Hi people:

Wanted your view on the best electric piano samples out there (preferably in AKAI format)

Any suggestions appreciated


cheers


gspin

For the price of an high-end Akai sample CD, you could always get Lounge Lizard, which will have much better feel & response due to it's physical modeling than static samples could. Just a thought.

Dunno what Akai ones are out there but here's a few recommendations:

I'm a rhodes freak and I too need the best. For me Lounge Lizard is good but I tend to use sampled ones as I reckon they sound more real..

I use soundfonts called MK1 Rhodes, Gforce on the Rhodes (which I converted to Kontakt format) they are lovely..

Plugsound 1 has beautiful Suitcase Rhodes and a smooth DI - tremelo Rhodes.

The GigaRhodes is nice too, and will work fine in Kontakt with a few minor adjustments (kill the filter and shorten the sustain)

Sonic Reality make awesome smooth Rhodes, get either Sonic Synth or their piano collection for Sampletank. They are not big multisampled super-real monsters, just lovely smooth lush chorused warm rhodes

And for the Rolls Royce of Rhodes sounds (one I wish I had) you cannot go past this motherfucker:

Scarbee R.S.P. '73 - Kontakt / EXS24 mk II / Halion
http://www.scarbee.com/

The classic sound of a Fender Rhodes Stage Piano Mark I - SeventyThree.
Includes native EXS24 mk II and HALion versions. 73 keys, 12 sustained + 12 release samples in true 24 bit pr. key - no loops, 2.25 GB. Totally authentic action!!!

Now that is an Epiano

The Scarbee is probably the best sampled ep out there but I still prefer Lounge Lizard. I'm not sure why I waited so long to get Lounge Lizard but it is one of my best purchases. No obvious sample splits. No bad velocity cross samples. It's seamless. Some people complain that it is a bit dark but so is the real thing. If you want a cleaner, brighter sound. Well, process it through effects just like you would a real Rhodes or Whurlly.

Robert

The way I see it depends on what you need

it's Lounge Lizard for flexibility but Scarbee for authenticity.

imo of course

I guess I fail to see why a sampled sound is always thought of as more authentic than a physically modelled instrument. It may be copied directly from a real instrument but I don't see why that makes it more realistic in itself - all you are doing is playing lots of differently pitched versions of the same soundset over and over again. Its authenticity rest solely in the fact that it copies a sample of the sound of the original but real instruments are played by human beings and their overall character is far more than the sum of their sounds alone - it comes from the interaction between musician and instrument and the physical qualities of that instrument in time and space - for example when I play my guitar every note I play sounds different because I apply varying degrees of pressure, varying pluck techniques, varying hand positions, varying deliberate (or not so) playing errors and random factors, types of pick and so on - if I was to sample the sound of my guitar I would simply be freezing one particular moment of expression in time and then repeating it again and agin. How is that "authentic"?

With physical modelling you can (theoretically) get a wider range of character and expression because it is an emulation of the natural physical properties of that instrument and is set up to interact with the musician in a similar way to the original instrument. Therefore, if it is done well it should capture far more of the real character of an instrument than a sampled instrument would, at a fraction of the size too.

The only problem is that physical modelling takes a lot of computer horsepower and programming skill to do well and there are still comparitively few instruments that make a good job of it but instruments like the new Revitar, Lounge Lizard, Emagics EVD6, Tassman 3 and Steampipe 3 for Reaktor point the way forward as far as I'm concerned.

Just my opinion.

The trick is to get as many sounds as possible, sampled or not.. There is no way you'd be able to get Lounge Lizard sounding like the tremelo ep out of Sonic Synth for example.. Every tune may need a different sound depending if it's smooth, funky or whatever.. So no 'one' epiano is gonna do that.. Like my sampled mk1 rhodes is gonna sound better with a thru-zero flanger than Lounge Lizard, or LL may sound better with a autowah..

I'm with Audiowhore. Get as many sounds as you can. I've got Lounge Lizard, Wizoo's Magnetica, Sonic Synth, the Piano Expansion, and MDAePiano, and all have been used in different settings. Not one of those sets of EP sounds has ever replaced the others. For instance on the last track I finished I opted for MDAePiano over the others, while on a tune I did a while back I used the Piano Collection Wurlitzer, whereas I still frequently use Lounge Lizard (if I could only have one LL would be it). It's all about the song, and the sound it needs. Also layering a Lounge Lizard patch with a set of samples may actually greatly as you'll get a mix of a particular sound with the physical modeled EP sound.

aMUSeD, normally I agree 100%, I'm a huge proponent of Physical Modelling (I have Tassman, and am getting Lounge Lizard soon). However, that Scarbee sample lib is pretty insane, I must say. I would have bet money on the fact that LL was the best, but that lib changed my mind.

I thnk I'll eventually get both, as LL can imitate most things pretty closely, which will be useful, just as a spot on replica of a Mark I is useful too

The Piano Collection by SR is pretty cool cause not only do you get rhodes and wurlys(which sound fantastic btw), but you are also getting some real pianos and i think a clav or two?