Arturia V-Collection 5

Jan1 · Post by **Jan1** » Fri May 20, 2016 10:51 am

Just read an email from Arturia announcing their new V-Collection 5.
Finally the GUI is resizable (IMO a very important improvement), and the collection now also features a virtual B-3 and the Synclavier.
My account shows an upgrade price of only €99, and considering what I get I don't have to think long about it.

Edit: it turns out the upgrade offer was for the existing V-collection 4 instruments, and to get the additional new instruments the package costs €199...

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Fri May 20, 2016 10:25 pm

It is tempting to upgrade but it feels like I only just got it (with the NI deal).
The Synclavier looks really cool - a lot of programming potential in the time domain, like arbitrary morphs and fades.
Apparently it's built from the original firmware.

Bachus · Post by **Bachus** » Sat May 21, 2016 12:02 pm

X-Trade wrote:It is tempting to upgrade but it feels like I only just got it (with the NI deal).
The Synclavier looks really cool - a lot of programming potential in the time domain, like arbitrary morphs and fades.
Apparently it's built from the original firmware.

The synclavier is good..

But the one reason for me is the new interface, that hugely improves the ease of use, the addition of the synclavier, B3 and piano also make this collection even completer...

And altough not all instruments allways hit the nail 100% where it comes to full native emulation, they all sound great and are incredible much fun to toy around with, because arturia adds their own twist to most of these instruments with some extra stuff and options..

I think €99 was money well spend after toying around with this all yesterdays evening and most part of my saturday morning..

Jan1 · Post by **Jan1** » Sat May 21, 2016 12:24 pm

The €99 update price for resizable GUIs is quite a lot I think, but the €199 for the new plug-ins in V5 is well worth it, especially since the Synclavier is among the five new plug-ins (not forgetting that the Piano plug-in contains no less than nine different models, so it's really a bargain).
I never had the money for a Synclavier so I can't make direct comparisons, but the sound in the demos immediately reminded of the typical Synclavier sound I heard on albums, so it's authentic enough for me.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Sun May 22, 2016 12:11 am

Jan1 wrote:(not forgetting that the Piano plug-in contains no less than nine different models, so it's really a bargain)

Too bad they sound quite crap... Really nothing compared to the latest advancements in piano modelling as showcased by Pianoteq, and this is very much evident even just from audio demos on Arturia's website vs demos on Pianoteq's website.

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Sun May 22, 2016 7:10 am

Yes, I've just upgraded to V5 for the resizeable GUIs and new instruments, but the Piano modelling doesn't interest me as I already have Pianoteq.

The Synclavier and new organ models interest me, particularly the Farfisa for reproducing the early Pink Floyd sound.

Jan1 · Post by **Jan1** » Sun May 22, 2016 11:47 am

EvilDragon wrote:
Jan1 wrote:(not forgetting that the Piano plug-in contains no less than nine different models, so it's really a bargain)
Too bad they sound quite crap... Really nothing compared to the latest advancements in piano modelling as showcased by Pianoteq, and this is very much evident even just from audio demos on Arturia's website vs demos on Pianoteq's website.

I also have Pianoteq, and given the choice I prefer Pianoteq's pianos when it comes to authenticity, but I do not think the Arturia pianos are done justice by calling them crap.
They do have a quality in the sustains which sounds like some sort of filter.

But then again, authenticity is one thing, usability is another, and with that in mind I definitely can see use for Arturia's plug-ins, including the pianos.
If the pianos were the only addition to the collection the upgrade would not be worth it for me.
The Synclavier is the more interesting addition to the package, and since I'm a collector of different Hammond emulations the plug-in also is a welcome addition.

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Sun May 22, 2016 4:36 pm

Derek Cook wrote:Yes, I've just upgraded to V5 for the resizeable GUIs and new instruments, but the Piano modelling doesn't interest me as I already have Pianoteq.

The Synclavier and new organ models interest me, particularly the Farfisa for reproducing the early Pink Floyd sound.

My two favourites as well. I can leave the pianos, I had a play but nothing grabbed me.

The Synclavier is really interesting even though I haven't got out of the head scratching mode wile programming it yet!

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Sun May 22, 2016 6:43 pm

BobTheDog wrote:
Derek Cook wrote:Yes, I've just upgraded to V5 for the resizeable GUIs and new instruments, but the Piano modelling doesn't interest me as I already have Pianoteq.

The Synclavier and new organ models interest me, particularly the Farfisa for reproducing the early Pink Floyd sound.
My two favourites as well. I can leave the pianos, I had a play but nothing grabbed me.

The Synclavier is really interesting even though I haven't got out of the head scratching mode wile programming it yet!

The Synclavier interests me as it was Tony Banks' (Genesis) main keyboard in the early 80s.

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Mon May 23, 2016 7:14 pm

I find pianoteq pianos unconvincing across most of its categories actually. Admittedly it's about a year since I tried it, but found it just horrendous, and outrageously over priced.

Surprised to read here people lauding it.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Mon May 23, 2016 7:26 pm

I could say the same about majority of sample libraries... And the minority that I find good and/or interesting sounding, don't come close to Pianoteq's response and playability, so out they go.

Overpriced? Well, there's three different versions depending on your usage case, I wouldn't say 99€ for Stage is overpriced for what you get. There are more expensive sample libraries out there that sound or behave nothing like an actual piano does...

Think about the feature set that Pianoteq offers in the Pro version, where you can damn near use it as a very intricate synthesizer if you want to, tweaking on a per-key basis to the bone in a way no sampled piano will ever give you. Microphone positioning and up to 5 outputs for proper surround sound if you want to. Microphone modeling too, so different tonalities can be achieved simply by swapping the mic type... Pound for pound, feature for feature it's even underpriced, I'd say.

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Mon May 23, 2016 7:39 pm

As siad - I may even be 18 months or 2 years out of date since trying it - but - the acoustic pianos I tried were nothing short of pathetic.

I tried to play a few classical pieces and they were a joke (my playing aside

). The sound was synthetic sounding - audible instantaneously - the upper and lower octaves were all wrong and the dynamics sounded nothing like an acoustic piano.

So I'm not pointing out any 'nuance' here - they were ridiculously poor quality. I even emailed the company to tell them they were essentially useless in any sort of real-world scenario.

I haven't gone back in a year to two so perhaps their models have improved, but I didn't see them as worth anything, at all.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Mon May 23, 2016 8:35 pm

Here's a Rachmaninoff demo of the latest model they did, Model B (Steinway B, naturally).

https://www.pianoteq.com/audio/modelb/R ... vitsky.mp3

If this sounds synthetic to you, methinks you might have some problems with ears.

The dynamics are there, the treble and the bass range all sound as should.

Kevin Nolan wrote:So I'm not pointing out any 'nuance' here - they were ridiculously poor quality. I even emailed the company to tell them they were essentially useless in any sort of real-world scenario.

Yet lots of people use Pianoteq day to day in various real-world scenarios, and the quality is far from "ridiculous" or "poor"...

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Mon May 23, 2016 8:44 pm

EvilDragon wrote:Here's a Rachmaninoff demo of the latest model they did, Model B (Steinway B, naturally).

https://www.pianoteq.com/audio/modelb/R ... vitsky.mp3

If this sounds synthetic to you, methinks you might have some problems with ears. The dynamics are there, the treble and the bass range all sound as should.

Kevin Nolan wrote:So I'm not pointing out any 'nuance' here - they were ridiculously poor quality. I even emailed the company to tell them they were essentially useless in any sort of real-world scenario.
Yet lots of people use Pianoteq day to day in various real-world scenarios, and the quality is far from "ridiculous" or "poor"...

Honestly - that does not sound like a real piano. I am not looking to knock it on a 'troll' basis. It really sounds plain wrong. The harmonic content of notes from soft to loud is simply wrong. It's better than the model I tried a few years ago I'll concede - but - it does not sound like an actual piano.

Care to offer examples of it used in real-world scenarios?

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Mon May 23, 2016 8:46 pm

Honestly, I think you're very wrong. It sounds EXACTLY like the Steinway B Modartt had on call for modelling (we have compared with the samples from the actual piano during beta tests).

So... yeah. If that example didn't open your ears, probably nothing will.