Zebra does it again!
I don't know how it sounds, but it definitely feels real to me.

https://www.box.com/s/r49q2pua1svb5eauuefb
......
https://www.box.com/s/ya9ev3bsz5mgevc9n5db
....

OK, I've gone crazy searching for a good neo-soul midi file over the web, please send me if you happen to have or know one...

I found one that shows the instrument very well but it clearly states that I'm not allowed to use it anywhere so.... I'm not that good of a piano player also... yet (btw, not me playing in the clip )
......

So, yeah, I've been doing this behind the scenes for some time now, taking instruments apart to find out what makes them tick ...and try to find a way to accurately model every basic (incl subtle) aspects for a clean efficient and authentic result as possible.

I'm planning to do most of the GM palette if possible.. talk about big plans huh?!

Patch not finished yet but it'll be available as soon as I get a refill on motivation ... so please share some feedback and, if you have, some experience with vintage keyboards too.

Cheers"
3ee
Last edited by 3ee on Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:30 am; edited 2 times in total

Very nice sound! Good organic quality...

FWIW I think it sounds excellent. The "hammer" tones are really good and the "tines" have a good body to them. One thing that could be tweaked is the high end which sounds really FM-y, particularly on the attack trasients. It's not bad, it just sounds more like a DX7.

I don't know about neo-soul, but maybe a midi file of "What'd I Say?" would be easier to find (and quite appropriate).

Hey, thanks for checking it out!

XMF is where the magic happens in this one.
Imagine the main oscs in a row and the hammer + tines on another.. and every time the key is hit, the hammer+tines "bites" the main sound via XMF xmod a bit.
That adds to the attack richness (progressively more noticeable with velocity, not really noticeable in this 1st clip)

Sounds great to me.
Can't wait to hear some more.
Don't forget a clavinet.

Thanks for the feed,
the patch isn't based on FM synthesis in this case so it would be a bit hard for me to identify the "FM-y" hint to morph it into a more Rhody sound...
I'll see what I can do. but from what I understand, I'm afraid if gets even more FM-y with velocity atm .. time to compare it to the real thing.. which is harder to do if one doesn't have the real instrument...

Quick question... if you happen to have the LL4 vsti, can you confirm if the patch "5-Dark Rhodes 1" sounds FM-y with higher velocity too for example?

Will give a search for "What'd I Say?" also, cheers"



As a matter of fact, the good news is that I've tried different ways to get a cool clavi sound before and feeling pretty optimistic about it
.... so hopefully I'll pack one of those and a Wurly beside this one when getting ready for a release.

https://www.box.com/s/ya9ev3bsz5mgevc9n5db (now v2, forgot to activate the Shape1 module for the tines+hammer )

+extra one octave up at the end.... the velocity peaks at the end there.

I wouldn't call it "FM-y" .. but I also can tell that there's something needing to be fixed there... thanks for the tip!

...hmm how does the real instrument actually has to sound? I mean... there are so many different sounding ones + many are colored by an amp or effects....

I'm going for a more or less modern blend of all (Including aspects of MK7) fairy aggressive, tight with a tiny amount of bounce with a fair amount of control over the XY pads.
Last edited by 3ee on Sat Dec 15, 2012 7:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

Great stuff!

I can't compare to the original, cause i don't know that song or sound, but it's just very special and organic.

Nice work 3ee!
Looking forward to your plan.

Cheers,

^ Cool, thanks!
Well, the plan would be not to mess up the patch, especially now when it's almost done!
I usually do that, ruining patches and than game over till next time

Hehe, yes it's easy to overwork on it..

I'm use to save them much and stopping when i'm happy with the 9.th one.
3 days later i realise the first was the best.

Sweet sounds!

First soundexample is really really smooth and organic.
I like it!

How long did it take you to make this patch?
Some more insights?

Hey thanks, glad you like it!



What happened to the 2nd one, don't you like it? (anyway, almost figured the best way to tame those higher notes at higher velocities)


As for how long... well it depends, I've been tweaking this one heavily for about 2 days from scratch.
...but if you take into account other attempts.. it's an ongoing process for hmm.. about 1-2 years?

insights?
-use as few stuff as you can, but not that you begin limiting yourself. (that way you will have more control and immediately remember what, where...)
-find the best way to model something that sounds the best and it doesn't choke the CPU
-mod matrix is your best friend, use it sparingly tho.. as you will run out of slots quickly! (URS, more mod matrix space pls! )
-find the best velocity curve on your midi keyboard and stick with it, you'll be playing it non stop
-compromises! kb track VS vel ... try to balance it out, but in some cases you really need to consider splitting sound using 2OSCs. for example, in this patch I used a 2nd osc for the main tone without the sync turned on for technical reasons.

..other things that I don't remember atm.
oh yeah, you must like and study the instrument very well beforehand and during and make objective decisions what to implement... for example the Rhodes EP is a very subjective instrument from what I understand, every single one sounds different and ppl will have subjective opinions about what they want to be featured in it and in what amount... otherwise it won't be good
cheers"

Wow. Was that the only change you made? Because I hear a huge difference with the first clip. That quality I was trying to describe in the high end seems almost completely gone, even going up an octave and with the higher velocity it sounds much smoother.



Sorry if my choice of adjectives wasn't that helpful, it was just what came to mind trying to describe it. My first synth was a DX-7 with a broken data slider that I learned to program with a book of patches from the library. Between that, auditioning FM-7 and owning Toxic since version 2 I've heard a lot of FM electric piano sounds and there's a particular species of them that have an overly sharp attack and what I can only describe as a hollow, glassy quality. What I heard in the high end of the first clip sounded very much like that to me so I assumed it was from some FM component of the patch sticking out. But as you say, you're not using FM so clearly it wasn't that.



I was going to make the same point. As awesome as Zebra is, it isn't inteded to replicate an entire signal chain. Sometimes a patch will work better if you don't try to emulate the exact sound and let the synth do what it does best (generate the fundamental sound) and leave the stompbox and cabinet simulation etc. to plugins built to do those jobs.

Thanks! The timespan explains a lot..

I've difficulties to judge the 2nd example, because of the different arrangement.
Maybe you could post another version of the first soundexample with the new patch and harder velocity.

But I'm a bit biased, because without any "amp effects" (chrous, flanger, phaser,..) i like the softer tones more