Pianoteq Classical Guitar

From Paco de Lucía to Tom Jobim and Roland Dyens, the classical guitar continues to inspire musicians across genres. Its ever-expanding repertoire—from transcriptions of Baroque, Classical, and modern pieces to original compositions—reveals new expressive possibilities unique to the instrument.

This virtual instrument captures the essence of nylon-string classical guitars and is modeled after three guitars, including the C9 from luthier Jean-Marie Fouilleul. Pianoteq 9’s new audio engine enhances the instrument’s spatial depth and tonal richness, allowing each note to evolve organically, while preserving the intimate nuances of nylon-string timbre. Various parameters can be tweaked to achieve specific expressions, as exemplified in the “Purist” preset. The sympathetic resonance engine emulates the complex interaction of plucked and open strings, giving this instrument a realism and expressiveness superior to other virtual guitars.

Extensive care has been taken to include a wide range of essential extra sounds, such as finger picking, capturing the natural interplay between musician and instrument. The unique user interface provides deep control over playing gestures, helping users understand and reproduce the instrument’s behavior on a keyboard. Thanks to the model’s flexibility, presets can emulate the sound of a 12-string guitar, a jazz guitar, or even a subtly distorted electric guitar, offering an ideal starting point for third-party amp and effects software. Refreshed Binaural presets deliver an immersive headphone experience, further enhancing realism.