TYPE: Modelled pianos | PRICE: Stage (€129/$129) Acoustic, Electric and Chromatic Percussion focus; Standard (€249/$319): more instruments and customisable options; Pro (€369/$519): more instruments, supports audio up to 192kHz and a wide array of adjustable parameters; Studio (€799/$899), which includes everything in the Pro package along with all of the many optional packs. | KEY FEATURES: Choose from 2, 3 or 4 instrument packs (grand pianos, upright piano, electric pianos, harp, vibraphones, clavinet, celesta and glockenspiel, xylophone and marimba, steelpans) and get free bells and carillons. Many editable parameters (unison width, octave stretching, hammer hardness, soundboard, string length, sympathetic resonance, duplex scale resonance); built-in EQ and effects; ten types of pedals | SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: AU, AAX, VST (64-bit only); Mac OS X 10.7 or later, Windows 7 or later, and Linux (x86, arm)
Modartt’s Pianoteq is quite simply one of the best modelled pianos out there. Unlike sample-based products that record acoustic instruments at varying velocity levels for playback, Pianoteq creates tones by way of modelling the relationship between hammers striking strings, that are coupled to a resonant soundboard. Modelling also requires a fraction of the disk space that sampling does: compare the relatively small download of Pianoteq to the multi-gigabyte size of a high-end sample library.
Pianoteq is a veritable cornucopia of pianistic possibilities — from Steinway B and D grands (approved by the instrument manufacturer, itself) to more esoteric models by Grotrian, Steingraeber and others. Each instrument has variations, as well; some of the Steinway B varieties include those named Recording, Close Mic, and Cosmic, each with its own character and sonic imprint.