stevebard

I have the E-instruments Suitcase and like it. It's well-sampled, maybe a bit 'polite'. It's among my top tier of virtual Rhodes, along with and just under Canterbury, Keyscape and Scarbee 88. I prefer it to the old Scarbee, Neo Soul Keys, Velvet, Pianoteq, Lounge Lizard which are also in my collection. I've also recently bought the superlative Skybox Audio Hammers & Waves keyboard collection which is has really impressive grand, uprights, Wurly, Rhodes, felt piano and others. The Rhodes is right up there-may even be the best I have. It seems that the most highly rated software Rhodes that I don't have are V-Tines and OTS Famous E- but my Rhodes fetish has to reach its limit at some point. However if those two ever have a really massive sale...

[video:youtube] Sit back, raise a glass to a new hopeful year and relax with some gorgeous rhodes (Vintage Vibe) and moog sounds.

So, those posting who have Canterbury and Scarbee 88 still prefer those to the new AS VTines. But would you say the modelling aspect of the later gives you a range of authentic Rhodes tones rather than the single instrument that the former products offer? I hadn't heard of the PSound Vintage Electric. It's currently going for 49 Euros. Any reason to buy this if you already have Canterbury and Scarbee 88? What of Keyscape? Regarding its Rhodes models my feeling is that its presets are gorgeous, but stripped down to a raw sound it's a little less detailed and convincing than Canterbury and the more recent Scarbee. The Gospel Musicians Neo Soul Suitcase I was quite disappointed with. I find the interface messy, the relation between presets and instruments sampled, confusing. How many different Rhodes have been sampled? Often I seem to be hearing just a few velocity layers. I still enjoy the Pianoteq Rhodes a great deal. Not the most authentic but it has its own unique sound, a clarity and detail, and feel, that's great to play.

I have quite a few virtual Rhodes pianos. Top tier for me are Canterbury, Scarbee 88 and the Keyscape models and maybe E-instruments Suitcase. I'm pretty happy with these and don't notice issues with playability due to velocity layers. But I'm curious what this new sampled/modelled hybrid brings to the table and would like to hear how it compares with the current best that I've mentioned. If Acoustic Samples were to bring out a hybrid sampled/modelled acoustic piano that would be very very interesting. It seems to me that the best virtual pianos have been gradually approaching the ultimate goal from 2 different directions. The best sampled pianos (among those I have I would name the Ravenscroft and Garritan CFX) have got more playable and the modelled Pianoteq, wonderfully playable, has achieved a more and more realistic timbre. But both are still arguably just short in their different ways. So a piano that was a hybrid of the 2 approaches, done very well, I'd like to hear.