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I'm very happy with the latest offering from VI Labs, the Modern U. I think it's their best work yet. If I had to choose just one VST piano right now, it would be the Modern U (and I have a lot VST's). I have all of VI labs offerings, VSL's offerings, Garritan, Pianoteq, etc The Modern U is my favorite. Here is a short video review I made highlighting a few of the reasons why I like it.
That was a very enjoyable video David. Your playing and technique are improving rapidly.
Praise God!
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EDIT - What makes this more enjoyable than say the VI Labs Ravenscroft?
That's a good question. I would say that the Ravenscroft can be a bit more expressive than the modern U, but I like the overall tone of the Modern U better. The Modern U feels and sounds very natural to me.
"Discipline is more reliable than motivation." -by a contributor on Reddit r/piano "Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration." -by some other wise person "Pianoteq manages to keep it all together yet simultaneously also go in all directions; like a quantum particle entangled with an unknown and spooky parallel universe simply waiting to be discovered." -by Pete14
I've been engaged in public speaking for over 20 years and I don't recall anyone ever complementing my voice. When I first started preaching my voice would get very shrill when I got excited. I had to learn how to keep my voice in the lower register and use my diaphragm more.
Thank God for good wives to help us know when we're being annoying.
Thanks for the video review David - great work. VI Labs really nail the release samples & immediacy of acoustic pianos - very natural. I agree with the comment by 'Newer Player' above - your playing has progressed rapidly, and I can hear & see you're more relaxed at the keyboard, and your playing is therefore less "deliberate" and more "musical" if that makes sense?
Hey David! Really appreciate all your reviews of VSTs so far. How does this compare to the Bösendorfer 130 from VSL? I can't seem to get that power from the Bösie Upright on the higher end of the notes which really annoys me. Maybe I have grown too used to the piercing sounds from the Garritan CFX.
Thanks for the video review David - great work. VI Labs really nail the release samples & immediacy of acoustic pianos - very natural.
I wish I understood more about the process of converting the raw recordings into something usable. I wonder how much has to do with the studio the piano was recorded in compared to the post record processing work. It seems like VI Labs chose a very appropriate studio to record in. It has a very clean sound.
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I agree with the comment by 'Newer Player' above - your playing has progressed rapidly, and I can hear & see you're more relaxed at the keyboard, and your playing is therefore less "deliberate" and more "musical" if that makes sense?
Thank you.
Originally Posted by Beowulf
... How does this compare to the Bösendorfer 130 from VSL? I can't seem to get that power from the Bösie Upright on the higher end of the notes which really annoys me. Maybe I have grown too used to the piercing sounds from the Garritan CFX.
I agree with you about the Bösendorfer. It has a very mellow tone. I also noticed that the upper register can be so quiet. Have you tried increasing the individual key volumes for those notes? VSL does offer very detailed customization.
David, felicitations on your rapid progress - may it continue apace - and thanks for your helpful review.
I'm interested in this sample library but have misgivings because of the behaviour of VI labs Ravenscroft where an unintended bounce on any note (arising from a mixture of shortcomings in my technique exacerbated by my removal of the fake letoff 'mechanism' of my VPC1) effectively kills the note. It's a behaviour not readily noticeable in any other sample library I've bought or tried. I'm still not sure if the blame lies with the Ravenscroft or the UVI container.
I wonder if, using the Modern-U, you would be able/prepared to audition a midi file which I would upload - literally just one note but with an overlapping double strike at very low velocity. I'd like to know if this new VI labs library behaves like the Ravenscroft.
I wonder if, using the Modern-U, you would be able/prepared to audition a midi file which I would upload - literally just one note but with an overlapping double strike at very low velocity. I'd like to know if this new VI labs library behaves like the Ravenscroft.
I'm happy to help out anyway I can. Just let me know what you'd like me to do. I'll PM you my email address.
Of course, it was past David's bedtime so there'll be no news until tomorrow.
If there are any other Ravenscroft owners out there who have the patience to try this out, I'd be interested to know if they get the same result. It's possible I've overlooked something in UVI player.
It's a lowish D, played forte, sustained for a couple of seconds but because of a tiny bounce at the keybed, a second D plays a fraction of a second later at very low velocity. On the Ravenscroft, this produces a staccato D with an almost but not quite silent tail (D playing at very low velocity). Every other library gives me D for a full 2 secs with the ghosted note barely apparent.
Thank you David for the review! Very nice playing and the video really gives a fine overview of this VST. Now I'm really thinking of getting this one:) Great work!
Last edited by johanibraaten; 02/08/2006:13 AM.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
Still for some reason the sound of this particular vst doesn't really catch my interest. I think it's too modern, too clean, for my taste, i just love piano's with more character like Embertone Walker and vsl Bosendorfer upright. I also like the tone of my own 1985 u3 better than this one.
I owned ravenscroft, so I know Vi labs piano's have great playability, still i'm surprised to see you actually prefer this one over the vsl bosendorfer upright. That must mean it is quite good!
I tried it. I did not hear any second note. I am not sure if I did it right. I have not done a lot of this kind of thing.
this is what I did. I opened Reaper, created a track, inserted your file as a media item. now, I added FX UVI Workstation, loaded Modern U, and pressed play. I did not hear a second note.
next I loaded Ravenscroft. same thing. next Pianoteq. also same thing . no second note. hope this helps.
Was the single note staccato or did it last for a couple of seconds?
Do you have an event editor in Reaper? If so, you should be able to see that there are two notes on the same pitch one starts a fraction of a second after the other. The net result should be a single sound of about 2 seconds. Here, with Ravenscroft, I'm just getting a staccato; the second note instead of adding negligibly to the first is cutting it off.
Was the single note staccato or did it last for a couple of seconds?
Do you have an event editor in Reaper? If so, you should be able to see that there are two notes on the same pitch one starts a fraction of a second after the other. The net result should be a single sound of about 2 seconds. Here, with Ravenscroft, I'm just getting a staccato; the second note instead of adding negligibly to the first is cutting it off.
Did you report this apparent bug to VI Labs, dire tonic?
across the stone, deathless piano performances
"Discipline is more reliable than motivation." -by a contributor on Reddit r/piano "Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration." -by some other wise person "Pianoteq manages to keep it all together yet simultaneously also go in all directions; like a quantum particle entangled with an unknown and spooky parallel universe simply waiting to be discovered." -by Pete14