KVR Audio

Max el Belga · Post by **Max el Belga** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:21 am

LearJeff made it better than it was !!!

The Fender boys should have made the original like LearJeff's "looped and slightly chorused" !

Cheers,

Max... .. .

Boulotaur2024 · Post by **Boulotaur2024** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:06 pm

I'd be curious to know what effects chain you guys -or even LearJeff himself- use to "enhance" LearJeff's Rhodes, any ideas on interesting setup you'd like to share ?

pethu · Post by **pethu** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:51 pm

Boulotaur2024 wrote:I'd be curious to know what effects chain you guys -or even LearJeff himself- use to "enhance" LearJeff's Rhodes, any ideas on interesting setup you'd like to share ?

I just bought the Golden Modulator for a pittance at the Kjaerhus Audio summer sale, and I have to say the Piano Chorus presets in that one literally outshines anything else I've tried on Rhodes-type sounds!

(Note: A pittance currently equates to US $38...

)

Holistic Ska Guy · Post by **Holistic Ska Guy** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:28 pm

bro. miles wrote:learjeff's rhodes piano is much better than Lounge Lizard IMO.

Hey, I can understand the desire here at kvr to perpetually promote free stuff over paid stuff - but "better"? A soundfont is better than an endlesly tweakable (think pickup placement, damper, fork model, mallet stiffness just for starters) physically modelled Rhodes designed by feckin' geniuses and used by pros?

There HAS to be a point where some of you guys are willing to just say "I'm not going to pay for my sounds; here's a guy who did a great job on a free product, but if you want the s**t, buy Lounge Lizard, or Scarbee, or NI Elektik Piano".

Y'know? Common sense, me sons!

your HSG.

janfree1 · Post by **janfree1** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:34 pm

the mk2 in kontakt 2 is a mighty fine sound, and is very sensitive.
in fact, though i SUCK at keys, I have not gotten this much sound out of a Rhodes from anything 'real' in my experience (35 yrs) so far. I am LOVING it. gorgeosity.

Reverend Rhythm · Post by **Reverend Rhythm** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:46 pm

I own and use the Scarbee Vintage Keyboard Collection. It is outstanding. My recomendation for learjeff were because it is really good... and free. And free is a good place to start.

shamann · Post by **shamann** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:52 pm

Holistic Ska Guy wrote:but if you want the s**t, buy Lounge Lizard, or Scarbee, or NI Elektik Piano".

Y'know? Common sense, me sons!

Maybe, but personally I've always thought Lounge Lizard sounded a little like crap.

But I agree about the Scarbee package, that sounds fantastic.

toddyjoe · Post by **toddyjoe** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:35 pm

Holistic Ska Guy wrote:
bro. miles wrote:learjeff's rhodes piano is much better than Lounge Lizard IMO.
Hey, I can understand the desire here at kvr to perpetually promote free stuff over paid stuff - but "better"? A soundfont is better than an endlesly tweakable (think pickup placement, damper, fork model, mallet stiffness just for starters) physically modelled Rhodes designed by feckin' geniuses and used by pros?

There HAS to be a point where some of you guys are willing to just say "I'm not going to pay for my sounds; here's a guy who did a great job on a free product, but if you want the s**t, buy Lounge Lizard, or Scarbee, or NI Elektik Piano".

Y'know? Common sense, me sons!

your HSG.

True enough. I suppose it depends what exactly the original poster is looking for. I read the title request for "The most authentic Rhodes" and assumed the person was looking for an accurate reproduction of one sound: a good-sounding Rhodes. If that is the case, a soundfont or sample set is perfect because it gives you a true reproduction of one actual instrument. Tweakability would be a non-issue if you are looking for one accurate sound. When I want a darn good Rhodes sound on my laptop with little effort or tweaking, I load up the learjeff soundfont.

On the other hand, a real Rhodes does have some element of tweakability (adjusting pickups and tines, replacing rubber tips and grommets, using silicon spray to speed up the action, etc.), even though it is not as easy as simply twiddling knobs. If the original poster is looking to explore every nook and cranny, every spring and screw, and every mallet and damper of a Rhodes, a modeler like Lounge Lizard (or the free MrRay73 and others) may be a better way to go. I use single instances or combinations of MrRay73, mda ePiano, 4Front Rhode, and other modelers when I need to tweak a background Rhodes to fit a song.

Different strokes for different folks, different Rhodes for different needs.

Snoogins47 · Post by **Snoogins47** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:34 am

LJ's font is nice, but that's already been said eight million times. I just wanted to throw a little more attention at the 4Front Rhodes VST. It's far from perfect, but basically between LJ's soundfont for the less crazy stuff, and 4Front pounded with distortion and crap for the dirtier weirder stuff (and combining them+whatever random other samples I've collected over the years) and I'm pretty much totally content. (And no, I'm not quite sure why I prefer 4Front for dirtier/overdriven stuff, I just like it better) I'm sure there are some really nice commercial products too, but this is one area where if you're on a budget, or even if you're not, I'd highly recommend checking out some of the free recommendations first, since they're surprisingly (well, it surprised me initially) good.

Oh, random thoughts hitting me: I believe Sampletank 2 Free has an EPiano to check out, and I want to say Plugsound Free had one as well. At first thought I seem to think that I liked the Plugsound one, and that it was definitely a Rhodes/trying to be a Rhodes. I don't remember any positive or negative about the Sampletank EPiano, or whether it was even based on a Rhodes or if it was a Wurly or something. They might be worth checking out.

playmuzic · Post by **playmuzic** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:35 am

Maybe the free ones are not the most authentic rhodes.But i think they are surely "enough" for pros.

freeztar · Post by **freeztar** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:26 am

Mr. Ray!!!

Holistic Ska Guy · Post by **Holistic Ska Guy** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:56 am

Hmm, these are all excellently taken points. Once in kvr I even got to read what somebody I admire Rhodes-wise in a digital environment uses (Thievery Corporation, EVP88). It's all good.

your HSG

Max el Belga · Post by **Max el Belga** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:14 am

Holistic Ska Guy, when I state something is very good, I mean it !!!

LJ's is simply the best, next to the Roland MKS-20 (hardware).

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:29 am

Btw, I tried and used LJ's SF2, Logic's EVP, MrRay, LL light and everything else I could get my hands on, but just recently I sort of rediscovered MDAs epiano. A Rhodes? No way! But I really love it's mellow character a lot! Add a bit of tube saturation or overdrive and it lives up to something else (true for a lot of the others as well). And it's barely using up any CPU cycles, too.

Hovmod · Post by **Hovmod** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:16 am

I like the Tubed Rhodes patches in the Electromechanical2 refill from the Props, but that's for Reason, so I guess it's a silly toy.

The most authentic Rhodes?