Synchron Pianos isn't allowing me to select multiple keys in the edit window. Only one at a time. Am I doing something wrong or is this by design? Thanks.

God Bless,

David

Hi David, 

Thanks for your input! Seems like you discovered a bug there, Shift drag should add notes to the selection. 

We will have that fixed with the next update. 

Best,
Paul

@Paul said:

Hi David, 

Thanks for your input! Seems like you discovered a bug there, Shift drag should add notes to the selection. 

We will have that fixed with the next update. 

Best,
Paul

Something else I noticed and I'm not sure if this is by design is that the individual note Dynamic Range in the edit window starts at 100% and goes down to 0, but not up to 150 like the Global Dynamic Range does. So with individual notes you can only increase the intensity and not decrease the intensity. 

Of course the Dynamic Range decreases the higher you go and the individual note range can't be decreased at all. Thanks for the help. 

God Bless,

David

Hi David!

This is Konrad, part of the development team. Thank you for paying close attention and reporting right back to us! This is very valuable information :-)

Both things you noticed are actually by design:

Note selection: We changed that from previous versions, so you can only select multiple notes when holding down the Shift modifier. This has the advantage that without holding any modifier you can actually play the on board keyboard. This wasn't possible before actually. 

Dynamic Range per note: There are two values that need to be considered there as you already noticed. The global value and the per note value. The value that is applied depends on both settings. Those two values are multipled to yield the final result. So ...

• If the global value is set to 100% , but the key value is at 50%, the resulting dynamic range will be 50%.
• If the global value is set to 50% and the per key value is also set to 50%, the resulting value will be 25%. 
• If one of the values is set to 0%, the resulting value will also be 0%

So if you want one note to have a range of 150%, set the global value to 150%, and the note value to 100%. If you want another key to be at 100% again, set that key's value to 66%  (while still having 150% applied to the global setting).

When thinking about it, we should probably make that behaviour more clear in a future update.

I hope this clears things up a bit. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

All the best!

Konrad

@Another User said:

Dynamic Range per note:...When thinking about it, we should probably make that behaviour more clear in a future update.

Yeah, I would agree. It's not very intuitive the way it's currently setup. 

The biggest problem I'm having with the Steinway is that the midi sensitivity is way too high at "0." It's like I'm banging on the keys when playing normal. It's too harsh for my ears. However, when I bring the midi sensitivity down to something that is tolerable "-25," then I lose the dynamic range of the piano when I do want to play loud and it ends up being neutered. The CFX doesn't have this problem. The midi sensitivity with that is fine for soft, normal, and loud paying.

Is there anyway to change the midi sensitivity on the Steinway so it's more like the CFX with the next Synchron Piano update? Thanks for the help.

God Bless,

David 

I can't get the pans to work in Logic. Is there a fix on the way?

Hi antcarrier, 

Which version of Synchron Pianos, which OS, which version of Logic? 

Please include a quick screenshot that shows what you are changing... keep in mind that there is a reverb on top of the mix (on the right side of the mixer). 

Best, 
Paul

@Paul said:

Hi antcarrier, 

Which version of Synchron Pianos, which OS, which version of Logic? 

Please include a quick screenshot that shows what you are changing... keep in mind that there is a reverb on top of the mix (on the right side of the mixer). 

Best, 
Paul

I have emailed support. Thanks Paul.

Running Synchron Pianos in Digital Performer 9.5 on macOS Mojave 10.4.2, if I have multiple instances of the plug-in, the status bar at the bottom is the same for all, which is kind of weird.

For instance, if I load the Steinway on one, and then the Yamaha on the other, the status bar on the Steinway instance updates to match the Yamaha instance, and vice-versa, regarding number of active voices and memory/samples.

This is with the latest Synchron Pianos update from a few days ago.

Also, certain focus events when going from other apps back to the DAW, cause either a reload or an update of the status bars (simultaneously, ending up matching the one that currently has mouse focus).

It is hard to know if it is actually reloading samples now that I have finished my careful incremental upgrades of macOS to Mojave, internal RAM (now 64 gB) and external storage (now a 2 TB SSD), as everything is so fast now.

But at least the two instances properly maintain the correct settings and piano reference.

Or maybe not, as I noticed just now that the Play page refreshes on the other instance to match the one currently given the mouse focus, so when you go back to it later, the settings are wrong and you have to reload your preset.

Hi Mark, 

Happy New Year!

All our sample players have shared memory, so that is the reason for the identical numbers. 

I'll check out the behaviour with the Play Page... Do you want to send me such a song, so that I have exactly the same setup as you have? support@vsl.co.at

Best, 
Paul

Hi Paul, do you have Digital Performer so that you could open a project in that format to see what happens? I could create a new template with just two instances of Synchron Pianos, make sure the problem still occurs in a "from-scratch" project like that (with no audio tracks and no MIDI assigned), and that should result in a small enough file that isolates the issue and wouldn't be too big for attachment limits.

Hi Mark, 

Yes, I have DP 9 available here. Please send such a file, I'll check asap. 

Best, 
Paul

Hi all,

I'm really liking the Steinway D library and the included presets, though does someone know how to start a preset from the default?  When I select the default preset, all channels are disabled but even when enabling say, the Condenser microphone I still do not hear a sound.  Is there some other setting that needs to be enabled?

Appreciate the help,

Chris 

Paul, I created a new blank DP 9.5 project, added two instances of Synchron Pianos, set one to my own personal Yamaha preset and then the other to my personal Steinway preset. No problems at that point. But when I set the Yamaha instance to one of the factory Yamaha presets, it seems the Play page shifted the resonance and pedaling parameters in the Steinway instance to match.

I couldn't reproduce it after changing a few more times, between my own presets and the factory presets, and I'm too tired to do yet another from-scratch trial, so I'll just owe it up to a possible but not proven "first-time" issue, just like the other one I documented in another forum but not yet here, which is the "Activate Continuous Sustain" check box in the settings window. I had to toggle it twice for it to actually apply, but only the first time. And I mean first time across all instances and sessions. But I had another 12-hour work day so don't trust my ability to think analytically this far past midnight, to confidently prove that it was only a first-time problem.

Overall, I think this is one of the better piano interfaces on the market, as it's pretty easy and quick to take in all of your key settings, to customize, and to compare. The only things I don't quite understand are the dual volume controls -- I only edit the one on the left, and even p. 18 of the user manual shows the ones on the right all at minus infinity -- and the pan editing, which seems rather coarse and hard to control even if the goal is to do it by ear vs. by eye. I did at least figure out how to cross them over for player perspective (L/R inverse).

@Paul said:

Hello everybody!We have just released a Library Update for the Steinway D, with improved velocity mapping. So far, we have received great feedback from our testers, so this one should be quite a big step into the right direction 

Thanks for your input, everbody!!

Best, 
Paul

Thanks Paul and the VSL team. I notice a difference in the update. It's not as harsh sounding while still maintaining the louder sounds when needed. 

I'm not experienced or educated enough to know exactly what's happening, but to my ears, it's an improvement. 

Thanks again for your continued product support and I look forward to seeing what ideas you come up with in the future to make your pianos sound even better. 

God Bless,

David

Wow, that really just fixed everything for me! Amazing! You're really on an entirely different level! 

No more harsh tones and weird velocity response, just perfect on my Kawai MP11! Makes you really feel like there's some kind of strings and hammers working at your fingertips.

What really impressed me is how you also achieved a good balance between the high and the low notes. The lows were not assertive enough before, now I think they are! 

Cudos to you guys!

@Paul said:

Hello everybody! We have just released a[url=https://www.vsl.co.at/en/MyVSL/SY_Library_Updates]Library Update for the Steinway D[/url], with improved velocity mapping. So far, we have received great feedback from our testers, so this one should be quite a big step into the right direction Thanks for your input, everbody!! Best,Paul

@Paul said:

Hi, 

Happy to hear such a positive feedback on the piano update!

@wolfgang: You can tell by looking at the sample content. You will see a file called "SY-Steinway-D_Patches_Update01.vsynvolume" (see attached screenshot), which overrules the existing "SY-Steinway-D_Patches.vsynvolume" (newer file wins). 

This file organizes the way the samples are structured and will also affect your existing user presets. 

Best, 
Paul

Great!  Thank you Paul