Pianoteq 9 by Modartt

Overview

Pianoteq is an award-winning virtual piano and instrument suite that uses physical modelling to capture the wonderful tone of instruments while offering limitless customization.

Technical Specifications

Library Size

only ~50 MB GB

Plugin Formats

VST3, AU, AAX

Standalone

Yes

Ideal Use Cases

• Concert pianists performing live who require expressive and nuanced instrument response without relying on samples.
• Sound designers and composers creating unique, evolving piano textures for film scores and theatrical productions.
• Music educators teaching piano performance and theory who need a customizable and responsive virtual instrument for lessons.
• Home studio producers seeking to sculpt highly specific piano tones that integrate seamlessly into their mixes.
• Audio engineers needing precise control over microphone placement and room ambience for virtual grand piano recordings.

Insights from Real-World Use

Strengths

• customizable
• Pianoteq9 is significantly warmer than 8
• mix ready
• great
• most customizable piano vst
• ability to completely remove the lid
• open and direct sound to the player
• amount of disk space this has saved me is incredible
• advantages
• realistic

Weaknesses

• not necessarily for someone that wants to play a perfect piano right out of the box
• fresh out of the box, you're not the biggest fan in the sound
• plasticy fake piano kind of attack
• always seems to need more mids around four to five kh
• usually need a hundred hz bass roll off or cut

Tone: delicate sounding, warm, open and direct sound, realistic

Review Snippets

• Says Pianoteq’s realism is next-level, surpassing Logic’s piano and many real recordings.
• Calls Pianoteq his go-to piano, expressing strong overall endorsement and trust.
• I have played around with Pianoteq for some time, actually since version 1. ... Back in the early versions it had a thin very sterile, synthetic sound. But, I knew they were on to the right idea. ... every single new revision showed a noticeable improvement over the last. When they hit version 8 I f
• Not ideal for instant use, but great if you want deep customization.
• The Hamburg Steinway Blues with the unisons detuned to taste sounds very realistic. Also helps to eq to taste, always seems to need more mids around four to five kh. I usually use a hundred hz bass roll off or cut as well. I usually turn the sound effects off or reduce them drastically.
• Says it feels and plays like a real instrument, emphasizing realism.
• Finds sustain-pedal automation feature very useful and impressive.
• what makes it so convincing to me (who grew up with real pianos around) is the resonance. Samples cant replicate that. When you hold the sustain down every note makes the rest of the strings vibrate and the resonance and reflections of the sound bouncing off of the body inside. Without that resonanc
• Calls the felts amazing and praises Pianoteq’s Condition feature range.
• Keyscape is plug and go, if you like the sound out of the box. ... Pianoteq NY Steinway D sounds right to me straight out of the box. I could tweak it endlessly, but I’ve not been able to improve it. ... For me, Pianoteq wins with the lack of repeated sounds and half pedal response. I can’t really g
• I've used Pianoteq for over 10 years now... On the plus side, it's much more playable than any Kontakt instrument. Don't know why, I think it's more responsive somehow, so when I'm practising, I always go for Pianoteq. For recorded music, I tend to use Claire or Noire instead. Pianoteq can be made t
• To anybody who has Pianoteq and says to themselves “y tf does this sound nothing like the demos, it sounds terrible”... After having this VST for several months and completely abandoning it for VSL, I finally gave it another chance, I realized that you literally HAVE TO adjust and calibrate the velo
• Praises flexibility to achieve realism or creative sounds using the engine.
• Says Pianoteq excels at realistic worn, old-piano tones.
• Not ideal for plug-and-play; great starter sound but best for tweakers and editors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Pianoteq 9 require a sampler such as Kontakt or an AU/VST host to run?

No, it does not. The product supports standalone operation and also works as a VST3, AU, or AAX plugin.

Is Pianoteq 9 sampled or modeled?

It is fully modeled, generating sound in real-time rather than playing back recorded samples. This allows for continuous control over timbre, attack, resonance, and decay.

What is the download and install size of Pianoteq 9?

The library size is only approximately 50 MB, as it uses physical modeling instead of samples.

What operating systems are compatible with Pianoteq 9?

It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems.

What unique features does Pianoteq 9 offer for expressive playing?

It features Half Pedal, Repedal/Catch, and Modelled Sympathetic Resonance, contributing to a highly responsive and nuanced playing experience.

Can I adjust the microphone positions in Pianoteq 9?

Yes, you can easily position microphones around the instrument and mix up to 8 mics to stereo or multichannel for improved stereo and spatial perception.

What genres is Pianoteq 9 best suited for?

It is suitable for a wide range of genres including classical, jazz, pop, rock, electronic, film/scoring, soul/r&b, contemporary, and sound design due to its customizable nature.