Author |
Message |
seraph
Editor
Joined: Jun 21, 2003 Posts: 12398 Location: Firenze, Italy
Audio files: 33
G2 patch files: 2
|
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:18 pm Post subject:
Ultimate virtual grand piano developed |
|
|
KurzweilAI.net, Jan. 15, 2004
The quest to produce the ultimate realistic virtual grand piano took a big leap today with "Ivory," announced by Synthogy and distributor ILIO at Winter NAMM 2004 in Anaheim.
The secret: Synthogy's proprietary 32-bitsample-playback and digital signal processing (DSP)engine, which was specifically built from the ground up to bring out the resonance, response and character of three of the world's finest concert grands: the German Steinway D 9' Concert Grand, Bösendorfer 290 Imperial Grand, and Yamaha C7 Grand, with 20 Gigabytes (3,500 samples)digitally recorded in the finest studios and concert halls. All 88 keys of each piano were individually sampled in up to 8 dynamic levels, including the extended low octave on the Bösendorfer.
The sessions were produced by Joe Ierardi, an accomplished pianist, award-winning sound designer, and producer of piano modules for Kurzweil Music Systems. George Taylor, a principal architect of Kurzweil's popular KSP8 multi-effects system, created the Synthogy engineand DSP.
"Synthogy's technology is the most comprehensive virtual piano that I am aware of, with full non-looping samples for multiple intensity levels for every note," said Ray Kurzweil, who developed the first computer-based instrument that could realistically recreate the musical response of the grand piano and other orchestral instruments in 1984 (the legendary Kurzweil 250). "It even covers the sympathetic string response associated with the damper pedal. Knowing Joe Ierardi's extremely high quality work from having worked with him at Kurzweil Music Systems, this is an important step forward."
Ivory will be available for AU, VST and RTAS, for PC and Mac OS X, in Q1, 2004, for $349.
http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news.html?id%3D2858 _________________ homepage - blog - forum - youtube
Quote: | Don't die with your music still in you - Wayne Dyer |
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
mosc
Site Admin
Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 18197 Location: Durham, NC
Audio files: 212
G2 patch files: 60
|
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:37 am Post subject:
|
|
|
I'm puzzled that they modeled the Steinway D. Most jazz pianists like the B model better. It has a more balanced sound. The B is a little shorter than the D. The D was designed primarily to be loud in order to fill large concert halls. |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
elektro80
Site Admin
Joined: Mar 25, 2003 Posts: 21959 Location: Norway
Audio files: 14
|
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 9:48 am Post subject:
|
|
|
http://www.ilio.com/synthogy/ivory/
20 gigs of samples? The latest craze in samplebased softinstruments is prettty storage demanding.. _________________ A Charity Pantomime in aid of Paranoid Schizophrenics descended into chaos yesterday when someone shouted, "He's behind you!"
MySpace
SoundCloud
Flickr |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
seraph
Editor
Joined: Jun 21, 2003 Posts: 12398 Location: Firenze, Italy
Audio files: 33
G2 patch files: 2
|
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 10:43 am Post subject:
|
|
|
elektro80 wrote: |
20 gigs of samples? The latest craze in samplebased softinstruments is prettty storage demanding.. |
I think that besides the quality of the virtual instrument it has something to do with "copy protection". Before downloading 20 gigabytes of stuff I would think twice and maybe give up, and that's exactly what they want
but, on the other end, would I buy a 20 gigabyte piano _________________ homepage - blog - forum - youtube
Quote: | Don't die with your music still in you - Wayne Dyer |
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
mosc
Site Admin
Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 18197 Location: Durham, NC
Audio files: 212
G2 patch files: 60
|
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 10:58 am Post subject:
|
|
|
I have the Kurzweil PC-2X which is a very good electronic piano. I have always enjoyed playing it, but it's not the same experience as playing a real Steinway grand. I'm not a great pianist, though. One time Chris Soliday, a great jazz pianist came over and I asked him to play the Kurzweil. He said it was perhaps the best electric piano that he's played, but he pointed out that it was not as sensitive to subtile dynamics as the real McCoy. He is very carefull about the dynamics of the "inner voices" when he plays. When he plays a chord, he controls the volume of each note. I can not do this myself, unfortunately. He showed me how the Kurzweil wasn't as responsive to subtile playing techniques he uses on a good grand piano.
I'm not sure, but I think the problem wasn't so much with the samples and the cross fading and all that stuff, it is with the MIDI controller. The Kurzweil has, in my opinion, the best action and sensitivity available. At any rate, most people would agree it is one of the best. I suspect that even with the ULTIMATE virtual grand piano, the MIDI controller is the weakest link. How expresssive can you be with only 128 steps for volume? Last edited by mosc on Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:40 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
seraph
Editor
Joined: Jun 21, 2003 Posts: 12398 Location: Firenze, Italy
Audio files: 33
G2 patch files: 2
|
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:33 am Post subject:
|
|
|
mosc wrote: | I suspect that even with the ULTIMATE virtual grand piano, the MIDI controller is the weakest link. How expresssive can you be with only 128 steps for volume? |
very well stated, I agree _________________ homepage - blog - forum - youtube
Quote: | Don't die with your music still in you - Wayne Dyer |
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|