Best Classic Electric Piano Sounds?

[BERFAB]

I own NI's Elektrik Piano (or however they spell it), and virtually every other instrument I own (Kontakt, Sampletank, VI.ONE, Plugsound Pro, etc. as well as every synth out there)has a collection of "Wurly" and Rhodes patches. Some are better than others, and some stretch the definition of the 'electric piano' sound in order to get new and interesting textures.

So, with all that firepower, what's my go-to for THAT sound?

The donationware MR. RAY 22. I've demoed the Mr. Ray updates, but I don't like them nearly as much.

MR 22 is extremely playable, and some of the presets really nail the vibe right out of the box. Very low CPU hit, and absolutely NO TIME wasted on sample loading and patch management.

Cheers
-B

[Fr@nk]

You might also want to check out MODARTT's new version of Pianoteq 3. The demo version includes the so called "Electric Add-On" which features two new models called Wurly and Rhody. Or you just listed to the audio demos at:
http://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq/audio/ ... dydemo.mp3
http://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq/audio/ ... Rhodzz.mp3
http://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq/audio/ ... lydemo.mp3
http://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq/audio/ ... chords.mp3

Cheers

Frank

[benjamind]

Can't understand why there is not much love for OTR88. To me it has the best rhodes sound of any EP emulator. To my ears it easily beats lounge lizard in depth of sound and decay. MrRay MKII is another very close emulation. Both of these instruments would be perfect for anyone who wanted to emulate a Rhodes.

I don't think any Wurlitzer emulation is entirely flawless, but OTR88 and MrTramp are extremely close to the sound, maybe a bit more attack is needed to really give it the snap of the Wurlitzer sound when the keys are being truly hammered, but the bark and the richness in the sound is definately there, so it isn't lacking in any way. Lounge Lizard didn't do it for me when it came to Wurlis.

To my ears OTR88 has the Rhodes well and truly nailed, the Wurly is about 99% there - vastly better than anything out there except MrTramp, it is slightly better than MrTramp, with a richer sound and a hint more body in the upper keys.

I still like the Pianoteq3 rhodes and wurlis, but there isn't as much decay and because of this the sound, especially in the bass and lower midrange isn't quite as buttery smooth as OTR88 which puts me off, but PT3s EPs are still very much better and more flexible than samples ever will. I wouldn't touch a sample instrument for EPs since the release of OTR88, that's for sure.

I've been through all the sampled EPs and acoustic grands. Recently demoed the Garritan Steinway and astonishingly it came first as far as virtual Steinways go.

To my ears OTR88 and MrRayMKII are very close to the Rhodes, the Wurlis are about even with OTR88 and MrTramp pretty much in the same ballpark in terms of quality. As for acoustic pianos, if you want a Steinway then the Garritan Steinway is probably the best out there. The standard edition which has the 'under the lid' perspective is probably the best sound of any acoustic piano. $199 and phenomenal sound and playability. Yes, it uses samples, but they are indeed very very good ones. For modelled piano, PT3 is very good in that it is playable on just about any modern system, but I have tried very hard to get it sounding like the Authorised Steinway and couldn't nail it especially in the upper midrange, there was a slight lack of natural smooth decay when the keys are played softly, even with the una corde pedal down, and this effect the overall sound presentation. The bass wasn't bad at all, and Pianoteq3 is much better in this regard than previous versions. In fact I'd have to say that the bass and lower midrange is Pianoteq's forte. Definately as good as samples now, but it is the upper midrange and top that needs a little more work. Samples still win when it comes to the higher frequencies because that is where a lot of the subtle sound of a piano comes from.

Still, there is absolutely NO sample instrument that can touch Pianoteq in terms of playability and expressive potential, the fact that it responds to the full velocity and pedal spectrum definately puts it in a venerable place, which is why it is fast becoming a choice for musicians. But the Authorised Steinway still knocks it out for Steinway sound - there is no contest.

I'm hoping Pianoteq PRO which allows much deeper instrument editing will allow one to get closer to the Steinway sound in a way that matches the 'Under the lid' perspective in the Garritan Steinway. Right now it just can't do it, but maybe the PRO version will change that.

Electric pianos are pretty much nailed in the virtual world. It is the acoustic pianos which need some more attention. I think Pianoteq4 will in all likelihood be the one that nails the acoustic.

Ben

[Fr@nk]

There are more patches/presets available in the "fxp corner" and the "user forum"
http://www.pianoteq.com/fxpcorner
http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/uploads.php

Maybe you will find a preset that will fit your needs there ...

Frank

[AKJ]

Scarbee is VERY hard to duplicate as its probably one of if not THE best epiano emulation out there. The only thing I can suggest is MRRay73 MKII from GSi Soundware.

I replayed a snippet from the Scarbee site.

Original from Scarbee Site
My Version using MRRay73 MKII(Played live once by ear sorry kinda sloppy)..

These 2 imo are probably the best emulation wise. The only other suggestion would be to pick up a real Rhodes.

hth..

would you mind providing your midi data. I would like to post some additional examples with other instruments/libaries using the same midi file.

cheers, akj

I didnt actually record any MIDI or save the file. I just played it live from ear and recorded the audio .. Just for you I replayed it again and this time recorded a MIDI track to boot.. Download the MIDI here..

thanks alot lot. But I triend openig the file in sonar an fl studio and it seems to be empty. Could you try again? I would do it myself, but you are for sure a much better player than me


cheers, akj

Whoops recorded to a channel and not a MIDI track..

Lets try that again Download HERE

still, something seems to be wrong with the file. Another try?

[Optomadic]

wrx here

[AKJ]

oh, tried to download againb and now it works here, too. I will soon post the examples.

cheers, akj

[AKJ]

so finally here you are:

http://www.power-xs.net/download/epianoshootout.zip

this zip file includes 10 sound examples based on the midi file posted by Optomadic. There are 5 fx and 5 nofx examples. With the fx examples I applied a self-created preset for Izotope Trash. As instruments I used:

the famous soundfont of Jeff Learman (rhodes mark 1)
the rhodes mark 2 of the Kontakt 3 library
A factory preset of Lounge Lizard V2 (which demonstrates how weak the feactory presets of LLV2 were)
2 self-made presets - one trying to create my ideal of an electric piano and one more centered on realism (which maybe show why I so far was reluctant to upgrade to V3 since I use the pickup model 1 which is no more present but gives imo the best sound)

It would be nice if other users also posted examples using this midi file so that we have an opportunity of fair comparison.

cheers, akj

[AKJ]

since discussion in this thread seems to be dead i will open a new thread for the shootout

so, if you want to discuss the shootout examples, please, use this thread:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249245

cheers, akj