New computer software

[Fenton Murray]

Well said, Mark,
I personally don't get the argument. Just about every one that loves to play 
the piano will find himself drawn to experiment with anything with a 
keyboard. The advantages of a real piano over a digital keyboard are 
obvious, but how about the advantages of a keyboard over a piano. Finally we 
can walk into a gig with a trio or combo and set up and play, it's all good, 
guys. No maintenance, no moving, no being stuck with what's on stage.
Fenton
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Schecter" <mark at schecterpiano.com>
To: <stuka at mindspring.com>; "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:55 AM
Subject: Re: New computer software


> In about 1983, Kurzweil Music Systems circulated a PR video of their 
> flagship model 250, playing the Mozart 2 piano Sonata in duo with a 
> Steinway something. Their challenge, "You can't tell the difference" was a 
> bit overblown at the time, but still, the recording was surprisingly 
> effective, especially since nothing like it had ever been attempted 
> before. That was 25 years ago.
>
> Since then, every electronic keyboard manufacturer has been working to 
> improve the sound and feel of their products, and I would have to grant 
> that they have been succeeding, however incrementally. No, it's not "as 
> good as the real thing", but I listened to most of the demos of the 
> Garritan samples, and some of them, especially the Pro, I thought were at 
> the least, very good. OK, it might not suffice for Murray Perahia's next 
> live performance, but for a lot of folks, in a lot of situations, it could 
> be very useful, and persuasive.
>
> It's easy to turn up one's nose and sneer, but there have probably been 
> quite a few recordings and performances done on virtual instruments so 
> convincing that it never occurred to the listener to wonder whether it was 
> "real". Don't forget, when you're listening to a recording, it's not the 
> "real thing", it's ... a recording.
>
> Also, in many live performance situations, the sound from the "pianist" 
> would be much better coming out of a virtual box, than the awful, honking, 
> imbalanced sound sent to the house from the microphone aimed either into 
> the "soundhole" or four inches from the octave 5 hammers.
>
> I'm not saying, "Be afraid", I'm saying, give credit where credit's due. I 
> for one, would rather listen to the piano samples on the site below than 
> just about any spinet so-called piano. Is it perfect? Of course not. Is 
> any piano? Well, we aim for that, but ...
>
> -Mark Schecter
>
> stuka at mindspring.com wrote:
>> Yeah, you ever wonder why none of the software and hardware manufacturers 
>> and sales folk ever offer a side-by-side comparison between their product 
>> and a real piano of *any* kind, even the junkiest spinet they pulled out 
>> of a garage...?
>>
>>
>>     -----Original Message-----
>>     From: Kent Swafford
>>     Sent: May 6, 2008 6:18 PM
>>     To: Pianotech List , College and University Technicians
>>     Subject: New computer software
>>
>>     Behold the Authorized Steinway Virtual Concert Grand:
>>
>>
>>
>>     http://tinyurl.com/673gzu
>>
>>     http://garritan.com/steinway_demos.html
>>
>>
>
>