MalH Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 A big vote for Sampletekks "Tubed Rhodes" - 16 velocity layers and recorded through a tube amp - very playable as is without FX. It requires a sample player and sells for $140, although they usually have a half price sale every six months (which is where I picked it up a month ago). Check out the demos on the Sampletekk site:http://www.sampletekk.com/proddetail.php?prod=STDELIVER-030-FORMAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthdogg Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 I'm suprised nobody's mentioned it yet, but if you search a bit for $500 you could probably find a real Rhodes 73. I know there's certain advantages to having a clone, but sometimes the "real thing" is the best and most easily overlooked solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 I'm suprised nobody's mentioned it yet, but if you search a bit for $500 you could probably find a real Rhodes 73. I know there's certain advantages to having a clone, but sometimes the "real thing" is the best and most easily overlooked solution. That's because the original post contained this line: "And if you're about to suggest getting a real Rhodes, well, thanks, but I already got one. " Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthdogg Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 D'OH!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Stephen, I don't know if the free Electromechanical Refill from Propellerheads fits your criteria. Rhodes, Clav, Wurly. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Stephen, before doing a serious comparison, contact Guido about the latest MrRay. I did an alpha test of it for him a few months ago, and I liked it even better than MrRay73. But I haven't seen it come to the light of day yet. Perhaps he just needs a little encouragement. If you need his contact info, PM me. And, thanks for the kind words, New&Improv! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmymio Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 A big vote for Sampletekks "Tubed Rhodes" - 16 velocity layers and recorded through a tube amp - very playable as is without FX. It requires a sample player and sells for $140, although they usually have a half price sale every six months (which is where I picked it up a month ago). Check out the demos on the Sampletekk site: http://www.sampletekk.com/proddetail.php?prod=STDELIVER-030-FORMAT Welcome and congratulations on your first post. I own and love several sampletekk acoustic pianos and I've been curious about this one. I wonder if Stephen could add this to his "shootout". JP 1935 Mason & Hamlin Model A Korg Kronos 2 73 Nord Electro 6D 61 Yam S90ES Rhodes Stage 73 (1972) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Yeah, I have that one too. Sampletekk/PMI libraries are the stuff. A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Sampletekk, here I come. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 I'm a huge supporter of physical modeling, but Lounge Lizard didn't cut it for me. I got the Scarbee collection with the all-important vintage effects for a song during the sale this March or April (around $100 total). As mentioned earlier, the effects are useful elsewhere as well -- even in previously recorded material. Scarbee has done a very good programming job to make the sample switching almost entirely unnoticeable, and has really done the best job in capturing the soul of the machine with his attention to extreme dynamics. Kontakt is on sale for half-price during NI's summer sale, so I doubt it would cost very much right now. I got it as part of Komplete last year when they advertised the wrong price for the full product suite (something like $400 -- but then I spent $250 for the upgrade to Komplete 4 later on). MOTU Mach Five V2 just came out this week, and should be able to load Scarbee as well -- though I'm not sure if it knows what to do with KSP scripting. Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWeldon Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 I bought the Kurzweil Me-1 for $350.00 and thought the Rhodes and the Wurlies were fantastic. Just recently got a Yamaha S 90Es. The pianos totally outclassed the pianos on the Kurz. But the difference in the electric pianos....not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JezD Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Another vote for Scarbee with VKFX. It doesn't seem to have the "bark" of some other rhodes sounds, but it's really playable and suits lots of different applications. I love playing the rhodes on the Nord Stage live though too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 FWIW, the recently updated NI Elektrik Piano has a lot more bark now. I haven't had a chance yet to do a head-to-head with Scarbee. I bought the Scarbee package because it was too good of a deal to pass by, and as any single element within that package would have cost as much or more on its own. So I considered the Pianet and the Vintage Effects to be worth the price of admission on their own, whether or not I find other sources for Wurly, Clavinet, and Rhodes over time. Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Posted by burningbusch: I don't know if the free Electromechanical Refill from Propellerheads fits your criteria. Rhodes, Clav, Wurly. Yes, it does. I'm putting it in the "soft sampler libraries" category, as it's for NN-XT, the soft sampler inside of Reason. Been playing it all morning, and I'm pretty impressed, especially given the small sample sizes relative to things like Elektrik and Scarbee. Another highlight: Velvet kicks major booty. Pro Tools only, so if you hate PT, it'll make you hate it even more . . . out of envy. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 A newbie was announced today over on harmony central and sonic state. It combines modeling and samples and covers the Yamaha CP-70 as well as the more common fully electric pianos. Syntheway ElectriKeys costs $35, and is a VST instrument. http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2007/Syntheway-ElectriKeys.html http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=5185 If anyone tries this one out, please report here -- especially if you can also compare it to Lounge Lizard and other partially or fully modeled vs. sampled electric piano solutions. Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Just downloaded tried the ElectriKeys demo. The basic tones are good, but the attack phase of the envelope is weird on all the instruments. You don't hear it if you just play one note, which attacks crisply, but if you start playing for real, it sounds like the attack knob on an envelope generator is up a little bit, when it should be at zero. Dunno if I'll have time to fit this one into the roundup, as I've already finished the section it would have gone into, but maybe I can do a blurb saying that it exists, and expand upon that on the web version. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 When I owned my Akai S5000 sampler I used Wizoo's Magnetica CD which had several Rhodes, Wurlitzer's and B3's (and more). I paid around 60 and saw it years ago for 20. That did the trick for me. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Stephen, before doing a serious comparison, contact Guido about the latest MrRay. I did an alpha test of it for him a few months ago, and I liked it even better than MrRay73. But I haven't seen it come to the light of day yet. Perhaps he just needs a little encouragement. I second that! I also tested the new MrRay at the same time you did, and I agree that it is very nice! Wonder what happened to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Sweet demo, Linwood. Nice, Linwood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linwood Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Thanks, Richard. Scarbee did a great job on those samples and the efx. It's a joy to play and so easy to use within K2. He always makes sure his products feel right to the touch and has the ear for detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Hi all, I've just been in touch with Learjeff about Guido, as I have the original Mr. Ray but not this latest version I'm hearing tons of good things about. So I'd love to know who's got it, and how you think it compares to the earlier one, as well as the commercially-distributed plug-ins out there. Anyone put it next to Elektrik? EVP88? Would love to hear what you think. I'm tempted to just put out a call for someone to send me a copy, as I haven't heard from Guido yet, but I'd like to find out what his wishes are regarding coverage first. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Stephen, FYI, I believe Per from SampleTekk did the Tube Rhodes for the Propellerheads Refill. Whether it's from the same sampling session as the one that he released for other samplers, I don't know. I seem to remember that the Refill is eight layers and the released Tube Rhodes is 16. Per might have done other instruments in the Refill, again can't recall. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Hey Busch, I did try both of those, and my ears say that you're right on - Tubed Keys 73 sounds like it's got more density in the way of layers than the ReFill. I like 'em both. I never used to take Reason that seriously as a vintage keys machine, but now I do completely . . . and the ReFill is friggin' FREE (as long as one is using a legit copy of Reason. The marketing chief from Propellerheads told me this great story about a guy who sent in a picture of his Reason logo tattoo. The company was so impressed, they wanted to send him an update to 3.0 and some ReFills, so they asked for his 2.0 registration - and he confessed he was using a pirated copy! Can you believe it - the guy loved the software enough to pay for tattooing a corporate logo on his body, but not enough to pay for, uh, the software itself. Ok, digression over, just had to share that.) Does anyone know, BTW, if Guido's new version of Mr Ray is going to be donationware like his previous work, or is going to sell for a small fee like his VB3 does? Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 I sure as heck wish Apple would free up their Logic plug-ins for individual purchase. Even so, I look forward to the upcoming shootout, to see how the products that I am unable to buy due to compatibility reasons stack up against the ones that I can buy or already own :-). Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Yo, LearJeff, I just tried your soundfont! That is one nice piece of work, bro! Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 Thanks, Steven! It has some warts, and some day I hope to do it all again and fix them, but .... welll..... I sure have fun playing it. I bet it would sound good through the VKFX, too. You sure can't beat the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Rhythm Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 ...I have the original Mr. Ray but not this latest version I'm hearing tons of good things about. So I'd love to know who's got it, and how you think it compares to the earlier one, as well as the commercially-distributed plug-ins out there. Anyone put it next to Elektrik? EVP88? Would love to hear what you think. I have it along with learjeff's, sampletekk, scarbee, and reason. I think it holds it's own. It has a bite to it that gives it some character. I think it is worth the listen. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Shlow Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 I really like the sound of LearJeff's soundfont but was surprised that the top and bottom keys on a standard 88-key keyboard are not supported (they are probably dead because there are not coresponding keys on the sampled keyboard, but I think that a soundfont can extrapolate for higher and lower notes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calumet Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Mark, you aren't missing anything with the EVP-88 in Logic. Its no great shakes. Scarbee is still the way to go. Now that I have matched it up with my Studiologic VMK-161 plus, I have the gig rig I have been looking for for a long time. My band Thousand Houses: www.thousandhouses.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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