KORG Module Pro - which expansion packs do you use?

[J.F.N.]

Just installed the 7 day Scarbee Rhodes demo pack, dang, this sounds fabulous!!

 

Installed the Earthy Rhodes demo too, will do a comparison and pick a winner..

[Reezekeys]

I don't know of another company that lets you demo their samples like this – a week is certainly enough time to know if the sounds will work or not. I passed on the wurli and Ivory but agree the Scarbee rhodes is nice - it just lacks that last aggressive bark layer. Never heard of "Earthy Rhodes", I guess that's a new one,

[Paul Woodward]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

I don't know of another company that lets you demo their samples like this – a week is certainly enough time to know if the sounds will work or not. I passed on the wurli and Ivory but agree the Scarbee rhodes is nice - it just lacks that last aggressive bark layer. Never heard of "Earthy Rhodes", I guess that's a new one,

I love the Scarbee, thought a few presets had some nice bark to them. Have you played with the settings? 

Oasys piano is still on my list when its on sale at a decent price.

The earthy rhodes was downloaded as a demo just before I went on holiday so it ran out before I could try it...shame there isn't another chance to download, even if its just a days access.

 

[drawback]

2 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

I don't know of another company that lets you demo their samples like this – a week is certainly enough time to know if the sounds will work or not. I passed on the wurli and Ivory but agree the Scarbee rhodes is nice - it just lacks that last aggressive bark layer. Never heard of "Earthy Rhodes", I guess that's a new one,

I use the dynamic variation in the 70s Earthy EP. I like the Suitcase Rhodes in that pack. 

[J.F.N.]

Trying to figure out how to update save a preset, saving a new is obvious, but when I have loaded one of my user presets, tweaked it, and then want to save it to the same slot again.

 

What have I missed?

[J.F.N.]

I've been spending the last days here evaluating KORG Module with the Piano Essential Pack and the demo of the Modartt Pianoteq, and there are no doubts where I will swipe my card big time.

 

The KORG Module sounds good, sometimes almost great, but even after tweaking and creating presets that responds and sounds the way I like (Piano) I still feel something's missing. Then I open the Pianoteq and just start to play, any ol' factory preset will do, and it's just head on the nail, the sound, the feel, the vibe, I get excited and start playing out and losing myself in it, hard to explain, it's connecting with me.

 

I just spent 20 minutes instinctively jamming blues after starting out browsing presets, felt just like I was sitting by a nice piano and I got totally lost in it, I'm not even a good blues pianist (I'm not a great "pianist" for the record), but it just worked, it turned me on, and it sounded really great!!!

 

 

[Paul Woodward]

That is a big difference in price though. Module is pocket money compared to Pianoteq, but still sounds good for what you pay. It also offers organ, clav, synth etc. as well as set lists and more. Not really a like for like comparison.

[J.F.N.]

6 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

That is a big difference in price though. Module is pocket money compared to Pianoteq, but still sounds good for what you pay. It also offers organ, clav, synth etc. as well as set lists and more. Not really a like for like comparison.

 

Well, looking for great piano sounds and electromechanic keys, I, without hesitation, see these two as contenders, maybe not head to head, but in the space of providing serious sounds for players using iOS, definitely!

 

If you look further than "the prices are not in the same range", and instead think about "what would I be prepared to pay for something I feel pleased with", it's still competition, some of us won't mind paying a bit more to get the "next level" experience. The reason is not that KORG is a cheaper product, but because Pianoteq sounds and feel lightyears better.

 

[Paul Woodward]

I would say that Module is merely functional, a bit like the VR09 is a jack of all trades but doesn’t really match the competition in any one area, and it’s relatively cheap and lightweight.

Module has just crashed on me and I swear the reloaded set list don’t sound the same as the ones I last saved. Has an annoying habit of doing this (and it’s an 8 month old 9th gen iPad). 
Me thinks it will be getting sold along with my other gear, including the Keystage. I’m afraid Korg need to show Module itself some love (and updates), not just adding sound packs. Gadget is getting regular updates (including Midi 2.0 support), but Module has seen only occasional bug fixes for years. I thought I could gig/practice with this combo, but not so sure now.

[Reezekeys]

I don't understand why folks don't go with the free version of Module and host it in AUM, Keystage or their equivalents - which I'm pretty sure will give you all the features (and more) of the Pro version. Is there anything one can do with the Pro Module that I can't with the free verison and and app like AUM (which is around $10 less than Module Pro at the moment)?

[Paul Woodward]

Can AUM host multiple versions of Module? Pro let’s you split and layer and adds CC as well as more sound engines and sound sets.

[drawback]

2 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Can AUM host multiple versions of Module? Pro let’s you split and layer and adds CC as well as more sound engines and sound sets.

Yes, AUM does that. Once upon a time the original Module was IAA only, but it's been AUv3 supported for a long time now. 

[Reezekeys]

I have four AUv3 instances of the free Module hosted in AUM - Scarbee Rhodes, clav, and strings at the moment. Each AUM channel can have key ranges set so splits are easy. You can filter which midi messages get to each instance and restrict the midi channels it listens to. Also, each instance of Module's exposes its controls to AUM so you can attach midi controllers to work them. It's all super easy.

 

Not sure about the Pro Module but the velocity curve adjust in the standalone Module Free is not available when it's an AUv3. No biggie because I use Midiflow for that. There might be a few more settings available standalone that aren't there when it's running as a plugin - this hasn't been an issue; between AUM. Midiflow, and Streambyter, I'm covered for anything I need to do.

[drawback]

22 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

Not sure about the Pro Module but the velocity curve adjust in the standalone Module Free is not available when it's an AUv3.

Same goes for Pro.

[J.F.N.]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

I have four AUv3 instances of the free Module hosted in AUM - Scarbee Rhodes, clav, and strings at the moment. Each AUM channel can have key ranges set so splits are easy. You can filter which midi messages get to each instance and restrict the midi channels it listens to. Also, each instance of Module's exposes its controls to AUM so you can attach midi controllers to work them. It's all super easy.

 

Not sure about the Pro Module but the velocity curve adjust in the standalone Module Free is not available when it's an AUv3. No biggie because I use Midiflow for that. There might be a few more settings available standalone that aren't there when it's running as a plugin - this hasn't been an issue; between AUM. Midiflow, and Streambyter, I'm covered for anything I need to do.

 

Compromise in AUM would be to have one Channel where Module runs the app, ie. for Piano to be able to use the curve, and then use AUv3 for the rest, tested it here, works perfect. Though of course if you need the curve modified on other things than Piano then this wont help you.

 

I have my curve slightly modified too so the absolutely lightest touch on the keyboard actually don't make any sound at all, it made the feeling quite a bit more real.

[Reezekeys]

Module free plus AUM plus Midiflow costs around the same as Module Pro by itself and gives you all the features of Pro plus much more, albeit with more complexity since you're working with three separate apps. I preferred this because I knew I would be adding more AUv3s from companies other than Korg, and I also needed the extra features Module Pro couldn't give me. These are the velocity remapping curves you can do with Midiflow. They're much more flexible than what Korg gives you, imo:

 

 

 

[J.F.N.]

19 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

Module free plus AUM plus Midiflow costs around the same as Module Pro by itself and gives you all the features of Pro plus much more, albeit with more complexity since you're working with three separate apps. I preferred this because I knew I would be adding more AUv3s from companies other than Korg, and I also needed the extra features Module Pro couldn't give me. These are the velocity remapping curves you can do with Midiflow. They're much more flexible than what Korg gives you, imo:

 

velocity remap.mov 5.99 MB · 0 downloads  

 

 

Midiflow definitely looks like a competent tool to keep in the iOS toolbox, and yes, the curve tool indeed looks very useful!

 

Great price as well!!!

 

[Reezekeys]

Midiflow is what lets me load all my AUv3s into AUM and keep the same one setup for the whole gig. It's much easier and faster to switch presets in Midiflow than unload and load different AUv3s during the gig. Of course what works for me may not work for others, depending on which AUv3s are used, but I have a base-level iPad 9G with some large sampled instruments in AudioLayer, plus the Korg Module instances I mentioned, plus VB3m, Synthmaster 2, and a few other instruments. It hasn't been any issue to load them all at the start of the gig - I'm not even close to pushing what the 9G can do. I have the same setup running on my iPhone SE 2016 - the only diff is that I need to bump the buffer to 128 instead of 64 which is what I use on the iPad.

[J.F.N.]

13 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

Midiflow is what lets me load all my AUv3s into AUM and keep the same one setup for the whole gig. It's much easier and faster to switch presets in Midiflow than unload and load different AUv3s during the gig. Of course what works for me may not work for others, depending on which AUv3s are used, but I have a base-level iPad 9G with some large sampled instruments in AudioLayer, plus the Korg Module instances I mentioned, plus VB3m, Synthmaster 2, and a few other instruments. It hasn't been any issue to load them all at the start of the gig - I'm not even close to pushing what the 9G can do. I have the same setup running on my iPhone SE 2016 - the only diff is that I need to bump the buffer to 128 instead of 64 which is what I use on the iPad.

 

I just found out that there are bunch of different versions of Midiflow, tell me more about which version(s) you use?

 

Definitely sounds interesting, curious to put my hands down in the jar, have a bunch of nice synths (and AudioLayer) on my Air M1...

 

[Reezekeys]

31 minutes ago, J.F.N. said:

I just found out that there are bunch of different versions of Midiflow, tell me more about which version(s) you use?

 

I was initially confused because this is the only version I know of: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/midiflow/id879915554

 

Then I googled "midiflow" and came upon this:

 

 

I didn't realize there were these other Midiflows! The others all seem to be for "Audiobus 3" which iirc is a different (and older) protocol for hosting multiple virtual instruments in iOS. Midiflow Standalone is the one you want. I also got the three in-app purchases, they weren't that expensive and their added functionality came in handy for me.

 

 

[J.F.N.]

13 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

 

I was initially confused because this is the only version I know of: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/midiflow/id879915554

 

Then I googled "midiflow" and came upon this:

 

 

I didn't realize there were these other Midiflows! The others all seem to be for "Audiobus 3" which iirc is a different (and older) protocol for hosting multiple virtual instruments in iOS. Midiflow Standalone is the one you want. I also got the three in-app purchases, they weren't that expensive and their added functionality came in handy for me.

 

 

 

Thanks for the clarification, I will definitely have a look during the afternoon!

 

 

[brenner13]

I’ve got them all and really only use the AC Piano packs and Scarbee, and Wurly; and that’s just for dinking around in the studio with nothing else to do. Can’t go wrong with the KApro collections. The Orchestra and Synth packages are great.

[J.F.N.]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

 

I was initially confused because this is the only version I know of: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/midiflow/id879915554

 

Then I googled "midiflow" and came upon this:

 

 

I didn't realize there were these other Midiflows! The others all seem to be for "Audiobus 3" which iirc is a different (and older) protocol for hosting multiple virtual instruments in iOS. Midiflow Standalone is the one you want. I also got the three in-app purchases, they weren't that expensive and their added functionality came in handy for me.

 

 

 

I like it!

 

So Midiflow is your Midi Router/Processor, and this makes AUM "just" the host/mixer, a powerful combo with great flexibility, kinda ingenious - Great thanks for sharing!

 

Just did a simple set up here, input from my midi interface (Volt2 as I use for the iPad Sound/Midi, gives me analog input for other stuff I want too when I travel), then a processing unit, and then I create a virtual output, which then is used as input in AUM, clever!

 

Found a bug though in the velocity remapping tool, using the "shape" curve, the one with the "dots" you can pull your own curve in, the furthest to the right, fiddle with it, and then press "reset curve", and the curve window goes blank... only way to get the curve tool back is to back out to the processing main "menu" and reset everything...

 

But this is definitely a very powerful solution!!

 

 

[Reezekeys]

You're good! I never used "Reset Curve." I found another bug which doesn't affect me but may be a deal killer for a lot of folks - apparenty Midiflow does not pass release velocity. That's a pretty weird one, considering all the midi mangling it does do. You're still in the refund zone so you can bail. I don't use release velocity for anything myself.

 

Unfortunately the dev's forum is locked, with the last post being a few years ago. I might update my review on the app store, that's probably the only way to reach him!

[Reezekeys]

27 minutes ago, J.F.N. said:

So Midiflow is your Midi Router/Processor, and this makes AUM "just" host/mixer,

 

AUM has some overlapping functions with Midiflow. It won't do midi transforms like Midiflow, but each channel strip has its own midi message filter and channel filter. By rechannelizing in Midiflow you can direct your playing to different AUM channels. I don't need to create virtual midi ports this way, everything goes to the single port AUM creates when it's run. I link program changes on my keyboard to different Midiflow presets, for instant preset changes.

[J.F.N.]

8 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

 

AUM has some overlapping functions with Midiflow. It won't do midi transforms like Midiflow, but each channel strip has its own midi message filter and channel filter. By rechannelizing in Midiflow you can direct your playing to different AUM channels. I don't need to create virtual midi ports this way, everything goes to the single port AUM creates when it's run. I link program changes on my keyboard to different Midiflow presets, for instant preset changes.

 

Yeah, I just wanted to see how it works with the virtual channels, can be useful too at some point, really cool stuff this!!

[J.F.N.]

17 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

You're good! I never used "Reset Curve." I found another bug which doesn't affect me but may be a deal killer for a lot of folks - apparenty Midiflow does not pass release velocity. That's a pretty weird one, considering all the midi mangling it does do. You're still in the refund zone so you can bail. I don't use release velocity for anything myself.

 

Unfortunately the dev's forum is locked, with the last post being a few years ago. I might update my review on the app store, that's probably the only way to reach him!

 

Hmm I barely have any idea if I would have use of this, in case of, I guess I will have to skip the processing and go directly to AUM... 🙃

[J.F.N.]

On 7/5/2024 at 2:46 PM, J.F.N. said:

Just installed the 7 day Scarbee Rhodes demo pack, dang, this sounds fabulous!!

 

Installed the Earthy Rhodes demo too, will do a comparison and pick a winner..

 

Ended up grabbing the 70s Earthy Rhodes, definitely more to my liking..

 

Anyone uses the complete Electric Piano Essential? Seems it can't be demoed in it's entirety, would be interesting to know more about the variations in it.

 

EDIT: Ended up buying all three Rhodes Modules... 😃

[J.F.N.]

The modules are on sale atm, up to 50%, just grabbed a bunch...

[Paul Woodward]

The sales seem to be more regular, or maybe I am just losing track of time. Was tempted by the Oasys Piano as I missed it last time, but as Im selling on the board I would have used it with, it now seems pointless.