New Steinway D from VI Labs, demos by David Lai

Jane

https://www.vilabsaudio.com/modernd

navindra

Is it better compared to VSL et al? I find it very hard to evaluate VIs from the recordings.

Here's Chopin Sonata B Minor Op 58 on the Modern D:

Here's the same piece on Pianoteq Bösendorfer 280VC:

Is it just me or does the Bösendorfer sound wonderfully alive in comparison?

I should probably do a proper test on headphones, but it's pretty awesome that we can compare this same piece side by side on these very different VIs.

I find this comparison quite surprising, honestly. The Modern D is decent, but Pianoteq sounds larger than life... and it works on my phone.

Jazzpunk

navindra wow the Bosendorfer clip is so loud. The volume button on the player doesn’t seem to have any effect for me. Makes it a little difficult to do a back and forth comparison for me. I think pianoteq can give very nice results but the VI labs sounds very good to may ears as well (listening on good headphones). I would be interested in hearing the same piece on the Pianoteq Steinway D if you have time to share one.

navindra

Jazzpunk Must be a bug/glitch with the player, this is the MP3 from Modartt.

I couldn't find a case of the same piece played on the D.

ofrappier

Hi,

I don"t find the number of velocity layers of ModernD and how the velocity was choosen (Robot? manual ? Spirio ?)

And if SR works with pedal UP/DOWN changes.

Regards,

Olivier F.

ofrappier

I currently download it i will compare it with the VSL in the same piece soon 🇦

navindra

ofrappier near perfect but wrong SR simulation between pedal down and up

This is a constant problem, there's always some flaw... and so we wait until the next big VI release to get excited again before finding new faults again. It's a never ending quest for digital perfection.

I'm not sure if there's a trial version available for it? The software seems to require iLok, which I'm averse to.

ofrappier I love your recording on VSL, so I'm very interested in seeing what Modern D brings to the table!

ofrappier

Just try this new MODERN D :

love it

near perfect but wrong SR simulation between pedal down and up :

in a real piano ;

in pedal down : play silently CHORD C and play others C/E/G staccato

release pedal Down to up while still holding down your c chord :

in a real piano and Pianoteq you still the SR resonance of undamped C CHORD, but in this MODERN D, resonance between keys doesn't work if the pedal down was down before change it to up with undamped keys . (only up)

So i will use MODERN D (the best sampled STENWAY D ) with Pianoteq 8 Resonances to have the right SR resonance behaviour between PEDAL down and up transition.

The MODERN D is very good : i love it. Demos soon

love it out of the box with my N1X set to velocity 1 to have the full range midi information à to 127

Buy This Steinway : well tuned and sound like a Steinway : real

Better than Ivory 3

Regards,

Olivier F.

navindra

Here's the demo video with a nice selection of presets and music:

It's certainly well done!

ofrappier

Here my Concerto 23 with MODERND and real Karl BOHM orchestra (orchestra minus Piano with Ai stems)

rach3master

ofrappier Great playing! Could you kindly share which program you used to extract the orchestral track from the source audio?

navindra

ofrappier Nice!

I was skeptical I would find any appreciable difference between your VSL and Modern D recording, but indeed I do, and I actually prefer your Modern D recording.

I think it's that famous Steinway bell sound you always promote... it rings out clearly on the Modern D. The VSL sounds a somewhat muted and distant in comparison. The Modern D sounds legit and has a presence the VSL lacks.

Thanks sharing for the comparison!

ofrappier

rach3master https://www.audiostrip.com/

ofrappier

https://www.audiostrip.com/ to remove Piano

ofrappier

But VI LABS MODERND D have to fix SR Resonance, with pedal down to up transitions, i've written to support
Their SR works only with pedal up, but not with pedal transitions :

ofrappier

Another Vi LABS MODERN D - demo

danno858

I bought this and I’m really happy with it. I’m shipping my grand to a rebuilder in late November and wasn’t happy with pretty much all my VSTs. I wanted to find one that I’d be happy with for a few months while my grand is gone. This one is good to go out of the box. You can fine tune it and really dial it in to your liking.