IK Multimedia Pianoverse

[davinwv]

I'm still over here waiting for Hammond B-3X v2.0!

 

Here's the teaser!

 

Highlights

Premium Sample-Based Piano Instrument

Robot-Assisted Sampling for Accuracy

Lid Position, Harp Resonance, and Noises

EQ, Compression, and VCA-Style Limiter

Two Sets of Mics: Modern or Classical

30 Generative, Customizable Spaces

Stereo Width Control

3 Simultaneous FX, 2 Envelopes & 2 LFOs

For macOS and Windows

Features

 

Combining the world's finest concert grand pianos with creative, inspiring effects and the convenience of cutting-edge digital technology, Pianoverse Concert Grand YF3 from IK Multimediais a comprehensive and realistic virtual instrument plug-in that delivers the versatility needed to achieve the piano sound of your dreams—from classical concerts, to cinematic soundtracks, to intimate jazz performances. With incredibly accurate robot-assisted sample captures from top-of-the-line hand-tuned pianos, Pianoverse gives you full control over your piano sound, including lid position, harp resonance, pedal and mallet noises, and selection of two mic layouts for either a classical or in-your-face modern sound.

 

Pianoverse sports numerous FX on tap, including EQ, compression, a VCA-style limiter, stereo width, and more, with three simultaneous FX and four modulation sources—two envelopes and two LFOs. With 30 stunning generative spaces to choose from, each fully customizable, you can sweeten your sound with just the right spatial fullness or take it to unique locations like Mars or an iceberg, and adjust settings for sounds that have never been heard before. This instrument plug-in is available for macOS and Windows computers.

 

 

@Jim Alfredson- I know that you have done demos for IK Multimedia in the past and are probably under an NDA if you have used Pianoverse, but blink twice if you are beta testing it😆.

[Jim Alfredson]

I made some demos for it. It’s pretty spectacular. 

[CHarrell]

I got my investments tied up in Jam Points over this!

[davinwv]

1 hour ago, Jim Alfredson said:

I made some demos for it. It’s pretty spectacular. 

Nice! I was pretty disappointed in Electromagnetik, so hopefully, this will begin to redeem IK's piano offerings.

[CHarrell]

If you look this up on Google, one of the first results is a B&H Photo listing (that doesn't accurately load upon clicking), where the price is listed at $99.99 USD.

[davinwv]

1 hour ago, CHarrell said:

If you look this up on Google, one of the first results is a B&H Photo listing (that doesn't accurately load upon clicking), where the price is listed at $99.99 USD.

 

I hope that price sticks.

[konaboy]

not sure how I feel about a piano library that uses samples of a "robot" playing the keys.

[Mike Martin]

32 minutes ago, konaboy said:

not sure how I feel about a piano library that uses samples of a "robot" playing the keys.

 

The pianos sounds from nearly every keyboard produced today are done this way. 

[Jose EB5AGV]

50 minutes ago, konaboy said:

not sure how I feel about a piano library that uses samples of a "robot" playing the keys.

 

You can't get dozens of accurate velocity layers otherwise 

[David Emm]

18 minutes ago, Mike Martin said:

The pianos sounds from nearly every keyboard produced today are done this way. 

 

Its hard to imagine a more effective method, with Pianoteq naturally respected. I doubt there'd be much clamor for a piano whose dynamics were established by me pecking at the keys and trusting my rusty ears. It'd be a LABS freebie named Drunken Uncle.

 

 

[CHarrell]

Yeah, I hope it becomes an industry standard as time moves forward. FYI, the CP and YC series (which Steinberg also released for Cubase) used a robot to sample their Felt Piano, and the results are excellent.

1 minute ago, David Emm said:

 

Its hard to imagine a more effective method, with Pianoteq naturally respected. I doubt there'd be much clamor for a piano whose dynamics were established by me pecking at the keys and trusting my rusty ears. It'd be a LABS freebie named Drunken Uncle.

 

 

 

Can you send me the download link? 

[konaboy]

i realise using a robot is one way to get consistent velocity layers.

 

But the technique that a skilled pianist uses to strike the keys affects the tone, surely? (only on an acoustic, obviously)

 

Or is that just a myth? Perhaps a mechanical machine with some motors, rubber and a hammer can extract the same quality of tone as Vladimir Horowitz?

 

spitfire iirc, amongst others, make a big deal about who the human player is that they used when recording the samples.

[davinwv]

It's out - with a subscription model in tow (as well as outright purchases of various pianos)!

[Doerfler]

20 hours ago, CHarrell said:

If you look this up on Google, one of the first results is a B&H Photo listing (that doesn't accurately load upon clicking), where the price is listed at $99.99 USD.

 

19 hours ago, davinwv said:

 

I hope that price sticks.

 This is the sale price for each model posted on their website. Decisions will need to be made. Which one will be best for me? 

[davinwv]

17 minutes ago, Doerfler said:

 

 This is the sale price for each model posted on their website. Decisions will need to be made. Which one will be best for me? 

IMHO, the yearly subscription is pretty compelling (and I'm not usually a fan of subscriptions). I piss away $150/year on piano libraries now. To pay that and have access to all the Pianoverse pianos seems pretty reasonable.

[CrossRhodes]

The specs look like they're for a synth not a sampled piano. For example:

Pianoverse - Black Diamond B280

Specs

Multi-sampled oscillators for ultimate authenticity

4 classic types of circuit-modeled filters to shape sounds

DRIFT™ technology for realism of subtle oscillator variations

Mix and match oscillators with filters for new original sounds

Wave Set Browser to select individual oscillator sounds

Edit panel with modulation matrix, extra oscillators, suboscillators, envelopes and LFOs

True 4-part synth to create rich sounds with layers and splits

4 dynamic arpeggiators and step sequencers for complex rhythmic textures

71 high-quality effects derived from AmpliTube, T-RackS and MixBox

Browser search by category or keyword to find sounds in seconds

Optimized resizable interface

All legacy Syntronik 1 presets and samples included with identical sound to the originals

Load Syntronik sounds into SampleTank 4.1.5 (or later) for more expandability

Native support of Apple M1 processor

Works as a 64-bit plug-in or standalone instrument for Mac/PC

Is this an error? Any specs regarding things that piano players will be interested in like velocity layers, una corda, sympathetic resonance, etc?

[Mighty Motif Max]

2 hours ago, CrossRhodes said:

The specs look like they're for a synth not a sampled piano. For example:

Pianoverse - Black Diamond B280

Specs

Multi-sampled oscillators for ultimate authenticity

4 classic types of circuit-modeled filters to shape sounds

DRIFT™ technology for realism of subtle oscillator variations

Mix and match oscillators with filters for new original sounds

Wave Set Browser to select individual oscillator sounds

Edit panel with modulation matrix, extra oscillators, suboscillators, envelopes and LFOs

True 4-part synth to create rich sounds with layers and splits

4 dynamic arpeggiators and step sequencers for complex rhythmic textures

71 high-quality effects derived from AmpliTube, T-RackS and MixBox

Browser search by category or keyword to find sounds in seconds

Optimized resizable interface

All legacy Syntronik 1 presets and samples included with identical sound to the originals

Load Syntronik sounds into SampleTank 4.1.5 (or later) for more expandability

Native support of Apple M1 processor

Works as a 64-bit plug-in or standalone instrument for Mac/PC

Is this an error? Any specs regarding things that piano players will be interested in like velocity layers, una corda, sympathetic resonance, etc?

That's the specs for Syntronik 2 I believe. I saw a lot of this going on on Guitar Center's website recently as well - totally different product descriptions and specs to the actual item listed.

[Doerfler]

4 hours ago, CrossRhodes said:

The specs look like they're for a synth not a sampled piano. For example:

Pianoverse - Black Diamond B280

Specs

Is this an error? 

maybe. where did you lift these specs from?

[Doerfler]

4 hours ago, davinwv said:

IMHO, the yearly subscription is pretty compelling (and I'm not usually a fan of subscriptions). I piss away $150/year on piano libraries now. To pay that and have access to all the Pianoverse pianos seems pretty reasonable.

  I was thinking similarly, myself.  Do the monthly subscription for US $15 for a month or two and see what I like before I purchase anything, or not

[CrossRhodes]

3 hours ago, Doerfler said:

maybe. where did you lift these specs from?

 

It was under the instruments official spec page on their website earlier today but looks like someone realized the blunder and corrected:

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/pvblackdiamondb280/index.php?p=specs

Still no mention of velocity layers that I can find (something 99.9% of musicians will want to know). Maybe I'm just missing it. Anyone else find this spec anywhere?

 

[David Emm]

On 9/27/2023 at 5:25 PM, CHarrell said:

 > I doubt there'd be much clamor for a piano whose dynamics were established by me pecking at the keys and trusting my rusty ears. It'd be a LABS freebie named Drunken Uncle.

 

>>> Can you send me the download link? 

 

The merely-sloppy one where I was semi-sober or the one I can't recreate at all because I was two staggers away from being God's Own Drunk?

 

Semi-OT: GForce offers a couple of mix-&-match sets of Mellotron sounds featuring a key from this set here and another from way over there. It might be all strings, but little attempt has been made at reshaping them. If you think single notes can sometimes sound painfully wonky in the usual sets, stand back! The benefit lies in the even more organic results when used chordally. 

 

[CHarrell]

2 hours ago, David Emm said:

The merely-sloppy one where I was semi-sober or the one I can't recreate at all because I was two staggers away from being God's Own Drunk?

 

 

It's a Spitfire LABS library, let me crossfade between the two with the big button knob!

[Doerfler]

3 hours ago, CrossRhodes said:

Still no mention of velocity layers that I can find (something 99.9% of musicians will want to know). Maybe I'm just missing it. Anyone else find this spec anywhere?

I have not seen this data.  Following up on your request, I looked at the website and purused the manual (for the first time  ) of one of my favorite piano VST's.

 

That would be Noire from Galaxy Instruments, a  9' Yamaha CFX that is 16GB. No mention of velocity layers at all in either location.

 

Each piano in Pianoverse is 20GB. No one should be able to hear switching between layers at this level of detail, IMO, but I'll keep checking. 

[Doerfler]

in the meantime...

 

 

[Jim Alfredson]

Nice demo by Katsunori! 

[CHarrell]

I saw this on the YF3:

 

What does this mean by "realistic feel"?

[CrossRhodes]

10 hours ago, Doerfler said:

I have not seen this data.  Following up on your request, I looked at the website and purused the manual (for the first time  ) of one of my favorite piano VST's.

 

That would be Noire from Galaxy Instruments, a  9' Yamaha CFX that is 16GB. No mention of velocity layers at all in either location.

 

Each piano in Pianoverse is 20GB. No one should be able to hear switching between layers at this level of detail, IMO, but I'll keep checking. 

 

Noire is my go to piano VST as well! Here is some info on the velocity layers and sampling approach:

Indeed, NOIRE uses 22 dynamic layers (both, in the Pure and Felt version) and has no round robins. However, just to shine some light on our piano production technique: These 22 dynamic layers were selected out of the 70 - 100 samples, which we've recorded per key. So we did not only record the ones we used, but we've selected the best 22 samples per key for a smooth dynamic curve. More is not always better, it also has to perform right...

Cheers,
Stephan
__________________________
Galaxy Instruments
Galaxy-instruments.com
facebook.com/galaxyinstruments

[dickiefunk]

NI Noire is my goto piano at the moment. I’m considering Ivory 3 when it gets released for Windows but it will be interesting to hearing how Pianoverse compares. 

[Melving]

On 9/29/2023 at 2:15 AM, Jim Alfredson said:

Nice demo by Katsunori! 

On a very small keyboard... 

 

[jerrythek]

On 9/27/2023 at 5:24 PM, konaboy said:

not sure how I feel about a piano library that uses samples of a "robot" playing the keys.

We did that back in the day at Ensoniq, but it was just a mechanical system that dropped a specified weight. We called him Mr. Dink.