This is the first endgame VST for me. It has everything I want from a VST. And I own almost all the well-known models. I can nitpick about preferring a different piano model (what I really want is a model B, and id love a mason and Hamlin), but the responsibeness, resonances, una corda, release samples, etc is all nearly perfect with this piano.
Just when you think you have enough pianos, this comes along and makes me second guess everything. Lol. This is great and great job showcasing it. Will be looking into this piano more.
i wish they'd come up with a cfx one day, this is the best model d on the market imo a dark and warm piano, now we need a bright and sharp one (a cfx9)
Thanks to your great video, I spontaneously decided to get the Modern D. Lately I've been working with the Steinberg The Grand 3 and the Modartt Pianoteq 8. Not bad, but the Modern D is by far the best virtual piano I've ever played. Thanks!
Shepard, CASIO sent me one of their Privia PX-S7000 digital pianos about a year ago and I have really been enjoying using it for livestreams and videos. I have even taken it out for a couple of outside events using the built-in sounds and such which worked great. Thanks so much for watching.
Just a comment re: the Steinway. Correct me if I am wrong, but are you sure it's simulated (38:40)? I thought it was just sampled? But the ability to play samples that quickly (find the sample, play it with the right intensity, duration, etc) so fast just blows my mind. I didn't realise digital pianos had the ability to have sound files dropped into them. That's frankly mind blowing. Thanks for the great renditions. Your playing is really superb.
Probably a poor choice of words. It is more like scripted from actual resonance samples. Here are a couple of pull quotes from the VI Labs website: ● "As always with VI Labs, 100% of the sound is sampled from the real piano, nothing is synthesized or faked at all. Legendary microphones like the M49 and 4006 were chosen to capture everything, including 2,500 release trails per mic, multi-layered sympathetic resonances," ● Real deeply sampled resonance for both pedal down and sympathetic resonance types. Powerful scripting recreates real pedal resonance behavior adding complex depth and sustain to the tone, all fully adjustable.
There's something about UVI's sampling environment that just makes the most gorgeous sounding pianos. I'm sure you have, but if you haven't checked out the massive Key Suite library of theirs (also runs in the same player), I highly recommend it. I don't think I've ever had a collection of instruments so large yet so high quality and detailed.
Greatings and blessings Simeon. 'It is well in my soul' is translated into my native language, Spanish, as ’Estoy bien con mi Dios' (I'm well with my God) Soulful and nice interpretation and sound. Thank you
Hello Paulette, I just pulled Modern D up to take a look and there does not seem to be a dedicated ATTACK control. However, you can do this possibly in some way by adjusting the velocity curves to put the piano in a better correlation with your MIDI controller. I find that this is possibly the most crucial aspect of playing virtual pianos, it can make all of the difference in how you connect to a particular instrument. Thanks so much for watching.
Very detailed exposure to Modern D, now added to voluminous posts on VI-C Forums. My bad, but not yet moving me past Ivory 3 German D. Now with Ivory II Italian Grand ..... plus fine array of past top grand piano VSTi /VST3i. So much interest in Modern D, yet no trusted 'direct' comparisons and comments. Many thanks Simeon !! Hoping for more usage and analysis to help move forward. 🙏
Very useful demonstration and analysis. I learned more than a few things which, even after perusing the online manual, would not have been at all obvious to me!
Hi Simeon, could you please do a tutorial course on how to play chords for beginners to advanced, your chord playing skills are out of this world crazy talented? Would be so much appreciated, you'd be a great tutor for everyone to learn from.
Great idea and one that I will seriously take a look into how I can present something that would be helpful. As long as you don't mind a few ads along the way (just kidding) ;^) Thanks for the kind support.
@@PraiseTracks Thank you that would be something to look forward to, not just the basic tri Major, Minors. What I'd like to know is how do you add to basic tri chords with sevenths 9ths etc, inversions and the easiest methods you know of how to choose fancy chords in key from their scales. Thank you, it's those blinking spaces between the notes E and F which are so confusing. Watched a few of your sound plugin reviews and sample libraries, don't mind one small advertisement.
alright question of the century simeon😅 if you could only play one virtual piano for the rest of your life what would you choose? sorry for asking such idiot question but i really wanna know which one's your absolute favourite❤ thanks for everything you've done on this channel, it's a great resource channel for musicians❤
I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to get this... 🙂 I bought it the day it released. 🙂 Pretty much sounds as good on my system as the demo trailer! Great playing as always!
It depends on the type of sound you are going for. I think the Modern D has a very classic and detailed sound that coupled with VI Labs character will provide a great experience. CLAIRE was such a surprise and takes the concept of the original NOIRE into the latest KONTAKT 8 updates. It feels very rich and warm and being recorded in a larger studio space has different sonic characteristics. Also with the iconic Particles engine, there are some creative places you can take CLAIRE. You also have the difference in the piano itself; Steinway vs FAZIOLI. One of the things I need to try is doing more head-to-head comparisons to help provide context to help in cases like this. Thanks for all of the support and I am looking forward to an exciting 2025. Joyfully yours!
Nice arrangement! Claire de Lune is always fun to play, right? It's a little bit bright for me, even in soft passages. I already have various piano libraries (for different moods and purposes), but always nice to see what's out there. I went to the UVI website and see that they have like NINE different pianos...and one for cowbell! Crazy.
So mamy great pianos outthere for different needs.... But the VI Labs Modern D is the best one.... Best sounding/playable puano outthere easily. Beautiful instrument am still amazed.
I capture all of the audio separately from the livestreams so that I can edit the audio to make sure things are more balanced. It also allows me to remove any open mic audio that might present a bleed through of keyboard noise when playing, it helps the quality so much and avoids some of the initial TH-cam compression. Thanks so much for watching.
It’s pretty close 🤓VI Labs spent a long time to bring this to us. I would say if anything, while the UVI Workstation is a good platform, it runs into a wall when you really want to push it with mic positions and voices due to only using a single CPU core. VI Labs also has done a great job to provide us the most efficient choices and options to get the most out of this instrument. Thanks so much for watching.
@@PraiseTracks Is there any piano library that You would "call" for in terms of most efficient ussage of PC resources and sound/playability for "big piano" (9foot) . I am kind of new in this area, played long ago with Galaxy Vintage D and that's it.😅
@@PraiseTracks Thanks for this information! Single threaded explains to me, why the „Modern D“ performs so bad with smaller buffers on M1 Macs. So this product is only playable with high latency or reduced microphones and falls short of its potential. Somewhat a pity…
@keyboy77 I would not say it is a total loss, you just have to be aware of where you can take it. Even a Formula 1 car has a red line where you cannot push it beyond that, so knowing how close you can get is always helpful. I try pushing things hard here, and that is on top of all of the other things pulling on CPU/GPU and memory resources. I would say for most applications this should be fine. When I was just playing this piano without all of the other things going on I found it to be a wonderful experience. I am hoping that I can upgrade my setup so that it can handle the live broadcast and recording more effectively so that the instruments have that much more headroom of resources to enjoy. Thanks again for watching.
The iLoud MTMs have been a lifesaver for me when working in mixing projects. They along with the ARC Studio have taken out so much of the problems I have had in the past with mixes translating to other playback environments. There is a difference in monitors for listening/mixing and for performance where you might need a larger speaker setup, when playing live you would most likely connect to the venue PA system, but the iLouds are impressive for most studio use cases. Thanks so much for watching,
Could you please do a review on the Casio Keyboard? What made you buy it? Maybe compare your own experience vs others you had as an option? Could not find a review vid on your channel.
Hello Maurice, Casio actually sent this to me to try out and eventually let me have it for keeps, which was cool. I have done a couple of videos about it and will post them below this reply. Thanks so much for watching.
For me it seems like the perfect "home" piano, like you would use to have an acoustic upright in the house, this takes that idea into a modern setting. The action is weighted without being too heavy using wooden sides and composites for the keys. The keys for the keybed are slightly shorter than a traditional grand piano, and some have mentioned the pivot point felt different to them, which everyone will have a slightly different experience. It is also a great "gigging" keyboard, as with the additional carrying case and portable pedal, I have taken it to a couple of events, (wedding rehearsals, wedding, and a worship leading service I did). The built-in speakers and mic input made it perfect for some of the smaller settings and having a full 88 note weighted keyboard was a great plus. The built in piano sounds are very serviceable and for most of the livestream openings I am using the CASIO sounds, and they work very nicely. I hope that helps, let me know if you had any additional questions and I will do my best to answer them. Joyfully yours!
Hi Simeon. I’m very interested in this new library. My goto pianos are NI Noire and Pianoteq 8 Pro (with all the addons). Both of these libraries cover a huge amount of ground for me but I’m looking for a really high quality piano for solo classical that is a step up in sound without sacrificing playability. I’ve tried the VSL libraries and whilst these are excellent, I didn’t click with these as much as I was hoping. I also found i got quite a lot of hiss when combining more than two mic perspectives and play of pianissimo arpeggios with the pedal and letting them ring. My shortlist was either Ivory 3 or the Garritan CFX but I think I prefer the tone of Modern D over those. How does the playability and noise levels compare to those libraries? What are your overall thoughts of Modern D compared to Ivory 3 and the Garritan CFX?
Hey red your text Know and have all the mentioned pianos Ivory 3 great sounding instrument, Garritan cfx was long time my go to (its from 2014 release so its a classic^^) Pianoteq amazing playabillity But the best one easily is this here Vilabs midern d. If you also love uprights and puanos with character try out homested piano from fracture sounds
@@justin1603 Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I noticed Synthogy have just released the American D for Ivory 3 which I prefer to their Hamburg. I’m still getting a lot of mileage out of NI Noire and Pianoteq and am very interested to hear how the new Ivory 3 American D and ViLabs Modern D compare
It's one of those times the instrument was playing me ;^) I just said, GO FOR IT!!! ;^) Thanks as always, my dear friend for the kind support and encouragement.
@@PraiseTracks Simeon, my wife passed away three weeks ago. Today was our 49th wedding anniversary. Your music gave me comfort today. I just wanted to share.
@dhoch , oh my friend, I am so sorry. Praying for His peace and comfort to enfold you as only He can. I am grateful and humbled that this channel for me is so much more than just doing a product demo, oh, it is so much more. 🎹❤️
Thank you 🙏 I had a message from another viewer who also noticed some audio issues so I went back to attempt to adjust the levels. Check this video out and let me know if you notice an improvement. MODERN D From VI Labs NEW AUDIO th-cam.com/video/ZZzHZT4X14o/w-d-xo.html
Yessir. Beautiful playing. Nice samples.
It is well with my soul.
Thanks so much my friend. This one is something else.
@@PraiseTracks how do you feel it compares to Pianoteq 8 Bosendorfer. That’s my favorite to use right now.
This is the first endgame VST for me. It has everything I want from a VST. And I own almost all the well-known models. I can nitpick about preferring a different piano model (what I really want is a model B, and id love a mason and Hamlin), but the responsibeness, resonances, una corda, release samples, etc is all nearly perfect with this piano.
Yes, it is quite the accomplishment. Thanks so much for watching.
Just when you think you have enough pianos, this comes along and makes me second guess everything. Lol. This is great and great job showcasing it. Will be looking into this piano more.
Mighty God it is well with my soul, beautiful rendition bro simeon
Thank you so much. He truly has been my anchor time and time again. Joyfully yours!
i wish they'd come up with a cfx one day, this is the best model d on the market imo
a dark and warm piano, now we need a bright and sharp one (a cfx9)
Thanks to your great video, I spontaneously decided to get the Modern D. Lately I've been working with the Steinberg The Grand 3 and the Modartt Pianoteq 8. Not bad, but the Modern D is by far the best virtual piano I've ever played. Thanks!
My pleasure, I hope you enjoy exploring it.
Hey there Simeon, beautiful playing, amazing sound, thanks for your videos! just wanted to ask, what kind of Keyboard controller are you using?
Shepard, CASIO sent me one of their Privia PX-S7000 digital pianos about a year ago and I have really been enjoying using it for livestreams and videos. I have even taken it out for a couple of outside events using the built-in sounds and such which worked great. Thanks so much for watching.
@@PraiseTracks Thank you so much for your reply, may God bless you and your family abundantly!
Just a comment re: the Steinway. Correct me if I am wrong, but are you sure it's simulated (38:40)? I thought it was just sampled? But the ability to play samples that quickly (find the sample, play it with the right intensity, duration, etc) so fast just blows my mind. I didn't realise digital pianos had the ability to have sound files dropped into them. That's frankly mind blowing. Thanks for the great renditions. Your playing is really superb.
Probably a poor choice of words. It is more like scripted from actual resonance samples. Here are a couple of pull quotes from the VI Labs website:
● "As always with VI Labs, 100% of the sound is sampled from the real piano, nothing is synthesized or faked at all. Legendary microphones like the M49 and 4006 were chosen to capture everything, including 2,500 release trails per mic, multi-layered sympathetic resonances,"
● Real deeply sampled resonance for both pedal down and sympathetic resonance types. Powerful scripting recreates real pedal resonance behavior adding complex depth and sustain to the tone, all fully adjustable.
Thank you for watching along with the kind words of encouragement.
There's something about UVI's sampling environment that just makes the most gorgeous sounding pianos. I'm sure you have, but if you haven't checked out the massive Key Suite library of theirs (also runs in the same player), I highly recommend it. I don't think I've ever had a collection of instruments so large yet so high quality and detailed.
Thank you Simeon. Amazing sounds, bless God!
Greatings and blessings Simeon. 'It is well in my soul' is translated into my native language, Spanish, as ’Estoy bien con mi Dios' (I'm well with my God) Soulful and nice interpretation and sound. Thank you
It is well It is well it is well in my soul.
How much you minister to my soul!
Hello Simon, I have purchased this wonderful plugin and i was wondering if there is a way to adjust the attack of the piano. Thanks already!
Hello Paulette, I just pulled Modern D up to take a look and there does not seem to be a dedicated ATTACK control. However, you can do this possibly in some way by adjusting the velocity curves to put the piano in a better correlation with your MIDI controller. I find that this is possibly the most crucial aspect of playing virtual pianos, it can make all of the difference in how you connect to a particular instrument.
Thanks so much for watching.
Very detailed exposure to Modern D, now added to voluminous posts on VI-C Forums.
My bad, but not yet moving me past Ivory 3 German D. Now with Ivory II Italian Grand ..... plus fine array of past top grand piano VSTi /VST3i. So much interest in Modern D, yet no trusted 'direct' comparisons and comments.
Many thanks Simeon !! Hoping for more usage and analysis to help move forward. 🙏
Very useful demonstration and analysis. I learned more than a few things which, even after perusing the online manual, would not have been at all obvious to me!
Greetings! Which VST did you feel most connected to and most in control of: Ivory 3 German Grand or VI Labs Modern D?
I love it!
Hi Simeon, could you please do a tutorial course on how to play chords for beginners to advanced, your chord playing skills are out of this world crazy talented? Would be so much appreciated, you'd be a great tutor for everyone to learn from.
Great idea and one that I will seriously take a look into how I can present something that would be helpful. As long as you don't mind a few ads along the way (just kidding) ;^)
Thanks for the kind support.
@@PraiseTracks Thank you that would be something to look forward to, not just the basic tri Major, Minors. What I'd like to know is how do you add to basic tri chords with sevenths 9ths etc, inversions and the easiest methods you know of how to choose fancy chords in key from their scales. Thank you, it's those blinking spaces between the notes E and F which are so confusing. Watched a few of your sound plugin reviews and sample libraries, don't mind one small advertisement.
alright question of the century simeon😅 if you could only play one virtual piano for the rest of your life
what would you choose?
sorry for asking such idiot question but i really wanna know which one's your absolute favourite❤
thanks for everything you've done on this channel, it's a great resource channel for musicians❤
Let me get back to you on that one! 😂😂😂
No seriously I will think of a reasonable answer soon.
Stay tuned! 📺
@@PraiseTracks still waiting😂
Still GORGEOUS❤
That jazz outro!
I missed out on the 199 price I will wait until hopefully a Good Friday deal
same
Check again, right now!
@@ivanivanovici yessir
I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to get this... 🙂 I bought it the day it released. 🙂
Pretty much sounds as good on my system as the demo trailer!
Great playing as always!
Hi Simeon. What are your thoughts on the new NI Claire compared to Modern-D?
It depends on the type of sound you are going for. I think the Modern D has a very classic and detailed sound that coupled with VI Labs character will provide a great experience. CLAIRE was such a surprise and takes the concept of the original NOIRE into the latest KONTAKT 8 updates. It feels very rich and warm and being recorded in a larger studio space has different sonic characteristics.
Also with the iconic Particles engine, there are some creative places you can take CLAIRE. You also have the difference in the piano itself; Steinway vs FAZIOLI.
One of the things I need to try is doing more head-to-head comparisons to help provide context to help in cases like this.
Thanks for all of the support and I am looking forward to an exciting 2025. Joyfully yours!
I got the piano Simeon, oh my days that sounds like a real Steinway thank you for reviewing it, Now on a 3rd hard drive lol
Замечательно красиво 👍
Nice arrangement! Claire de Lune is always fun to play, right? It's a little bit bright for me, even in soft passages. I already have various piano libraries (for different moods and purposes), but always nice to see what's out there. I went to the UVI website and see that they have like NINE different pianos...and one for cowbell! Crazy.
So mamy great pianos outthere for different needs....
But the VI Labs Modern D is the best one....
Best sounding/playable puano outthere easily.
Beautiful instrument am still amazed.
Hi again Simeon, is this comparable in playability with Garritan CFX? What are your thoughts about this? Thanks in advance
Нет
simeons playing is epic as usual
My guess is like many other apps, MacOS users get first consideration. Still I think it could be adapted for those of using Linux. We'll see
I dream to plau like this its immaculate, how did you get it to be so load tho, is it this updated version is louder?
I capture all of the audio separately from the livestreams so that I can edit the audio to make sure things are more balanced. It also allows me to remove any open mic audio that might present a bleed through of keyboard noise when playing, it helps the quality so much and avoids some of the initial TH-cam compression. Thanks so much for watching.
@@PraiseTracks thank you so much for the details it's amazing
Which do you consider better? Synthogy German D or this one?
It’s pretty close 🤓VI Labs spent a long time to bring this to us. I would say if anything, while the UVI Workstation is a good platform, it runs into a wall when you really want to push it with mic positions and voices due to only using a single CPU core. VI Labs also has done a great job to provide us the most efficient choices and options to get the most out of this instrument. Thanks so much for watching.
@@PraiseTracks Is there any piano library that You would "call" for in terms of most efficient ussage of PC resources and sound/playability for "big piano" (9foot) . I am kind of new in this area, played long ago with Galaxy Vintage D and that's it.😅
@@PraiseTracks Thanks for this information! Single threaded explains to me, why the „Modern D“ performs so bad with smaller buffers on M1 Macs. So this product is only playable with high latency or reduced microphones and falls short of its potential. Somewhat a pity…
@keyboy77 I would not say it is a total loss, you just have to be aware of where you can take it. Even a Formula 1 car has a red line where you cannot push it beyond that, so knowing how close you can get is always helpful. I try pushing things hard here, and that is on top of all of the other things pulling on CPU/GPU and memory resources. I would say for most applications this should be fine. When I was just playing this piano without all of the other things going on I found it to be a wonderful experience. I am hoping that I can upgrade my setup so that it can handle the live broadcast and recording more effectively so that the instruments have that much more headroom of resources to enjoy.
Thanks again for watching.
Simeon. Are using Iloud Mtm for monitoring? They are good enough for piano?
The iLoud MTMs have been a lifesaver for me when working in mixing projects. They along with the ARC Studio have taken out so much of the problems I have had in the past with mixes translating to other playback environments. There is a difference in monitors for listening/mixing and for performance where you might need a larger speaker setup, when playing live you would most likely connect to the venue PA system, but the iLouds are impressive for most studio use cases. Thanks so much for watching,
@@PraiseTracks Nice to hear, Simeon! Keep playing. Thanks!
Hey Simeon!
What controller are you using these days?
I am looking for a controller that feels as close to a real piano as possible
@@777Witness Simeon is playing this on the Casio Privia
PX-S7000WE
That sounds like any authentic acoustic piano. It's indistinguishable from an actual Yamaha, Steinway or Baldwin
That sounds good but definitely doesn't sound like an acoustic piano and I played a lot of them
What's the programme size?
18 GB
Could you please do a review on the Casio Keyboard? What made you buy it? Maybe compare your own experience vs others you had as an option? Could not find a review vid on your channel.
Hello Maurice, Casio actually sent this to me to try out and eventually let me have it for keeps, which was cool. I have done a couple of videos about it and will post them below this reply. Thanks so much for watching.
th-cam.com/users/liveb4bcs0qHbIs
Here is my unboxing and initial setup video:
th-cam.com/video/1U9WsVThkg4/w-d-xo.html
For me it seems like the perfect "home" piano, like you would use to have an acoustic upright in the house, this takes that idea into a modern setting.
The action is weighted without being too heavy using wooden sides and composites for the keys. The keys for the keybed are slightly shorter than a traditional grand piano, and some have mentioned the pivot point felt different to them, which everyone will have a slightly different experience.
It is also a great "gigging" keyboard, as with the additional carrying case and portable pedal, I have taken it to a couple of events, (wedding rehearsals, wedding, and a worship leading service I did). The built-in speakers and mic input made it perfect for some of the smaller settings and having a full 88 note weighted keyboard was a great plus.
The built in piano sounds are very serviceable and for most of the livestream openings I am using the CASIO sounds, and they work very nicely.
I hope that helps, let me know if you had any additional questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Joyfully yours!
Hi Simeon. I’m very interested in this new library. My goto pianos are NI Noire and Pianoteq 8 Pro (with all the addons). Both of these libraries cover a huge amount of ground for me but I’m looking for a really high quality piano for solo classical that is a step up in sound without sacrificing playability.
I’ve tried the VSL libraries and whilst these are excellent, I didn’t click with these as much as I was hoping. I also found i got quite a lot of hiss when combining more than two mic perspectives and play of pianissimo arpeggios with the pedal and letting them ring.
My shortlist was either Ivory 3 or the Garritan CFX but I think I prefer the tone of Modern D over those. How does the playability and noise levels compare to those libraries?
What are your overall thoughts of Modern D compared to Ivory 3 and the Garritan CFX?
Hey red your text
Know and have all the mentioned pianos
Ivory 3 great sounding instrument,
Garritan cfx was long time my go to (its from 2014 release so its a classic^^)
Pianoteq amazing playabillity
But the best one easily is this here
Vilabs midern d.
If you also love uprights and puanos with character try out homested piano from fracture sounds
@@justin1603 Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I noticed Synthogy have just released the American D for Ivory 3 which I prefer to their Hamburg. I’m still getting a lot of mileage out of NI Noire and Pianoteq and am very interested to hear how the new Ivory 3 American D and ViLabs Modern D compare
Good God Simeon, what or who are you channeling?
It's one of those times the instrument was playing me ;^) I just said, GO FOR IT!!! ;^) Thanks as always, my dear friend for the kind support and encouragement.
@@PraiseTracks Simeon, my wife passed away three weeks ago. Today was our 49th wedding anniversary. Your music gave me comfort today. I just wanted to share.
@dhoch , oh my friend, I am so sorry. Praying for His peace and comfort to enfold you as only He can. I am grateful and humbled that this channel for me is so much more than just doing a product demo, oh, it is so much more. 🎹❤️
Distorting here - clipping.
Gain structure wrong?
Lovely playing ❤
Thank you 🙏 I had a message from another viewer who also noticed some audio issues so I went back to attempt to adjust the levels. Check this video out and let me know if you notice an improvement.
MODERN D From VI Labs NEW AUDIO
th-cam.com/video/ZZzHZT4X14o/w-d-xo.html
@@PraiseTracks Yes, it is better in the new video. Thanks Simeon.
My pleasure, I appreciate the feedback.
hi
🤓👍🏻
Just made me feel l lost money purchasing the overhyped pianoverse......This sounds real
Tested puanoverse...its okay and good for sound design
But this one is the best sampled /sounding steinway ...and it "feels" while playing great