Pianoteq is issued from an academic research and results in what we call the fourth piano generation. This is the very first, and only, piano available that belongs to this generation.

First generation: acoustic piano (1698)
Second generation: electro-acoustic piano (1929)
Third generation: sampled piano (1984)
Fourth generation: modelled piano (2006)

The first generation of pianos began with Cristofori's pianoforte in 1698 which came to maturity at the end of the 19th century with the acoustic grand pianos. It was followed in the 20th century by the second generation electro-acoustic pianos and the third generation sampled pianos where each note is a recording of how it sounded during a specific moment in time, not taking into account the complexity of the instrument.

Pianoteq is the first and only piano belonging to the fourth generation, developed in order to go beyond the limitations of the third generation and to become a versatile and innovating tool. It is in fact the first virtual piano factory - it can produce new brands as well as copies of historical instruments.

Get Pianoteq and test it to see what it can actually do for you!

Here are some key features of "Pianoteq":

· Continuous velocity from pianissimo to fortissimo, with progressive variation of the timbre: that makes exactly 127 velocities! A sample-based software program would in theory require hundreds of gigabytes for all these velocities

Complex resonances that only a model can reproduce in all its richness:
· “Harp” resonance of all strings, both without and with sustain pedal
· Duplex scale (the undamped string parts which come into resonance)
· Sympathetic resonances between strings
· Damper position effect when key is released (variable overtones damping)
· Other special effects like staccato and sound continuation when pressing down the sustain pedal a short time after key release (re-pedalling)

· Timbre modification of repeated notes, due to the hammer striking strings which are already in motion instead of being still
· Release velocity

Four pedals:
· Progressive sustain pedal, allowing the so-called “half pedal”, but also quarter or tenth’s pedals if you want!
· Sostenuto pedal, allowing you to hold some notes after release without pressing down the sustain pedal
· Harmonic pedal, allowing you to play staccato while maintaining the sustain pedal resonance
· Una corda pedal, also called soft pedal, modifying the sound quality or timbre by shifting the piano action to the right (on grand pianos)

· Variable lid position

Natural instrument noises including:
· Action key release noise
· Damper noise at key release (for bass note dampers)
· Sustain pedal noise: pedal velocity dependant “whoosh” produced by the dampers rising altogether from the strings or falling down

· Choice of microphone position and multichannel mixing (up to 5 mics, 5 channels)
· Microtuning and scala format files import
· Various effects including equalizer, keyboard velocity setting, volume, sound dynamics which controls the loudness levels between pianissimo and fortissimo, reverberation with control of reverberation weight, duration and room size, limiter, tremolo.

Requirements:

· Recent CPU
· 256 MB RAM
· ASIO compatible sound card and drivers (with Windows)
· Internet connection

Limitations:

· 8 notes are disabled (silent): F#1, G#1, A#1, C#5, D#5, F#5, G#5 and A#5.
· Program quits after 20 minutes.

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

· Fixed VST-specific bug when loading old projects or FXB files in the VST plugin.
· Fixed crash when loading some custom keyboard mappings.
· Slightly improved performance of multicore-rendering on windows.
· Minor adjustement of the damper model. KIViR.ptq also updated.