Greetings everyone, I am new to the forum and new to the Motif. I recently purchased an XF8 and I’m loving it. I had heard a lot of great things about the S700 sample so I uploaded it through the Inspiration in a Flash download. I’ve noticed on the d1 key and c1 key there is what I perceive to be a strange ringing and/or overtone (especially noticeable if the note is held) that I am not very fond of. It’s almost like a shimmering cymbal sound.  Is this normal? I’ve tried re-loading the sample but it didn’t help. I’ve also tried playing the same keys with the s6 voices and the Concert Grand voice and I don’t hear any ring/overtone.  It’s only present on the s700 sample. I can hear it through my monitors (hs80m’s) and headphones. Besides that notes surrounding d1, I think the sample sounds great and I’d like to be able to use it. I just wanted to reach out to see if this is normal? Does anyone have an audio clip you can share of you hitting those keys (d1, c1) with different velocities so I can compare it to the sound I’m getting? Maybe I’m just crazy. Thank you. I appreciate it.

P.S. I’ve attached a very simple audio clip of the sound I’m hearing. The first two sounds are of me striking d1 and the other two sounds are of c1.

s700.mp3  (File Size: 355KB - Downloads: 68)

Mr Walrus:

Try cutting the sustain and decay and/or the reverb. It actually doesn’t sound bad when I listen to it.

Joe

Joe,
Thanks for your reply. Were you able to hear the ringing/overtone I was referring to? It is somewhat faint on the recording but it’s there. It seems more pronounced with the volume turned up. Do you have the s700 loaded? Does yours happen to sound the same? I did try to adjust the decay, reverb, and sustain as you suggested. It did help a bit but I wasn’t able to get rid of the sound completely. I’m wondering if it’s just part of the natural resonance in the lower registers. Maybe it’s just personal preference but the ring/overtone kind of annoys me. Thanks again. Any help is appreciated.

MrWalrus - 03 February 2012 08:01 PM

Joe,
Thanks for your reply. Were you able to hear the ringing/overtone I was referring to? It is somewhat faint on the recording but it’s there. It seems more pronounced with the volume turned up. Do you have the s700 loaded? Does yours happen to sound the same? I did try to adjust the decay, reverb, and sustain as you suggested. It did help a bit but I wasn’t able to get rid of the sound completely. I’m wondering if it’s just part of the natural resonance in the lower registers. Maybe it’s just personal preference but the ring/overtone kind of annoys me. Thanks again. Any help is appreciated.

You can’t “fix” this. It’s in the sample recording. I recommend just getting used to it.

In a mix with other instruments you’d never hear this. As a matter of fact, even in a solo piece, with some reverb, no one would ever hear it...except you.

What you refer to is normal..do you have a real piano in your studio room? Real pianos exhibit all kinds of “overtones”, sympathetic ringing, mechanical noise, hammer knock - perhaps you just never bothered to zero in on this kinds of “disturbing” sounds, but trust me, they’re there.

Hello,
Overtones is what makes pianos sound great. The s 700 has a rich and interesting timbre, I wouldn´t try to get rid of these “imperfections”, because they make the character of this piano.
On the other hand, what I did, is making a patch mixing an s6 layer above G 3 (I guess) and the s 700 below, because the S6 is obviously more detailed in the upper ranges, and it works well.
Cheers

Joe & DavePolich & benoit,

I mainly wanted to verify that what I was hearing was normal and you confirmed that it is. Thank you. I do have limited experience with a real acoustic piano, but it makes sense that just like any acoustic instrument it is going to have certain overtones and characteristics to the sound that makes it unique. I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I also like the idea of options that may come from experimenting with mixing different voices and creating a “patch”.  I really appreciate the responses and help. I’m happy to finally be the owner of a Motif and I’m glad to be part of this forum. Thanks again.

Hi MrWalrus,
Welcome to the Forum.
I know that ringing sound you mentioned, as others have already addressed this long ago. You can always utilize the handy Search function above, and find the same/similar answers given back then, as were explained here and now.

Yeah, as stated previously, it’s nothing to be concerned about, I had to listen for it, to give it much notice. But soon forgot about it too.

You are well on your way to learning the ins-outs and in betweens. Master her, learning & gaining familiarity of the many functionalities, and achieve status
‘pro-ficient’ with her.

Have fun and enjoy the Forum, it’s time well spent.

By the way: This Forum needs a few more kind folks like you, that are polite.

Take care.

Chas

MrWalrus,

Every note on a real grand piano has an idiosyncracy (I own a Kawai grand and have played Steinways and Yamahas). That’s what makes real grand pianos sound organic and each piano unique.

Amen.

Hi Phil,
Sir, I often got annoyed when ‘people’ used Amen out of context, ie.
Other than at the end of prayer. My appology. “My Bad!”

But I now know better:

Amen (disambiguation) From Wikipedia,

Amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Amen may also refer to:

Amen, Netherlands, a village in the Netherlands
Amen (TV series), an NBC series from 1986 to 1991
Amen., a 2002 film by Costa-Gavras
Amen (2011 film), a film by Kim Ki-duk
Amen: The Awakening, a game under the development of Cavedog Entertainment
The name of the god Amun in Ancient Egyptian religion
“Amen”, a poem by Christina Rossetti
Amon, King of Judah

[edit]
Music Amen break, a drum beat common in electronic music
Jussi Sydänmaa, stage name “Amen”, guitarist for hard rock band Lordi
Amen (band), a U.S. band
Amen (Amen album)
Amen (Rock band), a Peruvian band
Amen (Paula Cole album), an album by Paula Cole
Amen (Salif Keita album), an album by Salif Keita
“Amen” (Liora song), a song that was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995
“Amen” (Kid Rock song), a Kid Rock song
“Amen” (The Impressions song), a 1964 pop/R&B;hit by The Impressions
“Amen” (Edens Edge song), a song by Edens Edge
“Amen”, a song by Sepultura, from their 5th studio album Chaos A.D.
“Amen”, a song by Pusha T, from his debut extended play Fear of God II: Let Us Pray

Thee End

take care

Chas

Redhotpoker, Chrisk-K, Bad_Mister, Joe, DavePolich, & benoit:

Thank you all for your replies. My concern has been alleviated and my questions answered. The explanations have been clear and informative. I couldn’t ask for more.  I appreciate the warm welcome! : )