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Open Letter to Keyboard Manufacturers - please make a physically modelled Rhodes


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Oh that Nord Electro! Bee-yoo-tee-ful- mp3s sound good too, darker sounds would be more to my taste than the impression I get from the mp3s, but that's certainly doable...oh baby.

 

And my wife eyes lit up at the pics! She likes the sounds! She wants it! You other married guys know how important that is. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

-CB

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The type of keys found on the great Hammond console organs. Typical synths (as well as most other brands of organ) have what I guess you'd call "diving-board" keys.

 

Originally posted by mwisniewski:

Excuse my ignorance, but what are waterfall keys?

I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist.

 

This ain't no track meet; this is football.

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Originally posted by mwisniewski:

Excuse my ignorance, but what are waterfall keys?

 

 

Waterfall keys refer to the squared off or flat front keys that Hammond organs have. They make palm smears possible without shreading your hand in the process. Hopefully the action on the Electro will be similar to a Hammond.

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Originally posted by JMB:

Granted I'm not a Rhodes expert, but the Kurzweil PC2 has great Rhodes sounds. I believe it only uses 2 velocity switches (maybe more, I'll have to check) but I can't hear it switch at all.

 

Well, as a Rhodes owner and player since 1973, I think I qualify as a Rhodes expert. The PC2 uses 3 velocity layers if I'm not mistaken, and while it does a better job than most of the others, I can still hear it switch. If the physically modelled B3 sounds sounded better, and if it had 9 sliders instead of 4, and if it had a built-in power supply instead of a line-lump, and if it weighed 40 lbs instead of 55, I would buy one! But the compromises hold me back.

 

I find it very hard to believe that the RD-700 won't allow you to edit the velocity switching. But if that's true get a PC2. The Rhodes programs sound better and it is very easy to edit the velocity switching if needed.

 

Well, it's true, you can't edit the velocity-switching in the RD-700. And I'm pretty sure you can't edit it in the PC2, either.

 

 

This message has been edited by guestuser@guestuser.com on 08-01-2001 at 10:31 AM

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Originally posted by synthetic:

From the Clavia press release:

> As an extra bonus we also included an acoustic grand piano (concert model)!

Sounds to me like they don't have very much faith in their piano sample.

 

Well, the Elektro is not designed with the acoustic piano in mind. It's raison d'etre is to produce "retro keyboard" sounds well, namely B3, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet. If they added a decent acoustic piano sound, it's a welcome bonus. I listened to the B3, and the ac. pno sounds reasonable. of course there's only so much you can tell from an MP3 demo. For instance, it doesn't tell you anything about how velocity-switching is employed on the Rhodes samples. But you can get the basic sound of the B3 and the Leslie, both of which sound good from the Mp3.

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Well, just wanted to say that of all my VSTi I've currently got, the Emagic EVP73-rhodes is my absolute favorite. Gives me the possibility to express myself as a real piano would. (And I use a cheap "spring"-key MIDI-keyboard)

 

/d-kay

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Originally posted by guestuser@guestuser.com:

If the physically modelled B3 sounds sounded better, and if it had 9 sliders instead of 4, and if it had a built-in power supply instead of a line-lump, and if it weighed 40 lbs instead of 55, I would buy one! But the compromises hold me back.

 

What keyboards do you own? The only keyboard that comes close to the 9 sliders is the K2500/2600 series (8 sliders), but they weigh about 55 lbs. Also, the K2500/2600 and PC2 physically modelled B3's ,although not perfect, sound much better than any Keyboard that is not a B3 clone.

 

Also, you said that you want a light weight keyboard. Well you are not going to find a weighted action keyboard that is under 50 lbs. So if you want a keyboard that is under 40 lbs you'll have to get a semi-weighted or synth action keyboard. The 76 key, semi-weighted action PC2 is only 39 lbs.

 

 

Originally posted by guestuser@guestuser.com:

Well, it's true, you can't edit the velocity-switching in the RD-700. And I'm pretty sure you can't edit it in the PC2, either.

 

I edit the velocity-switching on my piano's and e-pianos all of the time on my PC2.

 

 

 

 

This message has been edited by JMB on 08-01-2001 at 12:13 PM

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Originally posted by JMB:

What keyboards do you own? The only keyboard that comes close to the 9 sliders is the K2500/2600 series (8 sliders), but they weigh about 55 lbs. Also, the K2500/2600 and PC2 physically modelled B3's ,although not perfect, sound much better than any Keyboard that is not a B3 clone.

 

What difference does it make what I own? This thread is about asking the industry to make a decent Rhodes-type instrument that's not crippled by compromises. The Yamaha P80 is a weighted-action, 88-note portable digital piano with a very nice-feeling action, and it only weights 37 lbs. There's no reason anymore for a weighted action 88-note keyboard to be 55 lbs. As for sliders, my point is that if you're going to make a keyboard with physically-modeled B3 sounds, then giving it only 4 sliders is a compromise. If everything else were perfect, that's one compromise I could probably overlook, but it's still a compromise.

 

So the K2600 and PC2's KB3 mode sounds better than anything except a B3 clone? Well, that's damning with faint praise if you ask me. If you're going to include a B3-emulating mode, then it should be able to compete with the B3 clones, don't you think? Especially in a keyboard like the K2600 that costs mega-bucks. I mean, good-sounding B3 clones have been around for several years now, since the Voce V3. That raised the bar.

 

I edit the velocity-switching on my piano's and e-pianos all of the time on my PC2.

 

Well, then, could you please explain how you do it? I've got a copy of the PC2 manual here, and I don't see any parameters in Program Edit mode for editing the velocity range of a layer.

 

 

This message has been edited by guestuser@guestuser.com on 08-02-2001 at 12:55 PM

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Originally posted by guestuser@guestuser.com:

Well, then, could you please explain how you do it? I've got a copy of the PC2 manual here, and I don't see any parameters in Program Edit mode for editing the velocity range of a layer.

 

-select the patch you want to edit.

-Hit the "PROGRAM" button.

-Select the zone (or sample) you want to edit.

-hit the "VELOCITY" button.

-press the right arrow key until you see "Vel Min". edit that

-press the right arrow key until you see "Vel Max". edit that

-proceed in the same manner with the other zones (or samples)

-finally press "STORE", then press "YES" to save the program.

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Originally posted by JMB:

-select the patch you want to edit.

-Hit the "PROGRAM" button.

-Select the zone (or sample) you want to edit.

-hit the "VELOCITY" button.

-press the right arrow key until you see "Vel Min". edit that

-press the right arrow key until you see "Vel Max". edit that

-proceed in the same manner with the other zones (or samples)

-finally press "STORE", then press "YES" to save the program.

 

Ok, I stand corrected then, you can edit the velocity range of layers on the PC2. It still doesn't change much, though. It still velocity-switches, all your doing is moving the switch points around. Or removing the velocity-switching and only using one layer. Or maybe you're ovelapping the layers. Maybe that's worth doing, I don't know. I'd have to hear it to decide.

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Re: Nord Electro

 

Only the B3 is physically modeled. Everything else is multi-sampled ... compromise?

 

"4 multi-sampled electric piano instruments in Flash memory: Rhodes Mk II Stage Piano, Wurlitzer 200A, Clavinet D6 and CP-80 Electric Grand. As an extra bonus we also included an acoustic grand piano (concert model)!"

 

 

This message has been edited by mwisniewski on 08-01-2001 at 09:30 PM

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Originally posted by mwisniewski:

Re: Nord Electro

Only the B3 is physically modeled. Everything else is multi-sampled ... compromise?

 

Sure, but the question is, how well did they implement the multi-sampling? If they did a good job (meaning, you can't hear the velocity switches, for instance), then it might be acceptable. I'll have to play it and hear it to decide.

 

 

This message has been edited by guestuser@guestuser.com on 08-02-2001 at 12:57 PM

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