Pianoteq 9 Standard

Pianoteq is an award-winning virtual instrument which you can install on your computer (PC/Mac). It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and will even run on some ARM-based boards such as the Raspberry Pi. It can be used both in standalone mode and as an instrument plug-in in VST, AAX, and AudioUnits hosts.

What makes Pianoteq superior to other virtual instruments is that the instruments are physically modelled and thus can simulate the playability and complex behaviour of real acoustic instruments. Because there are no samples, the file size is just a tiny fraction of that required by other virtual instruments, making Pianoteq perfect for any laptop.

Version 9 of Pianoteq introduces a newly enhanced soundboard model that greatly improves stereo and spatial perception. Every grand piano has been meticulously revoiced, offering a more organic and expressive sound. Version 9 also brings an expanded sound palette, with expressive Sombre presets for cinematic depth, Felt presets in historical pianos, and refreshed Binaural modes for immersive headphone playing. The Electric Pianos pack has been updated as well, with enhanced MKII and Reeds instruments that deliver more dynamic response and detail.

We have collaborated with the best piano manufacturers in the world, Steinway & Sons, Steingraeber, Bechstein, Blüthner, Grotrian and Petrof, who all have approved the sound and playability of their physically modelled concert grand pianos available in Pianoteq.

Taking advantage of the model and its parameters, a morphing feature lets you merge several models to create unheard organic instruments.

Pianoteq 9 Standard offers unique powerful tools to enhance and modify the sound, such as changing the unison width, hammer hardness, and string length. You can now place up to 8 virtual microphones around the instrument in a fully revamped 3D panel and load external reverb impulse files. You can morph and layer instruments together. You can upgrade to the PRO version at any time. Pianoteq Standard comes with three instrument packs of your choice.

Extraordinary sound shaping

The possibility to shape the sound through physical parameters is an extraordinary feature that cannot be found in any other piano software. With just a few mouse clicks, you can achieve things that would require hours, or even weeks, by piano technicians to adapt on real acoustic pianos.

Some things can hardly be done in the real world, such as changing the string length from a mini grand of 1m/3.3ft to an imaginary giant grand of 10m/33ft. You can even modify the mechanical properties of the soundboard. New exciting possibilities open up as you explore the parameters and discover sounds that you have never heard or thought of before.

Presets from the FXP Corner

Users of the Standard version can make full use of all exciting presets created by other users (available in the FXP corner), including those created by Pianoteq PRO users: any preset created with Pianoteq Standard or Pianoteq PRO produces exactly the same sound in Pianoteq Standard and Pianoteq PRO.

Microphones setting

Similar to what professional audio engineers do when recording, you can place up to 8 microphones anywhere around the instrument in a redesigned 3D space interface. By adjusting microphones, you are able to quickly shape the colour and presence of the sound.

Fifteen directional microphones of well-known brands are modelled, increasing the palette of available sound colours.

A streamlined mixer is available for combining the microphones into multiple output channels, with the possibility to adjust separately level and delay. In binaural mode, for headphone usage, a head model is used for simulating the sound heard by a person located where the head is placed in the interface. The head can be rotated in any direction and even its size can be changed.