CyberGene

Can anyone confirm whether Scarbee works in Kontakt Player? Also, which Scarbee do you mean because I see there are different versions. P.S. So, currently Scarbee EP-88S is 50% off for €49.50 on the Scarbee website and is listed as Kontakt Player supported: https://scarbee.com/products/scarbee-classic-ep-88s However there's also Native Instruments: Scarbee Vintage Keys currently for €74.50 (includes three instruments: SCARBEE MARK I, A-200, CLAVINET & PIANET) which is also listed as Kontakt Player supported: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys/scarbee-vintage-keys/ I'm interested in Rhodes only and so I'm ok with the original Scarbee one but I'm wondering if maybe the NI one is somehow better (updated)? P.P.S. Actually NI also sell the Mark I only for €34.50: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys/scarbee-mark-1/

I started listening to Rush today and got reminded why I have mixed feelings about them and most progressive rock bands: the high-pitched (even squeaky) male vocals. It’s also the reason why I absolutely adore the sound of Porcupine Tree but can’t stand them for longer due to the vocal. Same with Dream Theater, Yes and many others. Ate there any prog rock bands with darker (not growl though!) male vocals? P.S. Maybe I’m not bothered as much by the high pitch as I am by the vocal being too in your face and prominent. As a reference I love how Roger Waters and David Gilmour sing, they are not any virtuoso singers and I might even go as far as to say they are probably slightly lame as singers but it just blends perfectly with the music.

That’s so beautiful! The way you seamlessly blend between modern harmony and quasi-classical sound is awesome! I got some hints of the Waldstein, was that intentional? 😀 Is that an improvisation or a composition or in between? I didn’t know you were such an accomplished pianist and composer, kudos 👏🏻

The resonances you hear with the damper pedal pressed are triggered mostly by the attack portion of the notes. If you play a note without the pedal and then you press the pedal (while holding the note) you won’t hear loud resonances depending on the timing of your pedaling. Which is why there’s no need to switch to the other type of sample. However if you press the pedal very shortly after or during the attack, some pianos crossfade to the corresponding pedal-down sample.

Devices that use WiFi for configuration (I have a dashcam and a Fuji mirrorless camera that are like that) are bad IMO. They require that you disconnect your phone/tablet from your WiFi and lose connectivity and connect to the device. That’s so 2010-s. Nowadays there’s Bluetooth LE that’s made for these purposes.

Mac. I think it was my MacBook Pro Mid 2010 but my struggles were probably much later than that, I’d say around 2015. It was still a capable machine that I upgraded with a SSD and more (and faster) memory. So, do you think I can install Kontakt Player without it requiring Native Access and additional samples? Also, is it Apple Silicon native? (Is it a Native Instrument? 😀). If so, I may give Scarbee a try then.

I’m speaking probably 5 or more years ago. I don’t remember well. Regarding performance, it was with the Vintage D piano and low latency. I compared it to another piano at the time with a standalone player, I believe it was Synthogy Ivory. I could never make Vintage D playing glitch free. Maybe they improved everything after so many years.

That’s funny. I found Nord Piano 5 having one of the worst touch-sound mapping, feeling not like a piano at all and I would go as far as to say I can’t think of a worse digital piano in that regard, even worse than Casio entry-level pianos. Apparently it’s a matter of taste. I love their samples when listening to demos though. But I can’t connect to the sound as a player.

For me the problem with Kontakt is I haven’t purchased it and so I have to use the Kontakt Player instead. The last time I installed it it basically acted as a bloatware and not only came with tons of unwanted samples that I couldn’t remove unless I followed some third-party instructions on the Internet but also installed some agent on my computer that was running all the time. What is more, I had to create a NI account and started receiving marketing emails although I explicitly unmarked all checkboxes. Also, the performance was subpar. Basically Kontakt Player at that time was an aggressive software that was bordering on malware.

Some people are prone to the opposite effect, that of “Choice-supportive bias” (AKA post-purchase rationalization) to counteract the “buyer’s remorse” though, and so these people also never experience it. Not saying that’s the case.

If they switch to TP110 and improve their EP-s, they will be much more desirable for me personally.

I have Arturia V and the Logic Pro X electric piano (both modeled) but I'm not convinced by these modeled pianos, seems I prefer samples. I have also listened to Lounge Lizard demos and I owned a Numa X piano (also with modeled Rhodes) and to me all modeled Rhodes pianos have some rubbery effect to them. Anyone tried this? https://www.uvi.net/en/pianos-keyboards/key-suite-electric.html That library seems enormous with 63 different electromechanical instruments sampled (14GB of FLAC samples or 63GB in WAV). I already own VILabs Modern U and UVI Workstation with iLok, so it's OK for me to use that workstation, actually it's a very lean software that I like (in contrast to Kontakt).

What would be a good Rhodes plugin that doesn't require Kontakt Player? I'm sick of Kontakt and won't ever install that abomination on my computer again. Currently I'm using the Rhodes sounds in my CP88 when recording Rhodes in Logic and all is good since the CP88 sends clean digital audio through USB but a bit more flexibility with a standalone plugin won't be bad. The one in Logic is OK but I prefer sampled ones. When I last listened to different modeled Rhodes they all sounded too rubbery and synthetic but they may have improved in the last years?

I’ll wait for the second Rhodes decline to get one of these for $200 off a garage sale some day 😛

I’ve tried Nord Electro with hammer action that felt horrible, it’s that awful TP-100LR. It’s beyond me how one can use that action in an instrument that costs more than €330. Mind you, I couldn’t stand it even in my €330 Studiologic SL73. But each to their own. I’ve also tried a Nord Piano that had OK-ish action but the piano sounds just didn’t feel connected to the action. I like their ergonomic though. But then there’s the Yamaha CP/YC with so much better action and sounds.

I get your point but that couldn't be further from the truth 😀 I can recognize the Pianoteq fakeness from a mile. Especially compared to a real acoustic piano recording which is just another universe. But let's not start that here... As I said, I get the point and I agree with it 👍🏻 I'm also influenced a lot by how things look and feel and I prefer the real wood and smell and feel, I love limitations that provoke creativity. Basically I agree with everything you said. However, I still find this as a bit superficial and that's a self-critique, I would have preferred if I was more one of those guys who are practical and save money by buying stuff that works, regardless of its aesthetics or other non-essential (to its purpose) values 😕

If they didn’t copy the design error there would be folks criticizing Behringer for “drifting” off the true Minimoog 😉

In fairness to CP, you can have up to 5 effects simultaneously. This is valid only for the electric piano section (but there’s the advanced mode to use any of the sounds in that section): two insert FX, amp, global delay send, global reverb send. Well, the two insert effect slots can select from just six types each for a total of 12 which is a bit limited to the big variety of effects on the YC. And in the acoustic piano and sub sections there’s only one FX slot with a very limited choice of effect types. Edit: actually there’s a global send FX on the YC where you can choose not just a delay but also other FX types which is even better.

Yes, I remember that. But it would nevertheless been better if the global reverb was more configurable, so that you can use all the individual effects slots for other effects where needed. Anyway, both the CP and YC have their cons and pros. I can only dream but if there was a new instrument type in the Yamaha stage line that had the YC61 form-factor and keyboard action and kept the YC-organ engine but replaced the pianos/electric pianos sections with a dedicated synth engine (even if a simplified one, like on the reface CS), that would be the perfect complement to a CP.

Same with the reverb, on the CP I have both “time” and “depth” whereas on the YC there’s only depth.

I owned a Peak for a while and I’d say I really liked it a lot but its filter was a bit characterless and generic sounding, not Moogish. This and the fact everything is potentiometers and loading a patch you can’t immediately see the actual settings made me sell it but not without a lot of hesitation. I’d buy a Summit.

I don’t see, for instance, why a Subsequent 37 is cheaper than the new Minimoog reissue? Yeah, one less oscillator I guess 😀

I even press two keys with one fingers sometimes. Not kidding, I’m serious! Like the following voicing of Am7/11, bottom to top: Left hand: A E B Right hand: (C D) G A B D The C and D in the parentheses are both pressed by my right thumb. I hear you saying that’s a lot of repeating tones but just try the Lyle Mays-ey sizzle you get from the thick voicing in the upper part, especially the doubled 11th and 9th to accentuate these extensions more 😉 It requires 9 voices. P.S. one can even play it like: Left hand: A E (B C) Right hand: (D E) G A B D for even thicker 10-voiced madness 😀 Sometimes even 8-voices require double-keyed thumb voicing, e.g. F#m7/11 due to black and white keys and inability to stretch fingers: Left hand: F# C# G# Right hand: (A B) E G# B

I purchased a B-Stock YC73 that I thought had a slight problem, so I returned it but there was no replacement YC73 and so I had to decide between a YC88 and a CP88 that were the only available stock. For me it was a rather easy decision: I am not a Hammond player and I found it a bit awkward to play organ sounds through a hammer action and I consider myself a very hardcore classical pianist. Then, there's the great summary @AnotherScott posted. While I had the YC I found it a bit confusing to have to switch between Keys A and B on the same panel. Also, the effect abbreviations were too cryptic to me and I couldn't remember what was what. I really like how on the CP I have three separate sections for piano/epiano/others, each with a set of effects that are readable and relevant to the particular section. I miss the FM-synth with portamento though but OTOH I have a separate synth as a second board and I prefer playing synths on synth keys. I'm pretty happy with the CP88 and I saved some money too.

My initial reaction was of course huge GAS. Then I saw the price at Thomann: €4000. It’s an OK price for a high quality instrument that is basically a Memorymoog and is made by Sequential. I really would love having one! But then, frankly speaking, I already have it: U-He Diva 😀 And a Hydrasynth 😛 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! But still… 🧐