VI Labs Modern D for UVI Falcon/Workstation

March 21, 2025 0 Comments

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VI Labs Modern D for UVI Falcon/Workstation A VIRTUAL MODEL D LIKE NO OTHER

Concept and key features of our latest concert grand piano library

The Modern D is our impeccable simulation of the world’s most well-known concert grand. Sampled from a 2021 New York Steinway© Model D, chosen for its exquisite tone and immense power, the Modern D is our most ambitious and largest piano sample library ever. The library contains 34,615 pristine samples in five stereo microphone setups, all controlled from a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. Our new Natural Response method recreates the full dynamic range of each key within each mic, so every touch input generates the true and accurate response of the real piano. Many notes have over 50db of dynamic range and some sustains can last well over two minutes. This is the ultimate studio concert grand simulator, at your fingertips.

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, fully sampled Una Corda with its own release samples, plus sampled Muted Strikes, Half Pedal, Silent Strikes, along with Pedal and Key noises. With its massive range in both timbre and volume, this piano can do it all. Whether it’s bright, mellow, or anywhere in between is entirely dependent on how it is played. Everything you want from the softest yet detailed pianissimos, up to the most aggressive growling fortissimos, the Modern D delivers. This truly is the pianist’s virtual piano.

KEY FEATURES

34,615 samples composing 118GB wave data in a tidy 18GB file. Massive library, small footprint thanks to lossless compression and complex scripting. This also means fast loading and efficient CPU usage.
Five stereo phase-aligned menu-based microphones with interactive mic display. World class mics and gear with diverse perspectives cover every way of recording a concert grand all around, close and far.
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.
Complete control of up to 4 pedals including sampled Una Corda. Repedal and adjustable Half pedal features included. Sostenuto, Una Corda, plus Muted Strikes all MIDI CC controllable make for a highly expressive piano.
New MIDI panel with unique split controls for both timbre and volume. High resolution discrete tables and controls allow custom curves for any response imaginable. Many presets included, or create your own.
2,500 release samples per mic including staccato releases that respond to the quickest playing, no articulations needed. Release samples capture the resonant ring of the Model D concert grand and are crucial for realism.

AUDIO AND VIDEOS
Listen to our demos and watch the videos.

THE PIANO ¦ THE SESSION
We sought out the best piano and quietest studio and found both – watch video

The Modern D is sampled from a very new Steinway© Model D concert grand with serial #616803. Built in 2021, less than a year old at the time of sampling, it was chosen for its superb tone and immense power with a strong fundamental on every note. And it has been perfected in tone and touch by a top concert technician over its lifetime which has brought out the full potential of this world class instrument. Single notes with over 50db of dynamic range and sustains lasting more than two minutes only happen with the best pianos. The tuning is superb and was maintained during all moments of the session by the same technician. This really is like the F1 car of concert grands.

With any acoustic piano sample, the recording space can impact the sound as much as anything else. For our modern sound, we needed an intimate studio big enough for the piano to fill out but not overpower, and detailed enough to record a pin drop from every mic. This was our quiestest studio ever which led us to create our most pristine samples yet. Room size matters too; dryness is needed to preserve fine detail especially for our staccato releases, and also just enough roominess for a sense of space and distance, without unwanted room reflections or standing waves. With this library, it really feels like you’re at this piano in this room, your own virtual Model D simulator.

Being one of the new New York Model D’s, there are now very few differences with its counterpart made in Hamburg. It mainly comes down to how they’re voiced, and this piano is very much in the New York tradition but with the latest builds and materials. The crisp detail of the new hammer and damper felt can be heard throughout, even in the softest ‘silent strike’ samples particularly on notes with wedge dampers that excite the strings with surprising vigor and sustain. The tuning was done aurally, per the manufacturer’s specs, and was maintained at all moments by the technical staff while monitoring with an ETD (electronic tuning device). The voicing is incredibly even, not only from key to key but within each hammer when playing softest to loudest, the same level of color change is consistent in every way which is crucial for the highest levels of playing. You can be confident every detail of your touch is spoken back exactly as intended, never misquoted.

The goal of a VI Labs piano library is to capture the instrument itself as precisely as possible and then recreate it virtually with our proprietary processes and scripting. Therefore the space we use cannot be too reverberant or color the sound in undesirable ways. The noise floor is crucial. Even with our latest methods to reduce noise in samples, we need the quietest studio possible so all detail in the samples is preserved, even with the softest Silent Strike samples. The result is five stereo mics worth of pristine and clean samples, the faithful capture of this instrument in a superb room with just enough sense of space, and with no loss in fidelity at any dynamic level.

COMPLETE VIRTUAL PIANO STUDIO
Five menu-selectable mic setups with interactive mic display – watch video

From a whopping 39 individual mics recorded, we chose the best five stereo pairs from the session that fully capture this piano from several traditional perspectives, close to far, more or less hammer presence, all with a clean high end tone. Legendary mics like the U87 and M49, C414 and 4006 were chosen not only for their luxurious sound but for how perfectly they captured this piano with so much detail. The sound of a big grand varies considerably based on where mics are placed. These five stereo pairs were favored for their diversity in character and their placements, the balance of direct vs. room, and how how nicely they mix together.

When recording acoustic piano in the studio, there can be many options. Different mics and placements all offer various perspectives and character, never limited to one basic tone. Our mics are selected from the mixer menus, the interface shows each mic as set up on the real piano. Tones from close and intimate, wide and distant, with warmth or brilliance, all can be acheived with these mics. Load and mix the mics in any combination. Every mic is time-corrected and phase-aligned so even the distant Room mics have no extra delay; all mics respond and mix incredibly well in any combination.

Every measure was taken to assure the maximum S/N ratio for the purest samples. All preamps were in the live room with short connections to the mics. All mic preamps were by Grace Design© and Neumann©, and A/D conversion was done with Digital Audio Denmark© converters. The UI’s Main panel features the Mic selection and Mixer. Select a mic from the drop-down menu, the mic is pre-loaded and the interactive display shows that mic as it was during the sampling session. Click the circular arrow to load the samples. Set mic volume with the fader and switch on/off with the power button. If a mic is loaded but switched off, samples remain loaded but are inactive so no polyphony is used. Click the checkmark button to purge samples and free up RAM as needed.

Close U87: Brand new matched pair of the well-known large diaphragm FET mics, in a spaced pair near the treble and bass bridges inside the piano. These have a large immersive stereo image and take EQ very well, if even needed. A very modern sound indeed, mix-ready and perfect for any pop or solo piano work. The sound quality is also extraordinarly clean and detailed, given these mic’s great tech specs and their proximity to the piano capturing the faintest sounds with ease.

Hammers M49: The legendary vintage tube condenser mics in a spaced pair over the hammers, positioned for best balance of hammer and soundboard tone. These M49s magically bring out the legendary New York Model D hammer bite along with the right amount of body so they never sound thin or plunky. It’s rare for us to use vintage tube mics for sampling as reliability and noise are almost always an issue. But these immaculate M49s were perfectly suited to sample this piano, their tone being captured was too great to miss. One session engineer noted, “With these mics, it’s like hearing this piano in Technicolor.”

Player C414: A pair of the vintage EB’s with the original CK-12 ‘brass’ capsules in a NOS configuration over the player’s head. A perfect balance of hammer detail with just enough room for a sense of space all around. A slightly more narrow image than the close or side mics, they sound great in any headphones or speakers. Sampling with vintage FET mics is also a bit risky, but these too were immaculate and gave just what we wanted with a neutral but beautiful image of sitting at this piano in this room.

Side 4006: Matched pair of these classic classical recording mics, small diaphragm omni condensers in spaced A/B just outside the lid for a traditionally classical sound, with less hammer bite and more of the body of the piano projecting from the side as an audience would hear vs. the player. A very pure tonal character differing from the close and player mics, giving the true tone of the piano with just enough extra room sound due to their omni pickup patterns. These capture the warmth of the New York sound, as well as the power of it. They’re crystal clear, yet tender at the same time.

Room MK2H: CMC6 bodies with MK2H capsules in a spaced A/B pair about ten feet high and far from the piano. Originally the left and right mics of a Decca Tree, but being set up with narrower spacing, we did not mix in the center mic and thus kept the discrete signals as a standard A/B pair. These work great as a room mic mixed with any other mics, but also standalone for a more distant diffuse sound without being too spacey or lacking in focus. Even when recording a piano in a dry detailed studio room, nothing replaces distance from instrument to mic, and huge pianos need space to ‘breathe’ so an omni room mic is essential.

REAL SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE
Both types pedal down and pedal up, entirely sample-based – watch video

Pianists are well accustomed to the sympathetic resonances that develop in acoustic pianos and their importance to the sustain and how chords resolve. These resonances blend the individual strings together as one instrument. Sympathetic Resonance is created when harmonically related keys are held down while others are played, and Pedal Resonance occurs as all strings vibrate together when notes are played while the sustain pedal is down. With the massive soundboard and long strings, the resonance effect is strong and adds body and bloom to the sustain.

Both pedal down and harmonic key pedal up resonances are sample-based and not synthesized in any way. We believe this important part of the piano’s tone is best emulated only with samples from all mics. The Modern D features our new multi-layered resonance samples to deliver a complex evolving tone. Precisely sampled and scripted for both types of advanced resonance models, they respond naturally like the real thing. Resonance volume for both types is adjustable, and Sympathetic Resonance has its own polyphony setting.

Our resonance features are carefully matched to the real piano in their behavior. This is done with complex scripting made possible with the UVI engine plus our precise sampling methods. The end result is stunning and recreates closely what happens in the real piano, while still giving full control of the resonance volumes. Here’s a description of all resonance features on the interface:

• Pedal Resonance is the unique sound of all strings vibrating in harmony when the sustain pedal is pressed down and keys are played. The volume of Pedal Resonance samples can be independently controlled for more or less of the effect. Our new Pedal Resonance methods are our most accurate and realistic ever and fully capture the note’s attack and have more body and tone than before.

• True Pedal Action ties the Pedal Resonance samples to your sustain pedal motion. A chord played with the pedal down will cause other strings to resonate, but if the sustain pedal comes up and then back down quickly, the strings will resonate again but with lower volume. This enables the sample-based Pedal Resonance to work the same as it would on the acoustic piano and offers realism not possible with traditional pedal resonance methods.

• Repedal allows blending and blurring of the sustained sound when the pedal is lifted and pressed down again quickly. This is a crucial component to the pedal down sustained sound which differs from anything played with the pedal up. You can also ‘catch’ a note or chord with the pedal if you’re quick enough, which is easier in the bass due to the longer larger strings.

• Sympathetic Resonance occurs when partials are triggered in keys harmonically related to keys that are struck. Not only is this an integral part of the piano’s tone and sustain, it’s also used musically to great effect such as silently holding a chord and playing harmonically related keys to cause this resonance in the chord that is held.

• Sympathetic Polyphony allows independent control of the number of voices allowed for the Sympathetic effect. If you’re using this effect specifically and want more of it, simply increase the polyphony value. Or decrease to conserve system resources.

REAL UNA CORDA SAMPLES
An essential part of a grand piano’s tone, fully sampled – watch video

One distinct advantage grands have over uprights is their soft, or Una Corda pedal, which shifts the entire action to the right so a hammer normally hitting three strings only hits two, etc. Plus the strings are struck by a part of the hammer that’s voiced differently to create a softer muted tone. The Modern D includes a fully sample-based Una Corda with its own release samples for a softer attack and a stronger release trail compared to the normal sustain. This adds another layer of tonal color only available in grand pianos. It’s really like having two sets of hammers in the same piano that you can switch in real time.

A premium grand piano library would not be complete without real Una Corda samples as classical and other demanding pianists use it not only to lower the volume of a soft passage but also to get the unique variation in tonal color. It’s not an effect that’s easily mimicked or modeled since the changes in tone come from physical factors of the real piano such as the different hammer voicing, the aliquot string effect of the non-struck string, as well as the special tone of the release trails due to the different vibrations in the strings.

The Una Corda tone on many grand pianos is naturally developed over years of playing, the hammers eventually get deeper more compacted grooves from normal playing and thus the shifted hammer will have a softer area in between grooves that hit the strings. On newer pianos though, the Una Corda is usually voiced separately which gives much greater control and consistency. The piano for our Modern D was set up for a full shift Una Corda but not so much that the hammer ends up striking in a normally struck area but still fully clears the first string. This allows careful separate voicing of the hammer between the grooves for a lovely soft Una Corda tone.

The Una Corda pedal is off and samples are unloaded by default. Click the Load button to load these samples for any mics currently loaded, the default pedal CC is 67 for soft pedal. Change the CC as needed, or use the ‘S’ Solo button to activate Una Corda if no pedal or other CC is used.

ADVANCED MIDI RESPONSE TOOLS
Innovative split controls for both velocity and volume response – watch video

There are two separate components which affect the dynamic response of a virtual piano: the velocity levels relating to the sample mapping for the timbre change from soft to hard, and the gain curve which affects the volume throughout the range. It’s how a virtual piano interprets the incoming MIDI data and then decides what timbre and volume to output based on the curve settings. Our special MIDI customization panel has discrete curves and controls for both the timbre and volume which allows for complete customization of both aspects of the response.

A grand piano’s response is just as important as the sound, and getting exactly what you expect is crucial in order to connect to the instrument. Dial in the perfect response for any MIDI controller or playing style, or choose a preset for specific or dramatic effects. Our advanced scripting and voicing methods deliver a precise and effortless response, and combined with expert sampling, yield a virtual piano with dynamic response that exactly matches the real piano. And you get full control of it all right here with our advanced MIDI panel.

The MIDI panel is based around two separate graph tables, one for velocity or timbre response and the other for volume response. The graph tables represent MIDI velocity values 1-127 horizontally and outgoing velocity and gain values vertically. The default MIDI response is 1:1 which is the natural feel of the real piano, and Gain is a 1:1 averaging of each key’s individual response so more or less gain is available at each velocity step. Here’s a description of every control of the interface:

• Presets include several light and heavy touch curves along with some special effects such as Compressed and specific controller model presets. You can also save and load your own customized presets here as well.

• Bend adjusts the curve of the response table from the center either higher or lower. This is the most common adjustment to start with as it drastically alters the character or volume response.

• Sync Bend lets both Bend knobs turn as one for a quick general MIDI sensitivity adjustment. Typical MIDI curve bends would have both curves tied together like this.

• Mininum Gain changes the lowest volume. Increase to raise the lowest volume which decreases the overall volume range, for instance instead of using a compressor. Or decrease to -0.01 to have silence at lowest velocity level.

• Smooth rounds out a rough-drawn curve. Draw a curve with your mouse, then click Smooth as many times as needed to smooth the curve.

• Min/Max In/Out Velocity limits the incoming or outgoing velocity start and end points for the MIDI response table. Click and drag the arrows to change. For example, to remove the highest fff sample layer, simply lower the Max Output Velocity below 127 until the fff layer is no longer triggered. Or if your controller doesn’t easily play the softest velocities, set Min Input Velocity to a higher value so the softest samples will be triggered.

• Reset restores each tables and its controls to default settings. If Sync Bend is switched on, Reset will affect both tables.

• MIDI In/Out shows velocity received from your controller and velocity going out to trigger the samples. This is a great indicator to see the velocity response from the controller and then make necessary modifications with our settings. For example, if you see your controller isn’t outputting the max velocity of 127 and only reaching 120, you can adjust the Max Input Velocity to 120 so the mapping is scaled and velocity 127 is accessible.

COMPLETE PEDAL CONTROL
Real grand piano pedal features plus sampled half-pedal – watch video

Many things happen with pedals when playing an acoustic piano. Hands must be free to play, so pedals are used in numerous ways. The most essential is the sustain, or damper pedal. The Modern D’s sustain pedal supports basic on/off pedals with full repedaling capability and our True Pedal Action for resonance. Using continuous control type pedals allows for the adustable sample-based Half Pedal feature, plus velocity-sensitive pedal noises for the most realistic pedaling experience. Full sostenuto as well as the Una Corda pedal are also supported completing the three typical piano pedals.

The Muted Strikes samples can also be controlled with the pedals or any CC. For example, set Sostenuto to some other unused CC besides 66, then set Muted Strikes to 66 and control with that pedal if sostenuto isn’t needed. All four pedal options could be used together if enough pedals or controllers are available. Any pedal can be mapped to any MIDI CC, so any controller such as mod wheel, sliders or knobs can be used. Una Corda and Muted Strikes can also be activated directly on the interface with the ‘S’ Solo buttons. No other concert grand library offers this level of realtime customizable control.

Full control of all pedal function is available on the main interface. All three typical piano pedals are supported with our special True Pedal Action plus sampled Half Pedal available for the sustain pedal. Sostenuto, sampled Una Corda, and Muted Strikes can be used with other pedals. Repedal action is smooth and True Pedal Action creates highly realistic damper pedal resonance which also works well with Half-Pedal. Pedal Noise volume can be adjusted and velocity sensitivity can set to Fixed or Variable.

• Half Pedal: Special samples and scripting create the effect of variable damper control, so as a note is played and the damper pedal is pressed slowly, the release trail gets longer until full sustain is reached. Min and Max CC ranges for your continuous sustain pedal set the range of this effect so you can customize to your pedal and style.

• Pedal Noise Type: Allows pedal noises to be triggered at a fixed velocity or set to variable for velocity-sensitive noise. The Variable setting only works with continuous style pedals and will respond to different pedals in different ways, so we’ve added this option to bypass the velocity sensitivity so it responds like a typical on/off pedal. Note that Half Pedal can still be used regardless of this setting.

• Repedal: Allows the note to continue if the sustain pedal is lifted then pressed down again quickly. A crucial feature to most pianists, this enables subtle blurring mostly in the bass and responds like a real piano without the sound fully stopping when the pedal is lifted.

• Una Corda: The soft (or shift) pedal on a grand piano making the hammers shift over not only to play one less string on most keys, but a softer part of the hammer meets the strings which results in a mellow tone with a different character. Load this separate sample set to use with your soft pedal or solo it with the ‘S’ solo button.

• True Pedal Action: Emulates the way an acoustic piano’s pedal down resonance responds along with the sustain pedal being used. A chord played with the pedal down will cause other strings to resonate, but if the sustain pedal is lifted but pressed again quickly, all strings will resonate but with lower volume. In a real piano, the resonance occurs if the pedal is down when a chord is played but also if a chord is played followed by the pedal going down. The Pedal Resonance comes on when the sustain pedal is pressed and is muted when the pedal is lifted, exactly like the real piano.

MORE ADVANCED FEATURES
Control and customize everything. Click on each image to read more. – watch video

DETAILED RELEASE TRAILS
We use 2,500 Release Trail samples for every microphone that respond to velocity and time, including our true staccato strike releases
The resonance that trails on after you release the keys, with the dampers muting vibrating strings, is an integral part to the tone of a real piano and how a player connects. In a real piano, this trail is left based on string length/pitch, the key velocity, as well as duration held before releasing. We use 2,500 samples per mic including distinct staccato trails to generate the unmistakable body and ring of the Model D. Staccato release samples create a precise effect with more string energy in bass notes and more treble and ring in higher notes. The Release Trails also respond properly with the sustain pedal and will be heard on any sustained notes when the pedal is released. Adjust the Release Volume for more or less effect, switch to adjust the amount of crossfade from the sustain to release samples.

MUTED STRIKE SAMPLES
Discrete samples taken of the strings muted by hand for a very short percussive attack. Switch from Muted Strikes to normal in real time.
Multi-velocity sampled strikes of all keys with strings muted with a cotton-gloved hand for a percussive effect. Switch on in real time while playing by using a pedal, mod wheel, or activate with the ‘S’ Solo button. Pedal Resonance is heard with sustain pedal use as the short percussive strikes excite nearby strings. The samples decay the fastest when a key is released, ring a bit longer if key is held, and ring with resonance if pedal is used. Load these samples then set the CC value to your controller of choice, or activate on the interface directly if no physical controller is available.

COMPLETE SOUND CONTROL
Customize your mic mix further with tools like Tone, 3 Band EQ, Timbre Shift, Stereo Width along with 37 high quality convolution reverbs.

• The Imaging tab contains controls for stereo width, tone, and timbre shift, as well as the channel selector menu. Left-Right is default as the player would hear. Right-Left swaps, or choose Left or Right only for mono options. Click ‘EQ’ to switch to the EQ controls tab.

• Width limits or expands the size of the stereo image and can also be set to summed mono when at -100%.

• Shift brightens or darkens the piano timbre by shifting the root pitch of the samples. The effect can be quite dramatic and yields many tonal possibilities similar to adjusting the scale design of the real grand.

• Tone control brightens or darkens the sound using an EQ band around 4K as opposed to shifting the samples.

• The EQ tab has 3 bands: a low and hi shelf band plus mid peak band with adjustable Q value.

• 37 high quality Convolution Reverbs are included ranging from small and large real spaces to famous hardware models and special FX. Reverb slideout panel reveals extra controls for Time, Width and Pre Delay, Low and Hi Damp.

SMART PRESETS
Presets can load mic samples and settings or settings only for versatility. There are 20 factory presets included, or save and load your own
Presets are in two formats: mics & fx (everything including mics) and fx only (no mics loaded). Sample loading might be slow on some systems, so we include a preset format that doesn’t load mics or mic settings. These presets load very fast. Full mics & fx presets are the same except they choose and load mic samples. ‘Default’ is displayed when first loaded, selecting a preset will display its name, but this jumps to ‘User’ if any setting is then modified. Save and load your own presets with the buttons beside the list. To save a preset that’s just fx settings, no mics, simply add ‘-fx’ to your filename and our script will know to not change the mic section when it’s loaded. If ‘-fx’ is not at the end of the filename, your preset will load the mics and all settings that were saved.

KEY AND PEDAL NOISES
Sampled key noise on every key with authentic return thump, plus velocity-sensitive sampled pedal noises available on all pedals.

• The key action and hammer noises were individually sampled and can be activated with the Key Noise knob. The characteristic thumping of a grand piano hammer returning to rest is quite noticeable and adds realism and body. All mics include key noise though it is strongest on close mics due to proximity.

• Pedal Noise is each pedal in operation captured from all mics and at several velocity levels. If a continuous pedal is used, switch Pedal Noise Type to ‘Variable’ to activate the velocity sensitivity. With the sustain pedal, slow moves give soft damper swishes, faster moves are louder with a crisp swish and more thump. Noises from the sosenuto and Una Corda pedals are also included.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Silent Strikes, Repetition Strike feature, Tuning and Polyphony controls, plus a built-in interactive Info help panel complete the massive feature set.

• On a real piano, a faint sound is heard if a key is pressed very slowly but the hammer does not fully hit the strings. These silent key presses have been carefully sampled and play at MIDI velocity 1-2. Sounds include thumps from the jack escapement as well as wedge dampers in the middle range lifting from the strings. The ‘Silent Harpsichord’ preset uses only these samples.

• Playing a note repeatedly on a real piano with the sustain pedal down results in some variation in tone, even if played at the exact same velocity. Our Repetition Strikes feature emulates this behavior by allowing pedal down repeated notes at similar velocities to come out a bit brighter or darker. No extra CPU is used and this feature is on by default.

• The Tuning panel allows you to set the base overall tune of the piano as well as the specific tune of each key of the 12 note scale. Each key can be set to Cents or Ratio, 100 cents per half step or a decimal between 1 and 2 for ratio. Choose a preset from the list or select Modified to create your own tuning which can be saved along with your custom preset.

• The total number of allowed voices can be controlled with the Polyphony setting. The default value works for most playing situations on systems meeting the requirements even with all 3 mics in use. To reduce CPU and disk load especially for older systems, use Medium or Minimum to limit the polyphony. Setting polyphony to Full or Max can be done on fast systems or for offline bounces to allow more samples to be used during heavy playing.

• For quick reference to learn about each feature of the interface, we’ve included a built-in interactive Info panel. Click the ‘I’ at the top right of the interface to open, then click on the name of any control to read its description and suggested ways of use.

Homepage:-https://www.vilabsaudio.com/modernd