything to do with it?

I think I'll start a new thread and see if we can get some more opinions.

Thanks Pathbreaker

Hi.
I've just found your question about the classical sound on American D.
I have the AD two weeks and I bought it also for classical music.
I think you will never finde a sound of a really acoustic concert piano because the acoustic piano has 500 kg and two reproductors can't imitate this volume of resonance.
I have an other problem.
I found different tuned keys - hammers ( in colour not in pitch ). Did you recognized this intonation problem? I hear different between the g1 and the a1 - the a1 I find more harder, the same problem - it sounds the piano tuner was'nt perfect? - is by the b flat 1 and by the e2. It is a very small, fine differrent, but it is there. I played it via Kawai VPC1, Yamaha Motif8, recorded notes by mouse ( in Logic ), but the result was the same.
Now I'm really curious to know, is it a problem of the software or it is an issue only in my setup.
Thank you for your answer.
Miki Skuta
www.skuta.net

Hi,
I'm aware this is quite an old thread, but thought I'd give it a whirl...
This sounds to me like the sonic character typically found in classical piano concert live recordings, although that's a gross generalisation!!
Setup was basically Kawai MP8 keyboard (normal factory linear touch curve) into Ivory II American Concert D (default linear touch curve), listening with Sennheiser HD600 headphones.

SESSION
Half pedalling = On
Silent Key = 2
Tuning = Stretch
Velocity Curve = Default linear

PROGRAM
Keyset = American Concert D 20 level
Sustain Resonance = On, +4.5dB, MediumResonant1
Sympathetic Resonance = On, +12.0dB
Pedal Noise = On, 0.0dB
Release = 1.00x
Key Noise = -3.0dB
Timbre = 99
Dynamic range = 42dB
Trim = 0.0dB
Stereo Width = 60%
Lid Position = Full Stick
Timbre Shift = 0
Perspective = Audience
Release Samples = On

EFFECTS
EQ Low Shelf Freq = 26.7Hz
EQ Low Shelf Gain = +12.0dB
EQ Mid Freq = 670Hz
EQ Mid Gain = +3.5dB
EQ Mid Bandwidth = 2.0 oct
EQ High Shelf Freq = 14.2kHz
EQ High Shelf Gain = -2.0dB
Chorus = Off
Reverb Ambience = On; Concert Hall
Size = 1.25x
Wet/Dry = +7.0%
Predelay = 50.0ms
Damping = 10.0kHz

Don't know if that's the sort of "classical" tone you had in mind? Dilute to personal taste obviously. For a softer, more ambient, distant mic Steinway sample which sounds very "classical" and does have that very pronounced midrange colouration, you might try Garritan Authorized Steinway Professional Edition, with 5 mic perspectives. It sounds spot-on for the soft opening of Clair De Lune, but then again probably too thin for a passionate Rachmaninov prelude. Ivory II isn't bad once you've tweaked it, but as others have said the Ivory Hamburg Steinway sounds more classical than the darker Ivory New York Steinway, and that's a good thing to give people a choice. Galaxy Vintage D is a very good Steinway which is even more widely tweakable, for any genre, yet sounds nice even on factory default. I think the actual Vintage D samples seem a bit higher quality than Ivory II, from a purist audiophile viewpoint with less sonic colouration overall, although you can still tell it's close mic techniques, it's several mics carefully blended together to balance the whole keyboard range, so the player's stereo perspective feels smooth and all 88 notes are pretty consistent, although the bass could come up a bit, I think, but you can fix that easy...

Propianist:

I am struck by how closely most of your settings are to the ones I have evolved. FYI I most often also use either HD600 or HD650, but sometimes speakers.

There are a few notable exceptions, and I thought I'd ask about them:

Program/Sympathetic resonance. You have a remarkable +12dB [me: 0.0 dB] Doesn't this affect the colour quite a lot?

Effects/Low Shelf Freq 26.7Hz, Gain +12 dB. Can you maintain velocity control over bass notes when playing with this high setting? I haven't tried your EQ setting just yet, but suspect that they might be rather neat for headphones, but pretty bass heavy for speakers (at least for mine).

Program/Perspective: Audience. Why not performer?

One other difference probably merits a comment. While I use a fairly linear velocity curve, I set the max at 108 rather than 127. This is more realistic for my DP.