Akoustik Piano v1.0

A new VI plugin (with standalone feature) by Native Instruments
Review by MG (Shooshie) Roberts

The Race is On
"Hot" is the word at the tracks. The piano tracks, that is. I'm talking about the new race for a great virtual piano since Native Instruments' Akoustik Piano leaped out of the starting gates in September, 2005. Challenging the Mac-only virtual piano plugin, Ivory, from Synthogy, Akoustik Piano has boosted our awareness of the complexities of sampling not just the musical sound of a piano, but the fidelity of the whole piano experience. For some time, Ivory commanded the unchallenged lead in this emerging artistic showdown. With the arrival of Native Instruments' new sprinter in this competition, the race has changed.

We Mac users can consider ourselves doubly blessed; Akoustik Piano, like Ivory, runs beautifully on OSX. Is it the competitor which will snatch the gold from Ivory? That, of course, will largely be a matter of personal tastes, but I expect a debate similar to other high-quality niche rivalries, such as AKG vs. Neumann; DSP vs. Native DAWs, and Mac vs. Windows. In my opinion, Akoustik Piano is currently leading the charge, but I confess that it's a close race. They're both fine instruments, and they both shine uniquely in certain situations. But there is much more to Akoustik Piano than meets the eye--or the ear for that matter. Let's start at the beginning, and I'll walk you through it.

A note about the musical examples: All were recorded without external effects; just pure piano sound. I made no attempt to compress or limit them. There is some distortion in the files. My purpose is to demonstrate the pure virtual piano capability with no question as to how the sound may have been modified.

Album Leaf in Eb by Alexander Skriabin (Russia, 1907) - (MIDI performance by the author)
Etude #5, Opus 42 by Alexander Skriabin (Russia, 1907) - (MIDI performance by the author)


Figure 1: The simplest stand-alone interface. Choose a piano from the drop-down menu, and start playing.

Installation
Installation of Akoustik Piano is pretty involved but goes without a hitch, involving an online process with a 25 digit serial number. The moment I finished installation, I booted the stand-alone version -- a very cool feature thanks to the Kontakt2 engine on which it is based. Next, I set the MIDI and Audio channels (a 30 second job requiring no special instructions), selected a Steinway Concert Grand model D, and began playing on my 88 key Kurzweil 2600 (Fatar keyboard) which is well-matched for performing with Akoustik Piano. Immediately I was awestruck with the realism, not just in the sound, but in the feel. I could imagine I was playing a Steinway. The action klunk-klunked like real keys and hammers. The strings hissed as the dampers released them to vibrate freely. Moreover, the undamped strings picked up sympathetic resonance, or at least it sounded that way. The notes slowly resonated through the sustain pedal with a chorus effect that tricked out my Kurzweil into the 19th century world of spruce, maple, felt, cast-iron frames and wire-wound strings.

It was breathtaking. I improvised or played memorized pieces, and in each selection I felt that secret delight that comes when one sneaks in a few songs on a great piano found idle and open on a dark, vacant stage. Intonation and regulation are as perfect as can be. The low register--especially in the Boesendorfer's extended range, but equally in the other pianos' low end, was the voice of baritone angels. I tried the extreme ranges of the piano, where one can usually tell instantly that it's not the real thing. My illusion remained intact; the sound is accurate throughout its range. All samples have inconsistencies, but these fall just short of perfection, just enough to believe those strings are really there. Of course, these sounds were streaming from my hard drive, not vibrating off the strings of a classic Steinway. No looping in the samples, nothing to compromise the illusion that here was a Steinway Model D, responding to every subtlety of touch and pedal. Each sampled note decays at its natural rate for the velocity at which the key is struck.

Another delight was the unacorda pedal (soft pedal), which actually modifies the sound. It's not perfect, but very close. I think they could have done still more with the unacorda timbre, but at least the volume is diminished. It uses the correct CC number (controller #67). By comparison, Synthogy's Ivory also uses a proper unacorda pedal, and it does change timbre slightly, but the perceived loudness is not changed as much, making Ivory's "soft" pedal much less effective, in my opinion. Akoustik Piano's implementation is superior, because the loudness is usually more important than the timbre, though both are important. Akoustik Piano even correctly implements the Sostenuto pedal (CC#66), the middle pedal which is standard on all modern grand pianos. It sustains any note currently playing when the pedal is applied, leaving all other notes dry. (Ivory also correctly handles the Sostenuto pedal.)

Akoustik Piano allows flexible input--the ability to scale the velocity for any given touch. Even though I was able to produce all 128 velocity levels with my keyboard, the lowest velocities were too sensitive for my keyboard and/or my touch. To strike a velocity of 1 -10 on this piano required such a soft touch that the hammers on a real piano would strike air. A single click adjusted the velocity curve such that I was much more comfortable in delicate passages of music such as Chopin, Skryabin and Debussy. Voicing was a breeze at those levels. For pop or rock, I would probably set it back where it was. The velocity interface is nowhere nearly as involved as that of Ivory, but sometimes simplicity is golden.

Getting back to our comparison between the sounds of Synthogy's Ivory and Akoustik Piano, I mentioned that Ivory had been my front-runner, and even after using Akoustik Piano, I was still accustomed to Ivory's warm sound. But a funny thing happened over a few weeks of flipping back and forth between them in my normal usage as well as my testing. I flip-flopped. No, I'm not embarrassed in the least to say it. I've grown to prefer Akoustik Piano's sound, interface, and stand-alone practice capability. The deeper I went into Akoustik Piano, the more the it convinced me that Native Instruments did their homework when creating it. Before I say another word, let me emphasize that I am using version 1.0 of Ivory. There is a new version out as I write this, and it is my understanding, based on the press releases, that the new version probably addresses the very issues I am about to comment on. So, the race is not over. I am guessing that we're entering a new phase of the competition, and that we're going to see a neck-and-neck photofinish. But that is speculating on what I have not yet seen. For now, I have to go with what I've got, and that is version 1.0. The timing was unfortunate; my dealer had not received the new Ivory upgrade when I was writing this and conducting my tests. In any case, we're at least comparing two version 1.0 products. Fair enough.

Rachmaninopedie by Nicolas Borycki (Montreal, 2005) - performed on Ivory, v. 1.0
Rachmaninopedie by Nicolas Borycki (Montreal, 2005) - performed on Akoustik Piano, v. 1.0


Figure 2: Fully expanded interface. Four pianos, four acoustic spaces, and controls for all the parameters of Akoustik Piano except for the standalone recording feature.

Noise and Silence
Ivory has a beautiful, sensuous sound when played casually, but when you start piling on the voices, something happens that is typical of recorded piano sounds: noise buildup. It's not something you hear the same way in an ensemble of, say, violins or saxophones. Besides, you don't typically hear violins playing 30 notes simultaneously. That's not unusual at all on a piano. Piano is complex, with percussive attacks, noisy releases, and when the dampers are off, a choir of strings that resonate a little like a concert hall. Long story short, when you are playing a fast, technical passage with the sustain pedal depressed, the noise builds up fast, and without great attention to the recording process you will lose definition in the sound.

As an analogy, imagine a beautiful woman (or pick your favorite gender) in an elevator. You see her face, her curves, her outfit, her shoes, and all is well. Two beautiful women are doubly beautiful. But when you add a third, she blocks the view of woman number 1. By the time you get the elevator packed with beautiful women (would that we were so lucky!), all you can see is the tops of their heads. The definition is lost, and you can no longer tell what the individuals look like. Translated into sound, the noise is filling the gaps between the transients whose signatures normally say "piano here" in the sound.

This is a normal problem that confronts anyone who records piano. The answer? Remove some noise. You can do this in the mix, to some extent, by EQ-massaging a huge chunk of lower partials from 60 Hz to about 350Hz, with the biggest scoop dished out at about 315Hz. Native Instruments did it another way. They increased the contrast between signal to noise within each voice, alone. I suppose their methodology remains the trade secret that gives Akoustik Piano its edge, so I won't try to elaborate on that. But I can show you visually what is happening.

Below are Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) diagram of both Akoustik Piano and Ivory when striking and sustaining a C major 9th chord (C-E-G-B-D) at a velocity of 64. Below the FFT, you will see a spectrum analysis of the same chord where time moves vertically. In both graphs, it is clear that the signal to noise ratio in Akoustik Piano is greater than that of Ivory. Look at the low end - from about 60 Hz to 500 Hz.

Akoustik Piano is at least 10 dB quieter than Ivory. Look at the spaces between the pitches being played. There is less noise between notes in Akoustik Piano. Ivory gets very busy as you add notes, and the sacrifice is in definition. You hear sound, but it becomes harder to perceive exactly what sounds you are hearing. That yellow buildup below 200 Hz in Ivory's spectrum analysis is mostly noise. When the music is moving at a brisk tempo, with lots of notes and the pedal down, It's a little like our elevator full of ladies; we can count their heads, but we can't tell much about them. Listening to Akoustik Piano, by contrast, one hears a lot more contrast between notes and noise, which makes each note stand out more in its individuality. In other words, it is more like hearing a real piano. Above 1KHz, you can see clear definition between the notes, and you can see more partials represented in the graph for Akoustik Piano than for Ivory. That translates into clarity and definition to the ear.

Now, before you take my word as sacrosanct, let's have full disclosure: the tests that produced these graphs are as consistent as I could make them, but they are still subjective. The pianos have different interfaces and setting them as equal as possible is a matter of judgement. Consider the graphs an illustration of a phenomenon which you may hear in the music, but remember that the application of these virtual pianos is art, not science. Nevertheless, for my money, Akoustik Piano has come out the clear winner of this round, based partly on the noise issue, clarity, and tone, and partly on its many features. Ivory, however still pulls my heartstrings with some of the beautiful bell-like qualities of the sounds of individual notes. You can be the judge by listening to examples of audio in this review.




Figure 3: FFT and Spectrum Analysis reveal Ivory to be somewhat noisier than Akoustik Piano, a shortcoming that affects clarity and definition, especially in technical passages.

[Note: The graphics in these examples are screenshots from Elemental Audio's Inspector XL plugins. My thanks to EA for the terrific diagnostic tools.]

Features
Figure 4: The Controls

Since Native Instruments' website is only a click away, I will not dwell on a complete list of features, but will instead discuss some of those which I think are important to Akoustik Piano:

Metronome: In the Stand-Alone piano mode, it's nice to have a built-in metronome with which to practice. It's available only in the recording section of the interface, a choice which I think could be improved upon by making it always available.

Recorder: records to either of two separate tracks, plays back song, tempo adjust - tap tempo or set it normally. Can be used to speed up or slow down takes.

Reverb - Native Instruments thankfully did not go overboard on the reverb settings. I would prefer my CPU spend its extra cycles on resonance, overtones, and other features within the sound itself, allowing me to apply room acoustics with a dedicated plugin like Altiverb, later in the mix. But for the standalone piano feature, it is nice to have four basic room acoustics to choose from. Three additional controls--amount, size, and color--allow for almost infinite variations of those rooms, with correspondingly increasing CPU demands as the settings move upward. An "Economy" button further reduces processor strain for those still using older G4 Macs.

Equalizer: this is an extremely effective and sensitive adjustment which can dramatically alter the sound. If you prefer a boomier bass or brighter treble, it's only a tweak away.

Pan, Width, and Distance: Distance simulates the listener's distance from the piano.

Tuning: the user can fine-tune the piano to the desired pitch with a range from 430 to 450 (normal US pitch is 440). Also, the user can choose one of about eight tuning methods, ranging from Equal Temperament to four "Well-Temperaments" (Valotti, Young, Werckmeister, Kirnberger), as well as a Quarter Tone scale. I must comment on the brilliance of including these tunings in a virtual piano which is designed to be used for so many purposes. It is very rare that one gets the opportunity to compare the various tunings of a piano with no interruption between them. It's even possible to "retune" the piano while sustaining a chord. The subtle differences in the tunings can be compared so that a student, amateur, professional performer, or composer can hear which one works best for a given circumstance. Some may not care about this, but for me it was mind-expanding, and it enabled me to demonstrate acoustic principles instantly for people, which used to require more explanation than the typical mind was prepared to feign interest in.

Simple, graphic adjustment for touch/velocity.

A "Lid Control" feature, simulating the sounds of open, closed, and half-peg piano lids.


Figure 5: The Stand-Alone recording feature. Not ready for prime time yet. A fix is on the way.

Bugs, fixes, and future releases
While I would describe Akoustik Piano as highly evolved, it is not without bugs, and I should describe at least one nasty bug, which I've been assured is being fixed for an upcoming release, "very soon." It does not affect normal, everyday use of the piano as a standalone practice instrument, nor does it affect the plugin at all. The bug is in the standalone recording feature.

Here is a brief description: When recording in stand-alone mode, Akoustik Piano only works for about a minute. Then it starts skipping, stuttering, and making noises, as if it has overloaded the hard drive or RAM or both. If it gets that far, then it will not play back or save the music. Also in Stand-Alone mode, Akoustik Piano does not properly record all the notes. Usually, the first note gets chopped off. High notes often get clipped off, and many notes simply disappear. They also seem to get recorded out-of-rhythm. Something seems dreadfully wrong with the recording feature.

Note that this happens only in Stand-Alone mode, and does not affect its performance in a host DAW at all. The upcoming version will address this problem in its entirety, as well as an apparent difference between the interface and the screenshots of the interface in the manual, also dealing with the recording section. I'd sum it up by saying that stand-alone recording is simply not ready yet, but once it is fixed, I have confidence that it will be a most useful feature.

The upcoming version release also promises a number of new features and enhancements, including raising the maximum polyphony limit to 128, if I understand correctly. Even as it is, setting the voices for as low as 30 allows for nearly any music you can imagine to play freely without any obvious disappearing notes, thanks to what seems to be an intelligent algorithm for dynamically determining which notes to "steal" for polyphony. While there is little commentary on this in the documentation, I found the settings for resonance, CPU stress, and number of voices to be transparently interconnected, eliminating most of my worries in normal usage.

Conclusions
Akoustik Piano is in version 1.0, and it's not perfect, but for use as either a stand-alone practice piano or a plugin for a Digital Audio Workstation for serious recording, it is superb. The bugs do not affect those areas as far as I can tell. I consider the stand-alone recorder an option still in the making, which will probably be out soon in the next version. If not for this, I would probably rate Akoustik Piano with 5 stars, clear across the board. It is an excellent choice for any form of piano recording, and it has added a new level of realism never achieved before, in my opinion. Ivory is still a great virtual piano, but Akoustik Piano has outdone it in many ways, especially in terms of pedal sounds, the chorusing of open strings "reverberating" to the music, and as a stand-alone piano. I can't emphasize enough how wonderful it is to have a piano that boots quickly without having to set it up in a DAW first. This is a luxury.

The most beautifully regulated and tuned Boesendoersfer, Steinway, and Bechstein pianos, plus an upright as well, make this a must-have for any MIDI or recording artist who takes piano seriously. It is even recommended for students who just need a very fine practice piano. Coupled with a sensitive, weighted keyboard, this could be very valuable for piano students. In spite of its flaw, I have to give Akoustik Piano my highest recommendation even if the ratings numbers suffer a bit from the flaw. My highest compliments to Native Instruments for producing such a fine product, and my gratitude for their willing and prompt attention to my every question.

Ratings:
User Friendliness: * * * * *
Performance: * * * *
Stability: * * * (due to standalone recording bug, which does not affect other usage)
Features: * * * * *
Sound: * * * * *
Technical quality of samples: * * * * *
Overall Impression: * * * * *
Technical Support: * * * * *
Manual: * * * * *
Ratings Total: 4.6 out of 5

Price:$339US

System Requirements
Mac OS 10.3.x, G4 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM
Windows XP, Pentium/Athlon XP 1.4 GHz, 512 MB RAM
Recommended System
Mac OS 10.3.x, G5 1.8 GHz, 1.0 GB RAM
Windows XP, Pentium/Athlon XP 3 GHz, 1.0 GB RAM
Platforms
Stand-alone, VST®, Audio Units™, RTAS™, DXi™, ASIO™, Core Audio™, DirectSound™

Price
Akoustik Piano Full Version: $339.00

Click here to visit the Native Instruments Akoustik Piano Website