Piano sounds

@laurentd31

In what way does your sound differ from John's demos? Are there any specific patches that sound different?

There is no minimum buffer-size for Unify, but CPU usage will be high with less than 128 samples. I usually use 256.

For example for these patches (Key - acoustic church steinway v2 or Key - acoustic pop 3way) the sound is dull without brilliance or saturated when I exercise a greater velocity. Nothing to do with the result obtained in the video “Play 30 of 505 Unify patches”. John seems to skim the keys and the sound is perfect. I also use a sustain pedal which prolongs the note but it's not great... for the record I use a NI mk2 komplete kontrol keyboard which gives me full satisfaction for the other patches.

The way a piano patch sounds is totally subjective to how it is being played. If you play them with the voicings and velocity I play I'm betting they sound the same because they haven't changed since we released Unify 2 years ago. It's the exact SAME patches. If you want to play them differently then maybe adjust the global velocity curve to better suit the way you play (find the global curve on the Settings page).

I don't know what else to say - I am 99.999% of the time playing Unify with no outside effects on the output - what you hear is what you get.

I just tested both of those patches.  I played the YouTube video while also playing the pianos in Unify.  They sound the same to me.  It shouldn't matter, but I was also using the NI Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2.  Both patches are fairly bright if you hammer hard on the keys.  Maybe change your velocity curve, like John suggested.

There is also some nice velocity work in the presets.  For example, in Steinway V2, strong velocity brings out a high end on Layer 2.  You mentioned it sounded too saturated.  Open up the FilterMax effect on that layer and turn down the Frequency.  See if maybe that helps.  Or edit the velocity curve for the layer.

If you feel the Steinway V2 sound is dull on lower velocities, edit the velocity curve for Layer 2 so the bright end starts at a lower velocity.

You can do similar edits with the POP 3Way.

Posted by: @laurentd31

Hello !

The piano sounds in my setup don't sound like the ones i hear in John's demos.

Is there a minimum number of samples to have with the sound card ? For me, there are 384 of them. Is that enough ?

Thank you.

I have been reviewing pianos for a few years and this is probably the number one question and comment I receive. Having the right velocity response dialed in to match the response of the particular library is so essential.

The other factor is the physical controller you are using, each one having its own peculiarities that you have to be aware of. A majority of the complaints come from Yamaha digital pianos, where the action might not be the best.

I have been using a Studiologic SL88: Grand that has an extremely soft action, but great velocity dynamic range. So, for the new MM Keys Unify title, I had to bump the curve in Unify up a bit.

I hope that helps, don’t give up, beautiful piano tones await.

Joyfully,
Simeon

Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

I also think it's a velocity problem and that I have to adapt my way of playing.