So, after buying Ant.Petrof, I found the next issue.
Following the instructions and starting the Pianoteq UI to go to About etc. and reactivating the licence, won’t work.
It seems to write the changes into a different property file.
That’s why I added a Reactivate button next to the licence string.
Press this and the Update presets and your new instrument should be in the list of licenced instruments, when you start a new PT layer.
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I’ve installed Pianoteq Version 7 and it’s showing in the Layers/Engine list. Also connecting to the native UI via XQuartz works. But in the zynthian UI after selecting the MIDI channel, I cannot find the new Pianoteq in 7 instruments like Steinway D (New York). Is anyone facing similar issues?
Hi @schnitzelhannes! Welcome to the wonderful world of Zynthian.
Did you follow @mheidt’s instructions above to configure your pianoteq?
@mheidt @jofemodo is there a (simple) documented way to install PT7 on Zynthian? Mine is updated but still runs PT6.
I had followed the “Pianoteq” instructions from the wiki
- installed the .7z via webconf, followed by zynthian reboot
- activated my license via webconf
If I remember correctly I deleted all layers first, restarted. Pianoteq 7 now appears when creating a new layer (not sure if it matters, in my case it’s Pianoteq STANDARD). Also if I ssh -Y through XQuartz I do get the native UI displayed on my mac as expected –
Problem remains: the instruments included in Pianoteq 7 (for example Steinway D New York) do not appear in the Zynthian UI.
Did you press the, “Reactivate button” in webconf? (I don’t see that button - maybe because I haven’t yet installed my licensed version.)
I followed the instructions in webconf to update to PT7.0.5 Stage Trial, rebooted then pressed the button, “Update Presets” on the webconf page http://zynthian.local/sw-pianoteq. I can now see the PT7 presets. Later today I should have chosen my instrument packs and will install the licensed version.
I tried it a few weeks ago with no success, but now it was simple after a clean installation + update of Zynthian. Pianoteq 7 works and the purchased instruments all seem to work fine.
This is great, because Pianoteq was my main reason to invest in Zynthian. Everything else is a (great, great) bonus for me. 
One issue I am having is that the demo instruments get de-activated after a few seconds. Then I am back with my purchased Bechstein piano. Not a big deal, since I only used demo instruments 1% of the time. Nevertheless, I could play them when I used PT 6.
I suggest reporting a bug on GitHub. It is advantageous to be able to preview instruments to be able to devine on future purchases. They should be below the licenced instruments and possibly event toggled, e.g. webconf option to hide demo instruments.
Thanks @riban! this did the trick for me: not only “Upload Binary” but also “Update Preset” with “reactivate”
Right! After a couple of days of intense testing I think I have narrowed down my choice of instrument packs to “Steinway D” and “Electric Pianos”. There are lots of great pianos but the Steinway wins for its lush sound, tight control and accuracy over the full key and velocity range and best value with a couple of pianos, each with a range of presets. It is rather bright which concerned me but I can filter that if required whereas the gorgeous Blüthner may not cut through some genres like rock.
I prefer the blues sound of the Rhodes and Wurlitzer over the funk sound of the Hohner. Thanks to @mheidt that I even looked at electric pianos. I was previously content with the (pretty good) ones in Linux Sampler but Pianoteq is versatile. I need to learn some Supertramp songs now to show off the Wurly 
.
I will almost certainly register these two packs… when I return from my walk.
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The electric piano pack is also one of my favorites. I haven’t heard better ones as vst or in electric pianos. Also the effects are really good.
For piano, I chose the Bechstein. I must say I could have chosen other models as well. If I am not using Pianoteq, I am playing the Roland SuperNatural pianos, which are great as well. But not full of character as some of the Pianoteq pianos, so that’s why I opted for the Bechstein, which has both versatility and character I think.
Grrr! Yesterday Bechstein was top of my list. Today it got knocked into third place and now you come along and make me rethink… No! It is a wonderful piano sound but I am going to stick with my earlier choice. Here goes…
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@Martijn I am not seeing an issue with demo instruments. They are shown in the list below my licenced instruments. If your issue persists you should raise an issue with as much detail as you can about how it manifests and what triggers it.
Haha! Sorry, didn’t mean to make you doubt your choice! Thing is, the quality of the instruments is so high, it’s difficult to go wrong with any choice.
One could argue that it’s good to get a few of them, but I know from my Roland piano that once I have found one I like, I don’t switch too often and luckily I can just focus on the music. 
Perhaps I’ll still get the Upright piano though… there are a few nice patches included that are really quite different from the grand pianos.
I uploaded a song I recorded a few days ago with Zynthian/PT6/Bechstein to this forum.
The issue I mentioned is sometimes there, but after selecting an instrument a second time, the issue with trial instruments is gone. So it’s good enough for me at the moment.
I wonder if we should modify webconf to automatically reactivate and update presets after uploading a new binary. It feels suboptimal to have to manually perform these actions.
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Let me think about it …
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+1 to that suggestion @riban. More automation. It aligns the installation procedure then with other OS as well, where it’s also one step, not two separate steps —
Pianoteq 7.1.0 now includes 64-bit Linux ARM binaries. They’re going to use more memory but should be faster, once ZynthianOS gets a 64-bit build.
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