Something New from Spectrasonics

[SK]

Yeah Linwood, most impressive. I think this is the new standard for virtual acoustic pianos and keyboards. At this level of quality, $399 would be a good price just for the C7 or Rhodes.

 

Just from using Trilian for years, which has maximum body/tone and can easily dominate a mix - now there are pianos/keyboards that can match it.

[linwood]

I was having my coffee in kitchen around 8am and Linda confessed that she tried to log into Spectrasonics and buy it for me early this morning 'cause she was sick of hearing me talk about whatever it was for the past week. How sweet is that?!

 

Piano, rhodes, wurlie go into everything I (we) do. It's a no brainer.

[Song80s]

Wow. Eric raises the bar of how good our instruments can be.

 

A workstation synth near you just felt a cold wind blow over it's shoulder.

 

I wonder how well 8GB and 16GB MBPs will handle Keyscape running within Omnisphere? Will we need 32GB to be safe? With the Apple event next week, there is a rumor of a new retina MBP being announced. Fingers crossed....

 

gee, I wonder if I should still order my Montage ?

[Geoff Grace]

Can't wait to have it! I'd pay $399 for the E rhodes sample today. That stuff's a money maker. Tracks are going to sound so much better and mix so much easier. Everything is going to sit nicer. I can tell from seeing the fingers and hearing the dynamics that it's going to play really well. Bravo, Spectrasonics!

Yeah, I've been pining for that particular Rhodes sound ever since my Rhodes was stolen. It's thatand the ability to morph the sounds with Omnisphere's STEAM enginethat are the top two selling points for me.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[ITGITC]

While is was waiting I put this little piece together using just Spectrasonics products.

 

Busch.

 

I enjoyed that.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

[Geoff Grace]

Like Omnisphere this is targeted at composers, who else would have the time to explore the 12,000 sounds Omnisphere offers.

Strangely enough this was posted at the composer forum I visit:

 

Some of the comments are fair enough but what I think what this library is about contains a certain amount of nostalgia and is definitely for players.

This is not a sound design or phrases library. It's definitely for keyboard players.

The reaction is otherwise similar over there.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[linwood]

I'm with you, Geoff!

[zephonic]

Wow. Eric raises the bar of how good our instruments can be.

 

A workstation synth near you just felt a cold wind blow over it's shoulder.

 

I wonder how well 8GB and 16GB MBPs will handle Keyscape running within Omnisphere? Will we need 32GB to be safe? With the Apple event next week, there is a rumor of a new retina MBP being announced. Fingers crossed....

 

gee, I wonder if I should still order my Montage ?

 

I'm kind of glad I didn't buy one. It is great, but frankly, Omnisphere and KeyScape are one organ expansion pack away from being the all-in-one live solution for me.

 

I've been on the fence for years, but I think I'm very close to taking VI's to the stage.

 

 

[cnegrad]

I want it for the Rhodes sounds, but not much more. Because of Ivory, I'm tired of Yamaha C7's and wish they would've sampled anything but. But those Rhodes are killer, though...

[zephonic]

I want it for the Rhodes sounds, but not much more. Because of Ivory, I'm tired of Yamaha C7's and wish they would've sampled anything but. But those Rhodes are killer, though...

 

But this C7 sounds like no other C7 I have ever heard. It doesn't even sound like a Yamaha at all. The piano tech did a great job prepping it.

 

[Reezekeys]

I was going to say the same thing. This C7 sings very nicely in the mid-velocities.

[Song80s]

Wow. Eric raises the bar of how good our instruments can be.

 

A workstation synth near you just felt a cold wind blow over it's shoulder.

 

I wonder how well 8GB and 16GB MBPs will handle Keyscape running within Omnisphere? Will we need 32GB to be safe? With the Apple event next week, there is a rumor of a new retina MBP being announced. Fingers crossed....

 

gee, I wonder if I should still order my Montage ?

 

I'm kind of glad I didn't buy one. It is great, but frankly, Omnisphere and KeyScape are one organ expansion pack away from being the all-in-one live solution for me.

 

I've been on the fence for years, but I think I'm very close to taking VI's to the stage.

 

 

Its a great time to be a keyboard player with all the choices. Been saying this for 5 years.

I could not have imagined such detail on each keyboard to be available in 1 package.

Quite impressive.

 

[cnegrad]

I'm sure that it's the most amazing C7 ever, but it still screams "C7", which to me is a negative. I used to have the same issue with the K2000 piano. For me, if a sound is that identifiable, that's a problem. That's why I've switched from Ivory to Ravenscroft. It's not immediately identifiable, and it has a great character to it.

 

[cnegrad]

...and as long as I'm whining, this is what I posted in ITGITC's post on Facebook:

 

"That actually brings up one of my other issues with this release: Other than the Rhodes and the acoustic piano, few of these sounds are culturally relevant anymore. Man, how I wish I had that dyno rhodes back in the day, but now it would just make my tracks sound dated. (...and I ADORE dyno Rhodes!)"

[zephonic]

I never really dug Ivory but the Ravenscroft sounds great, no doubt.

 

As for Spectra's C7, if it wasn't on the label, I would not have guessed that's what it was.

[Geoff Grace]

A forum member of the composer site (V.I. Control) has had an advance copy of Keyscape for awhile now. Here is his report:

 

As a TV soundtrack composer who works with unmovable deadlines, this is now my go-to instrument for keyboard duties (I've had it for a month). I love having one place to reach for when I need any kind of keys, instead of digging through other keyboards; it saves me time. Furthermore, the multitude of instruments all have that ready-for-showtime sound to them, they have that Spectrasonics richness, depth, quality of recording/programming; also a time saver. I will still pull out Una Corda or Piano in Blue, because these are unique, but in most other cases, it'll be Keyscape when scoring for me.

 

Most of the keyboards have many patch variations, as you would expect from Spectrasonics. These range from the more pure sound to myriad timbral/mood/style examples. FWIW, I find this just as much an instrument for composers as for performers. And the Omnisphere integration is a big plus for those of us who own it, with its fab effects, granular engine, etc.

Best,

 

Geoff

[cnegrad]

As for Spectra's C7, if it wasn't on the label, I would not have guessed that's what it was.

 

Interesting; for me, once you get to an octave above middle C (jazz single line soloing range), it becomes obvious.

[Song80s]

I never really dug Ivory but the Ravenscroft sounds great, no doubt.

 

As for Spectra's C7, if it wasn't on the label, I would not have guessed that's what it was.

 

Back to VI's. I was thinking I should get a Macbook Pro since Keyscape requires

2.2 GHz Intel dual core processor or higher

[burningbusch]

...and as long as I'm whining, this is what I posted in ITGITC's post on Facebook:

 

"That actually brings up one of my other issues with this release: Other than the Rhodes and the acoustic piano, few of these sounds are culturally relevant anymore. Man, how I wish I had that dyno rhodes back in the day, but now it would just make my tracks sound dated. (...and I ADORE dyno Rhodes!)"

 

I don't agree. Wurlys are popular with younger players who despise digital keyboards. Wurlys more so than Rhodes with the indie crowd, hipsters, etc. The Pianets would work as well, but if you've ever really played a Pianet N for example, it's not a lot of fun trying to control it with that keyboard. It's one of the few instruments that I find much more responsive and playable as a sampled instrument. The stuff I listen to, which is reasonably current (2000s+) often uses overdriven, effected electro-mechanicals or funky acoustic pianos/uprights. I don't hear clavs as much except in the funk/horn type groups. I don't hear Hammonds that much either. But I think the wide variety of funky, off-beat sources found in Keyscape will make excellent starting points for anyone looking for a unique, organic keyboard sound on their tracks. Subtractive, analog synths are still king, but I personally think the Keyscape sounds are actually amazingly relevant.

 

Busch.

[Mighty Ferguson]

I saw the announcement this morning, and have been reading through this thread today. My initial reaction was what a few here have already stated: aside from some of the more obscure instruments, this is not really an area where we're lacking for software instruments. Being Spectrasonics, I knew it would sound great, and maybe fills a hole in their offerings, but not really breaking new ground. I finally was just able to watch the demo video, and did while using some decent headphones. I'm blown away. It sounds stunningly good to me.

[cphollis]

I have been avoiding soft pianos. After hearing that demo, maybe I'll have to reconsider that position.

[ElmerJFudd]

It's definitely a collection done Spectrasonics-style. It's freaking extensive, and I have no doubt the instrument/patch programming is excellent - but it's mainly bread and butter EPs (and some choice rarities) that we all have in various hardware and software instruments already. I'd plunk it down right now if I were starting from scratch.

 

On the other hand - how awesome is it to have them all in one plugin. The instrument collecting, sampling sessions and patch programming alone are well worth $399. I wonder how efficient the software is and if it's a stable option for playing live? Their stuff is pretty resource hungry usually.

 

If selling licenses for a lot of this stuff weren't such a hassle, how nice would it be to let some instruments go for the chance to dig into Keyscape? Seems like it's a lot easier to sell off your Stage 2 EX for some scratch to fund a Stage 3 than it is to sell software.

[burningbusch]

If selling licenses for a lot of this stuff weren't such a hassle, how nice would it be to let some instruments go for the chance to dig into Keyscape? Seems like it's a lot easier to sell off your Stage 2 EX for some scratch to fund a Stage 3 than it is with software.

 

Yes it would be nice to recovery your costs on software/plugins you don't use, and many times it can be done though as you said with some hassle (it is done extensively on the Protools forum with iLok plugins). On the other hand, plugins that I'm not currently using don't bug me as much as hardware laying around gathering dust. I am somewhat space limited and the hardware can really annoy me. I've got plugins I don't use that often, but I know I might use them some day and they're very accessible, just waiting.

 

Busch.

[ElmerJFudd]

Then there's the other side of the story... why do we need Windows/OSX and an Intel Processor to run this bitch? Get this STEAM engine running on some DSP and stick it in a roadworthy case with an awesome action. It only needs 80gb of flash ram. Would be the last stage piano I buy in my lifetime. Ha ha!

 

Kawai, call up Persing and make a deal!

I wonder if they could get the RM3 Grand II down to 40-50lbs in a portable stage piano. The MP11 is 71lbs and the VPC-1 is 65lbs. ES8 is 49lbs. MP7 is 46lbs.

 

I know, I'm dreaming again.

[zephonic]

Then there's the other side of the story... why do we need Windows/OSX and an Intel Processor to run this bitch? Get this STEAM engine running on some DSP and stick it in a roadworthy case with an awesome action. It only needs 80gb of flash ram. Would be the last stage piano I buy in my lifetime.

 

I have been saying that. In the words of Steve Jobs: if you want to make great software, you should build your own hardware.

 

The general purpose personal computer has been an incredibly fertile breeding ground for the last thirty years, but innovation has sort of plateau'd and if VI devs really want to take things to the next level, hardware is the next frontier.

 

[Reezekeys]

If this can run on a mac mini or one of those small Windows NUC mini-computers, maybe someone will figure out how to stuff one inside a decent 88-key controller. Run it off a tablet connected by wifi. The tech is there now. Yes it's still a "general purpose" computer but probably easier to implement.

[ElmerJFudd]

The specs say Steam engine can run on an 2.2ghz dual core processor and 8gb of RAM. That's minimum sys of course.

[Phil Aiken]

If this can run on a mac mini or one of those small Windows NUC mini-computers, maybe someone will figure out how to stuff one inside a decent 88-key controller. Run it off a tablet connected by wifi. The tech is there now. Yes it's still a "general purpose" computer but probably easier to implement.

 

It'll happen. I have full sized Scarbee and Sampletekk sets now in flash on my Forte. Not 80 gigs, but it'll happen.

[burningbusch]

Then there's the other side of the story... why do we need Windows/OSX and an Intel Processor to run this bitch? Get this STEAM engine running on some DSP and stick it in a roadworthy case with an awesome action. It only needs 80gb of flash ram. Would be the last stage piano I buy in my lifetime.

 

I have been saying that. In the words of Steve Jobs: if you want to make great software, you should build your own hardware.

 

The general purpose personal computer has been an incredibly fertile breeding ground for the last thirty years, but innovation has sort of plateau'd and if VI devs really want to take things to the next level, hardware is the next frontier.

 

All the companies that have tried this have failed, sorry. Receptor, OpenLabs, OpenLabs ver 2.0, there was another one that promised to run VSTs in a box (can't remember the name). I think there was an attempt from a company out of Europe as well. The market for this stuff is too small. It makes far more sense just to use a laptop with an excellent controller like the Kawai. I used a laptop live 10 years ago. It's no big deal. Locking technology into proprietary hardware is very high risk, both for the company making the device and the player who buys it.

 

There is the $1500 Ivory module. Very pro, very expensive that only runs Ivory. Wonder how many of those they've sold?

 

Busch.

[hardware]

Most impressive.

Great inspiring video too.

So many famous cats who have blessed us over the years.

 

Having a famous pollster like Frank Luntz as a narrator was a surprise. Im sure he had to take a break from Fox News for this.

 

Cant wait to install this....