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Some Piano Samples Sound Compressed/Bright

Postby BenjiFatStax » 22 Mar 2021, 19:48

Hi all,

I've had a Nord Piano 4 for a little more than a year, which I primarily use for home practice, playing either through PreSonus Eris 3.5" Studio Monitors (these are quite close to me as I perch them on the board itself) or through Bose Quietcomfort headphones. Most samples sounds very good, and I primarily use the Royal Grand 3D (sounds amazing), Mellow Upright (sounds amazing), and the Amber (for some poppy stuff, sounds great). I have downloaded L/XL versions of several other grands (currently, the Grand Lady D, Grand Imperial, and Studio Grand 2), though, and am not at all satisfied with the sound I'm getting. They sound genuinely 'off', as if being heavily compressed, tinny and overly bright--I don't think it's a preference thing, they truly sound very bad and nothing like what I would expect from a $500 board, let alone a Nord. I can confirm that there are no unusual EQ or compression settings being added when I play these. I've played around with the EQ with each of these samples but have been unable to avoid this issue.

Is there a technical difference between the Royal and other samples that might account for this difference? Is it my monitor or headphones? Have others experienced this or have any workarounds? I recognize that sound is individual and it's difficult for others to account for what I'm hearing, but I'm just curious as this is not a 'something sounds slightly off' but more of a 'the other samples are flatly unplayable'.

I can try to attach a recording of the differences between Royal and the others over the PreSonus tonight, if that's helpful. I appreciate you all's input.
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Some Piano Samples Sound Compressed/Bright


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Re: Some Piano Samples Sound Compressed/Bright

Postby FZiegler » 22 Mar 2021, 21:47

Hi,

of course, we don't know your expectations and we don't know what you get out of your monitors/phones. But let me say, I'm a bit surprised by your experience or your conclusions.

I use a Stage 3, not a Piano 4, but that should be the same generation. And I always choose the brightest piano and EP sounds to get what I want: Bright Grand + piano EQ = bright. It is not harsh or the like.

You don't mention the difference between your headphones' sound and the small ("studio") monitors. There should be quite a distance. But I've never had noise cancelling head phones - can't tell what you can expect. All I know is, I wouldn't play my piano through a pair of speakers that don't go below 80 Hz. You must loose everything in the lower octaves. And I've learned that it's not a good idea to play a Nord through a < 100 USD / EUR amplification.

As far as I've understood, you have a stereo setup - so you can't suffer from the mono sound problem with Nord piano sounds.
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Re: Some Piano Samples Sound Compressed/Bright

Postby BenjiFatStax » 22 Mar 2021, 22:18

Thanks, FZ. The problem is basically equivalent across both sources--both using the monitors and headphones (with and without the active noise cancelling enabled), the heavy compression-esque is present. I acknowledge the PreSonus are not the world's nicest monitors, but they're generally regarded as very high-quality budget monitors that many serious musicians swear by and I'm reluctant to conclude that they're the issue.

Again, with both audio sources, the EPs and clavs and other patches sound fantastic. It is night-and-day between these patches and the grands (except the Royal, which sounds great). Correct, I'm in a stereo setup.
Last edited by BenjiFatStax on 22 Mar 2021, 22:25, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Some Piano Samples Sound Compressed/Bright

Postby Akorder » 23 Mar 2021, 20:03

The Royal Grand 3D sample differs from all the other piano samples in that it is recorded with a dummy head. That means it's optimized for headphone listening.

https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-piano-library/grand-pianos/royal-grand-3d

There have been several discussions on the merits and shortages of various piano sounds, on this Piano forum as well as on the Acessories and amplification section. Just recently a new forum member felt the piano samples sound flat and dull, which made me as perplexed as FZiegler on this discusson thread. The fact remains: Nord acoustic piano samples need a very hi-fi, flat, extended frequency range speakers (and amp) / headphones to sound as good as they actually are. On the other hand electric pianos sound fine even through a guitar amp.

I love the sound I get from White Grand, Royal Grand and Amber Upright, all in XL versions. I feel they are very realistic. I use a pair of Genelec 1029 monitors and Revox 3100 headphones. They are not exactly budget stuff, but a good investment as I've used them happily for +20 years.

Out of curiosity from the first posting I tried my noise cancelling Sony headphones - they sound great with rock music but hopelessly clanking with these piano sounds.
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