Modelled Piano
Reviews : Keyboard
Creating a digitally modelled piano is a
fantastically difficult thing to do, but that hasn’t deterred Roland...
Introducing the V-Piano — the world’s first hardware modelling piano!
In 1994, Yamaha
released the first commercially available physical modelling
synthesizer, the VL1. Modelling technology has proliferated since then,
and found its way into an increasing number of musical products. Virtual
analogue synthesis is commonplace in both software and hardware:
physically modelled effects, stringed instruments, brass and electric
pianos abound in software, while Roland’s ‘V’ series of instruments —
the V-Synth, V-Guitar, V-Drums, V-Bass and V-Accordion — have blazed a
successful trail with their innovative designs.
Yet
the one genre of instrument conspicuous by its rarity is the physically
modelled acoustic piano. The only serious contender to that throne so
far has been Modartt’s Pianoteq virtual instrument software which,
naturally, requires a computer to run it. Nobody has risen to the
challenge of producing a stand-alone physically modelled piano in
hardware — until now. The announcement of the first such instrument to
be unleashed upon the world has caused a considerable amount of
speculative anticipation, and it is (cue drum roll and brass fanfare —
physically modelled, of course) the Roland V-Piano.
If I Had a Hammer...
Although some other software and hardware pianos use
the term ‘modelled’, this has, up to now, been achieved using samples as
the raw material. The V-Piano produces sound entirely by
number-crunching: no samples are involved at all. So why bother going to
such lengths to recreate the complex sound of a piano, when
sample-based technology has proven itself quite capable of producing
adequate results? Perhaps the word ‘adequate’ is itself a hostage to
fortune, giving us the answer. For most of us, samples are perfectly
acceptable for our needs, but ask a bunch (an escapement?) of
classically trained pianists what they think of sampled pianos, and
you’ll get short shrift from many of them.
The
problem with samples is that they are snapshots. Their character isn’t
inherently dependent on what other notes are being played, or how those
other notes are being played. Because of this, manufacturers of digital
pianos and software giga-libraries have come up with many ways of
producing the illusion of component ‘randomness’ and player
interactivity. For example, note repetitions can be made to sound more
natural using round-robin sample assignments. Different sample layers
can be used to overlay typical sonic elements of the piano: pedal noise,
damper noise, sympathetic string resonance and so on. However, this is
more like a form of additive synthesis, using samples as ‘partials’ to
reconstruct a sound that behaves somewhat akin to the real thing. Being
able to vary the level of a hammer ‘impact’ sample layer might give
the illusion of harder or softer hammers, but it won’t affect the
harmonic character of the string itself. To model a convincing piano is
no trivial matter; an accurate model of a string, or wire, is an
obvious starting point, but the complex machinery of a piano has many
other components. These include the hammer, soundboard, mutes, the ‘2nd’
and ‘3rd’ strings, dampers, frame and case, and of course the
materials from which these are made.
The
keyboard and keyboard action are also very important to accurately
convey the sense of playing a real piano. In order to bring real-world
behavioural characteristics to the sound, the constituent parts need to
be interactive. In other words, altering one aspect of the model should
have a knock-on effect across other elements that make up the model —
the harder the hammer, the brighter the string harmonics, and so on. The
user interface also needs to be sufficiently uncomplicated so that the
player can easily tweak key elements of the model to customise the sound
to their own preference, as well as providing the means for the more
inquisitive user to tweak at a deeper level. Let’s take a look at how
the V-Piano brings all these ingredients together.
The Hardware
Weighing in at 38.2kg, the V-Piano demands a sturdy
and stable keyboard stand, and preferably two people to lift it. Apart
from the black colour of the casing, the overall styling owes little to
the traditional lines of a grand piano. The V-Piano’s design is more
angular, having a brushed aluminium effect for the top and front panel,
with details around the knobs and buttons picked out in chrome, lending
the piano the feel of a classic 1950s American car. Budding Liberaces
should abandon the sequinned tailcoat and candelabra in favour of a
leather jacket and Ray-Bans.
Rear-panel
connections are recessed below the main body — no leaning over to plug
things in here, you have to walk around the back for a clear view. Here
we find two sets of stereo outputs, A and B, provided as both standard
jack and balanced XLR sockets. Stereo output A is the ‘main’ output.
The purpose of Output B is more complicated, and is explained in the
‘Output B: The Player’s Perspective’ box. Next up are a pair of L/R
audio input jacks, allowing an external stereo audio source to be
combined with the V-Piano sounds. MIDI In, Out and Thru sockets provide
their usual functions, with MIDI Out also sending Roland’s V-Link data
for the control of compatible video devices, if required.
The
V-Piano comes supplied with a hefty triple pedal unit (for sustain,
sostenuto and soft pedals) and this plugs into a dedicated seven-pin
DIN socket. Three additional standard pedal sockets are also included —
one is permanently hardwired for sustain pedal, while the other two can
be assigned to various functions. A contrast knob for the LCD display
comes next, followed by a USB connector, one of three on the V-Piano. This one connects the V-Piano to a host computer, specifically to
communicate with the V-Piano’s Editor software (see the ‘V-Piano Editor’
box). An S/PDIF coaxial digital out duplicates the signal from Output
A, while the second rear USB connector is used for applying updates to
the V-Piano’s operating system.
Basic Operation
The
rear panel is where you’ll find, with the exception of one of the USB
ports and the headphone output, all of the V-Piano’s connections.
As you can see from the photos, the V-Piano doesn’t
have a great many controls, yet all its editing functions are
accessible from its front panel, even without using the editing
software. Central to the panel is a 240 x 64-dot backlit LCD, which
provides a view to the inner workings; four buttons labelled F1 to F4
facilitate navigation through the menus, and values are edited using the
rotary encoder dial. The V-Piano ships with 24 tone presets, which
cover the various piano models and their variations. The 24 presets are
not overwritable, but can be edited, and the results can be written to
any one of 100 User memories. By default, the presets’ F1 to F3 buttons
provide direct access to three parameters of the selected piano model
(unison tune, hammer hardness and cross-resonance) without your having
to enter edit mode; if preferred, these can be reassigned to adjust any
of 14 different parameters, and F4 can also be assigned to one of these
if desired, rather than the default Utility menu option. These
assignments, along with any tone edits, can be saved as a user preset.
Piano Models
The
piano models are divided into two types, Vintage and Vanguard. The
Vintage types represent ‘real life’ pianos: Vintage 1 is modelled on a
famous American piano that might start with an ‘S’, while Vintage 2
hails from Europe — a famous brand that might well begin with a ‘B’.
There is a marked tonal difference between the two. Vintage 1 is full,
bright and solid, with a lot of presence and a powerful bottom end,
well suited to situations where the piano needs to cut through a dense
mix of other instruments. Vintage 2 has a more mid-range tone, with a
slightly more pronounced attack and a plumminess that lends itself to
romantic classical works. Your choice of basic model will depend on
personal taste, of course, and in both cases the dynamic progression is
perfectly smooth all the way from the gentlest pianissimo to the loudest
fortissimo. This can be especially appreciated thanks to one of the
real benefits of physical modelling: the absence of velocity switching
inherent in the sampled alternative.
The
Vanguard types take us away from reality to theoretical pianos that
exist only in the world of physical modelling. For example, the ‘All
Silver’ model replaces the standard copper strings with silver ones.
Because silver is heavier than copper, this would necessitate increasing
the length of an actual piano by another six feet or so, along with the
use of larger, extra-hard hammers. The V-Piano makes such an instrument
possible, and the result is a gorgeous sound — deep and fruity, with
shimmering upper harmonics and bags of sustain. Three other models have
three strings for every note, producing a fuller sound with a
thunderous bottom end. Both Vintage 1 and Vintage 2 pianos are provided
with several preset tonal variations, with subtitles such as Studio,
Concert, Session and Mellow giving suggestions as to their application.
Action Stations
Roland
have fitted the V-Piano with their latest PHA-III Progressive Hammer
Action 88-note weighted keyboard. The keys feel very realistic to the
touch, being finished in a non-slip, moisture-absorbing material that
has the look and feel of ebony and ivory. Furthermore, the PHA-III
features a simulated ‘escapement’ for every key — that satisfying
‘click’ feel produced by a real piano action. You really begin to
appreciate the subtle control over dynamics when playing fast
repetitions and extreme pianissimo notes. In the case of repetitions,
the tone even responds to the rate of acceleration, exhibiting the
typical tonal fluctuations of the real thing.
Up
to now I’ve not been overly enamoured of electronic weighted keyboards,
but I absolutely love this one — it feels positive and fully
responsive, and gives the distinct impression of a physical mechanism
making contact with the strings. Dynamic responsiveness can be adjusted
to suit the individual’s playing strength via five velocity curves
ranging from super-light to super-heavy. I found myself opting for the
light setting, which allows comfortable access to the loudest dynamics
while still retaining fine control of pianissimo.
Additional Features
The V-Piano in all its glory. The minimal front-panel controls offer much deeper editing than you might expect.
In addition to the tone-modelling parameters, a
number of other factors affect both the sound and the player’s control
over the sound. Firstly, the V-Piano’s global Equaliser (accessed from
the front-panel button) provides four bands of parametric EQ, which can
be switched in or out on the fly. Ambience (reverb) can be applied from a
choice of 12 algorithms ranging from rooms and studios to clubs and
halls, with the amount of Ambience adjusted via the front-panel knob.
Real-time manipulation of modelling parameters is also possible using
pedals connected to the assignable FC1 and FC2 pedal sockets. The left
and centre pedals of the triple pedal unit can also be reassigned to
control modelling parameters; all three of its pedals are, in fact,
continuous controllers, so half-pedalling of the dampers and progressive
application of the soft pedal are also possible. Panning width of the
stereo output is also adjustable and, naturally, the keyboard can be
transposed by up to ±12 semitones. The settings for all of these
features, along with the desired piano model, can be saved as Setups, of
which 100 are available. Once a Setup is selected, returning the
display to Preset mode allows you to surf through the different piano
models without altering any other settings.
The
V-Piano is able to record and play back your performances with its
built-in, one-track, 30,000 note real-time sequencer. Songs can be saved
as SMF files to internal memory, or to USB media via the front panel’s
USB connector. The V-Piano not only plays SMF files, but WAV and MP3
files as well, directly from the USB media.
Playback
speed of audio files can be changed by up to ±25 percent, and pitch
transposed by up to plus five or minus six semitones. When changing
speed or pitch, audio quality suffers considerably, but it’s a useful
facility to aid practising, nevertheless. An internal GM2-standard sound
chip is included for multitimbral playback of SMFs. There is no
physical access to this from the V-Piano, nor from the Editor software —
it simply kicks in and does its stuff when you play an SMF. The
playback level of the GM2 engine and audio files is adjustable relative
to piano tones via the Utility System menu. Alternatively, they can be
routed to Output B and controlled using an external mixer. USB media can
also be used to archive sequencer songs as SMF files, and back-up your
V-Piano Setup data.
Conclusion
There
will always be those for whom only the real thing is acceptable,
regardless of how good the imitations become. Even those who are keen to
embrace electronic alternatives have their own highly subjective view
as to what constitutes a ‘good’ piano. With that in mind, I can best
sum up with the following thoughts. If an instrument engages both
performer and listener, then it’s doing something right. As a
performer, I can only say that for the entire time spent playing the
V-Piano, I felt completely immersed in the experience in a way that
sampled alternatives don’t quite match. The combination of sound,
keyboard action and highly controllable dynamics provides a real sense
of connection with the instrument, with the impression that there is
something ‘alive’ beneath your fingers. People who dropped by during the
review period gave the same unreservedly enthusiastic response — that
it sounded like a top-flight, beautifully recorded piano.
Nevertheless,
early adoption usually comes at a price, and at nearly $6000 the
V-Piano is hardly a casual purchase. In that respect, Modartt’s
Pianoteq software offers some stiff competition, and is probably going
to be the preferred choice of the average impecunious computer musician.
Roland market the V-Piano as a ‘stage piano’, but have omitted to
incorporate any form of music stand in its design — a factor that may
alienate pianists who need to play from a score. It will therefore be
interesting to see what kind of musicians make up the initial
demographic of V-Piano users. Undoubtedly, we’ll see the technology
filter down to future products at more affordable levels — as well as
upwards to more expensive ‘boudoir’ models. Until then, I wouldn’t be
surprised to see the likes of Elton being amongst the first to tread the
boards brandishing a V-Piano. Regardless of price, it’s worth giving
the V-Piano a road test. I fell in love with it — will you?
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