Q&A with the creators of Noire, Claire, and the new Claire: Avant piano

Hey Bostonmoores,

thank you for bringing this up. We investigated this today and I'd like to share our findings with you:

The re-pedal function works as it should, but there are two things to note about it:

1. Re-pedaling only works when the release samples are on. The reason for this is the weird behavior when using longer release times, which retrigger all notes all the time when re-pedaling. But we are going to chamge this and put a length limit when using the re-pedaling. I took a look at the manual and unfortunately the "release samples on"-requirement got lost in translation.
2. We revisited the re-pedaling in CLAIRE, so it works a bit different compared to NOIRE: In NOIRE, the note "retriggers" from the top when re-pedaling, but in CLAIRE it continues the playback (as this is true to the original instrument). Soundwise, this is not HUGE, but it integrates more realistically to our ears.

So please try the re-pedaling with the release samples on and it should work as it is supposed to.

As for half-pedaling, there is a bug that semms to have made it into the update and it is not functioning for now. This will be addressed with an upcoming update as it is an easy fix. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks so much @Galaxy Instruments for getting back to me.
I did indeed have releases off when I was testing re-pedaling. Once I turned releases on, I can say re-pedaling works as intended.

Thank you for addressing the bug with half-pedal in an update in the future. That will be great to have.

This Fazioli is very well detailed and the recordings of the samples are wonderful. I have been struggling a bit with passages that require more of a staccato accent/feel. Quick 8th note or 16th note staccato passages. Or running 16th or 32nd notes as another type of example. I feel that the length of the releases might be 'getting in the way' as the samples seem to have a long decay time. I think I was trying to account for that initially by having the releases off and adjusting the time release(which ended up causing re-pedaling to stop working for me).

I'm not sure if I'm phrasing that correctly, if you need more clarity I'd be happy to point that out.

Thank you again!

Yes, small menus for certain parameters in Kontakt instruments (like quick tone adjustment) is unfortunate design sometime. Devs needs to have their MIDI CC hats on when designing an instrument and consider not only the order of parameters, the direction of sliders, but also the UI components and how it may be mapped practically by different hardware controllers. People assign more than a cutoff filter these days.

Scroll menu MIDI CC assign is not unfixable and something to address for NI and partners. One might also ask, why have a menu in some areas? Maybe it will be possible to assign MIDI CC to the mics after an update?

Anyway, good luck with the upcoming Claire upates and future product development (dont be afraid to release new SKUs of older products to get around backwards compatiblity).

Hey Bostonmoores,

we're glad to hear that re-pedaling is working for you now. As we stated, half-pedaling will also come with the next update.

Thank you for clarifying the release issue in detail. You are correctly pointing out that the issue is related to the release of the note-on event (depending on the playing range). It is understood and will be addressed.

Hey MLARS,

thank you for picking up on this. As I'm sure you know, a lot of time goes into the UX and UI development and unfortunately, the function sometimes follows the design (especially when space is scarce). But we'll keep this in mind and we will also bring up the topics and suggestions from this valuable Q&A with Native Instruments. This larger ship might turn a bit slow at times, but it is good to have a reminder and continously bring topics up in order to find a good solution in the future.

I want to thank the team at Galaxy Instruments for this thread. The engagement and responses are thoughtful and fascinating (and kind even when users are frustrated!). I greatly enjoy many of your instruments in my music and it's wonderful to learn more about how you work and think through this thread. So THANK YOU and keep on making great instruments. :)

Hey Steven,

thank you for this question. Being the largest “off the shelf” grand piano, the Fazioli F308 is known for the clear and harmonic overtone structure, which is to a large extent a result of the additional string length. This is especially noticeable in the bass register and that’s what the F308 is commonly known for. Although the added length is roughly a foot compared to other larger concert grand pianos, this is quite noticeable right away. For example, playing a full chord in the bass still allows to pinpoint the individual tones, whereas they usually get more “washy”. But of course, this effect is not as drastic when comparing between large concert grands than comparing it to a smaller piano like a parlor or baby grand. Also, I should mention that we are fascinated by the approach and the rather young history of the Fazioli company. There are a couple of nice documentaries on Fazioli on the internet, which we can highly recommend and there are lots of fun facts, like the sourcing of the wood takes place in the same region that Stradivari used to built the famous violins.

Having played most of the large concert grand pianos (like Steinway, Bösendorfer, Yamaha, Bechstein, Kawai, Fazioli, etc.) I must say (as with most things) it comes down to personal preference or even more accurate, to musical style. Each instrument can inspire you to play differently and take you to places you might not have been before. Therefore it is truely great to have all these options with virtual instruments nowadays as trying out various instruments got a lot easier...