Tags: posts polarity-music Bitwig Preset

Physical Modelling Piano for Bitwig

Tutorial | Mar 31, 2025

In this video, I showcase my third iteration of a physical modeling piano preset I've crafted using Bitwig Studio, which you can download for free in the description. This version uses comp filters, noise bursts, and other techniques to create a more convincing piano sound than my previous attempts, with various adjustable knobs for mechanical noises and tuning effects. I'm open to feedback and encourage viewers to tweak the preset and share their improvements.

You can watch the Video on Youtube

Summary

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

In this video, I'm demonstrating a preset I've developed for Bitwig Studio that aims to emulate the sound of a real piano using comp filters. Despite my efforts, I acknowledge that it doesn't perfectly mimic an acoustic piano, particularly in the higher notes, but around the C3 range, it sounds relatively convincing compared to my older presets. You can download this preset for free via the link in the description.

This is the third iteration of my physical modeling piano project. The process begins with a noise burst that gets slightly filtered before passing through a peak filter and an amplitude envelope. It then goes through a hard clip and multiple comp filters to create the illusion of multiple strings vibrating, as in an actual piano. I also blend in the dry signal with the comp filter to achieve a more harmonious sound and reduce dissonance.

To further enhance the realism, I incorporate piano samples from my friend Skyence to simulate mechanical noises when the keys are hit. Users can adjust these noises with a control labeled "mechanic." Another feature, the "felt" knob, mutes the overtones by filtering the noise rather than applying a simple low pass filter at the output.

Additionally, there's an "age" feature that progressively detunes notes as they diverge from C3, introducing a sense of aged, slightly out-of-tune strings. The "in harmonics" control allows further detuning for strings accompanying the main ones, delivering a more authentic feel of an imperfectly tuned piano.

I've included a few impulse responses from different pianos, with the first ones offering the best sound to me. These represent the static frequencies of a piano body, and more could be added in the future as I continue to fine-tune the preset.

There's also an "attic" knob, which adds a convolution reverb to simulate a room, making it sound as if the piano is played in a wooden attic. Similarly, the "hall" option evokes the acoustics of a cathedral.

This project stems from my first attempt at a physical piano three years ago with Bitwig Studio 3.0, which didn't sound great. This version is a significant improvement and is much closer to a real piano sound. This preset, "physical piano version 3," requires Bitwig Studio version 5.3.2 to function.

I invite feedback on how realistic the piano sounds—acknowledging that a perfect replication is improbable—and suggest that users can tweak it further. I'm open to receiving improved versions from others. Lastly, I encourage viewers to leave comments, thumbs up, subscribe if they like the content, and I'll see them in the next video.

Transcription

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] Let me know in the comments down below if this sounds real to you or like a real piano, okay?
[00:00:06] [music]
[00:00:32] I think you can still hear it that it's not a real piano because this is completely based
[00:00:38] on comp filters inside of Bitwig Studio and you can hear it even more in the higher,
[00:00:46] with the higher notes or with the upper frequencies here.
[00:00:49] But around C3 it sounds pretty convincing or at least more convincing than my older,
[00:01:01] yeah, my older presets.
[00:01:03] [music]
[00:01:12] So, yeah, like I said, this is a preset for Bitwig Studio and you can download this for free in
[00:01:19] the description below if you want to. You don't need to pay anything. And this is my third iteration
[00:01:26] of a physical modeling piano. I'm using here basically a noise burst, slightly filtered here,
[00:01:35] going into a peak, peak filter, then an amplitude envelope, a hard clip, and then I go into multiple
[00:01:44] comp filters, creating this kind of illusion that you have multiple strings vibrating inside of a
[00:01:51] piano, piano body. Then I go here also in the comp filter, also blending in here the dry signal,
[00:01:57] and I'm using this basically to make the sound more harmonic in a kind of way, because sometimes
[00:02:03] it sounds too dissonant here. And then I go out, that's more or less it. So it's very simple, very
[00:02:11] basic physical modeling piano. I'm using here a few samples by my friend Skyence from a real
[00:02:20] piano, just to kind of simulate, emulate the noises, the mechanical noises of piano when you hit,
[00:02:29] you know, when you hit the keys. You can increase this here with this knob mechanic.
[00:02:35] So then we have here kind of a felt knob that kind of mutes the overtones. If you pull this
[00:02:56] down, it sounds more muted. Well, it's not like a filter. I'm filtering more or less here the noise
[00:03:04] or the exciton noise. So it's not really a cutoff or low pass on the output.
[00:03:27] Okay, that's that. Then we have the age. The age detunes all the notes upwards from C3 and also
[00:03:36] downwards from C3. So if you play C3, the age doesn't do anything. But then if you go up,
[00:03:44] everything is kind of detuned.
[00:03:57] So you can bring in there a bit of ageness to the piano.
[00:04:01] In harmonics here, this kind of detunes the strings that are vibrating with the main strings.
[00:04:09] So we get this feeling of that some of the strings are not in tune.
[00:04:15] So it gives you more this kind of detuned or not really well tuned piano feeling.
[00:04:26] And then we have here some impulse responses. And I try to extract this from different pianos here.
[00:04:46] The first one is the emotional piano. You can hear this or you. This is just Steinway D.
[00:05:14] I think the first ones are the best ones to me. It's in sound at least the best.
[00:05:19] So these are kind of the formants or the static frequencies of a piano body.
[00:05:34] And you can exchange this here. Maybe add some more in the future.
[00:05:42] I guess I want to tune this even more. I'm doing updates here and there.
[00:05:48] The last or I think the first physical piano I did three years ago with Bitwig Studio 3.0.
[00:05:55] It doesn't sound great. I think it was this one here.
[00:06:00] Yeah, it doesn't sound like a piano at all, to be honest. So this is much better.
[00:06:10] And it sounds much more like a piano. Then we have here the attic knob, which is kind of a room.
[00:06:17] It's just a convolution reverb here simulating kind of a room.
[00:06:35] Right. So it sounds like the piano is inside of a real wooden attic. Then I have here also the
[00:06:42] hall. So it's in a cathedral. Yeah, and that's basically it. So this is my preset called physical
[00:07:00] piano version 3. You can download this in the description below for Bitwig Studio. Let me see
[00:07:07] 5.3.2. That's the version you need. And yeah, you don't need to pay anything. You don't need to
[00:07:17] subscribe to my Patreon, but you can if you want to write what you don't need to. That's the that's
[00:07:24] a nice part. Okay, so that's the preset I want to show you. Let me know what you think in the
[00:07:30] comments below if it sounds real. I know in some of you can hear it, right? You probably never
[00:07:37] can do it to 100%, but I think it sounds it sounds better than my first attempt. And it's maybe
[00:07:45] something you can use here and there. Maybe you can, you know, tweak it and send it back
[00:07:50] and give me a better version. I don't know. Let me know what you think in the description below
[00:07:55] or the comments down below. Leave me a thumbs up, a subscription, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.