Iowa Steinway

[Rob Sherratt]

Hi all

Some of you might remember this series on the Pa2x?

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... t=steinway

I'm doing an update for the Pa4x and Pa5x. I'm not looping anything and am just topping and tailing the Iowa samples in stereo AIF format this time around.

I know it will be a massive sample size, but who cares? And I don't like looped piano samples.

As before, this uses the full 3 x 88 note set of pp, mf and ff samples recorded by Iowa University and made available free of charge by them so long as no charge is made for derived works.

I won't repeat stuff already written in the Pa2x series ... go read if interested.

Thanks,
Rob

[AntonySharmman]

I'm doing an update for the Pa4x and Pa5x in DIRECT mode....

I know it will be a massive sample size, but who cares when you can play direct sampling from HD? .

Hi Rod

- Direct SET mode in Pa4X supports only Styles & KBD SET and not SOUND or PCM Samples that are completely ignored
if exist in a assigned Direct SET.
Also existing Styles & KBD SET resources in a Direct SET must be assigned to factory resources else won't work since
PCM contents are ignored without being loaded in your main Pa4X SET at Banks 1-6 or DK1-3.
- Pa4X-Pa5X are using DFD technology but not from actual very slow internal HD (USB 2 port to SATA conversion ) but
from mobo Nand Gate eRom that has the Ram called orientation of 1.5GB for Pa4X and 4GB for Pa5x (uncompressed).
- Pa3X is also using DFD technology but only for factory resources just FYI.
- The only Korg products that are using real DFD is Oasys & Kronos since they use Intel chipset with real Sata ports for SSD
and you can use huge pianos of 15 GB streamed from SSD.
- In PaSeries from Pa3X and further , HD , mSD & USB never participated in OS and system functions , they are used only as
Media storage.
- As last , Pa5X do not have Direct Set mode , waste of functions space since it can read any KST folder from any media , Korg
Disk, mSD or any USB and play real time any Styles & KBD SET if SOUND custom resources are loaded or are based on factory ones.

[Rob Sherratt]

Direct SET mode in Pa4X supports only Styles & KBD SET and not SOUND or PCM Samples that are completely ignored
if exist in a assigned Direct SET. Also existing Styles & KBD SET resources in a Direct SET must be assigned to factory resources else won't work since PCM contents are ignored without being loaded in your main Pa4X SET at Banks 1-6 or DK1-3.

Thanks a lot Antony. I edited my post to correct my error about DIRECT. I'll just use user sound space and be limited to about 1G total sample size. I'm not really planning on mixing with any other user sample sounds.

I see you have a Steinway-D ... please tell me in the fullness of time how close I get to it I always enjoyed the previous Steinway SET on the Pa2x so I hope I can do better this time on the Pa4x.

Regards,
Rob

[AntonySharmman]

Another tip Rob for called piano "unlooped" samples.
Pa4/5X support 21 seconds max duration of imported samples , so the majority of your piano samples bellow G3 will be abruptly
cut at 20 seconds since many lower piano's notes naturally exceed 45 sec of duration.
Therefore you have either manually edit those samples and fade them out at 21 seconds nor the pro way , to find periodical oscillation
of them , loop them and then calculate ADSR per layer to simulate native fade out.
In the proper way , 88 x 5 Velocity layers of piano will occupy 1 GB of compressed Ram in Pa4X

Hope this helps

BTW : University of Iowa guys made a decent effort but sampling a grand piano is a state of art with many unknown tools to the public
and I don't thing that those samples can be ever be close to modern latest piano sampling of VST like Spectrasonics , Ibory or Noire.

[Rob Sherratt]

Another tip Rob for called piano "unlooped" samples. Pa4/5X support 21 seconds max duration of imported samples , so the majority of your piano samples bellow G3 will be abruptly cut at 20 seconds since many lower piano's notes naturally exceed 45 sec of duration.
Therefore you have either manually edit those samples and fade them out at 21 seconds nor the pro way , to find periodical oscillation of them , loop them and then calculate ADSR per layer to simulate native fade out.

88 x 5 Velocity layers of piano will occupy 1 GB of compressed Ram in Pa4X

Hope this helps.

Thanks Antony, you are a great help. I did not know until you said that the Pa4x / 5x supports only 21 second samples. That is a disappointment. So, for the first iteration I will do a simple fade out of samples for low piano notes starting at 15 seconds and tailing to zero at 20 seconds. I do accept that the more professional approach is as you say but I have to stop somewhere.

[AntonySharmman]

I did not know until you said that the Pa4x / 5x supports only 21 second samples. That is a disappointment.

As I have mentioned , there is no physical streaming from disk in PaSeries , streaming is working in motherboard's chip nand memory and
preloading samples are dropped in ECL Ram that is also in motherboard chipset and close to 1GB , so it's a decent amount to work with it.